Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” This verse is one of the most important to keep in mind when dealing with the issue of Biblical Ethics. It reminds us of a fact that we all too readily forget: God does not change. Therefore, His opinions and judgements, His ethical standards are the same today as they were at the birth of the world. God does not see the world through the eyes of relativistic philosophies, for He is the primary “absolute” of all existence. Malachi 3:6a, “I am the Lord, I change not.”
Evidence of God’s unchangeable ethics can be seen throughout the Bible by various examples manifested in the human lives recorded in its pages. Through a study of these lives and God’s Words patterns of ethics can be gleaned based on three basic components: action, reason or intent, and way or manner in which the action is carried out. The purpose of this paper is to study the various combinations of these three components and the outcome of each combination in the lives of Bible characters. In this way God’s principles and ethics can be clearly seen, learned and applied to the modern Christian’s life.
1. CORRECT action + CORRECT intent + CORRECT way = CORRECT ethics
This first combination can be seen in the life of Abel in Genesis 4:1-4. Abel accomplished the correct action by making a sacrifice of a lamb to the Lord. Abel had the correct intent in his heart by making the sacrifice to atone for his sins and be obedient to God. Abel sacrificed to the Lord in the correct way by building an altar and offering a burnt offering to the Lord. What was the outcome of this particular combination? In Genesis 4:4 the Bible says that the Lord respected Abel’s offering – He was pleased by the ethics that Abel demonstrated through his complete obedience to the Lord’s command.
Another example of the first combination is Joseph in Genesis 39:1-23. Joseph is one of a very short list of people in the Bible whose life is a shining example of consistent obedience and goodness. No sin or evil deed of his is recorded in God’s Word; instead the phrase “and he found grace in the sight of the Lord” is repeated frequently throughout his story. The pages of his life manifested in this passage give proof of his constant endeavour to do what was right. In the situation of this particular passage Potiphar’s wife was trying to seduce him. His actions to deny her and not listen to her were the correct actions. Joseph’s reason for refusing her was correct since he did not want to sin against God or his master. The manner in which he carried out this action was correct from his first polite refusal to his flight from the house when she insisted. Some would say that the outcome of his course of action was not positive since he was falsely accused and imprisoned, but according to verse 21 of this chapter God considered the opposite to be true: “But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” At the end of the story God’s plan for Joseph’s life is apparent. God allowed Joseph to be seduced and unfairly imprisoned in order to put him in a position to become the second most powerful man in the kingdom and save the lives of many nations. Under such circumstances it is wise to recall the teaching of God in 1 Peter 2:18-20, “18Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. 19For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. 20For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.”
2. INCORRECT action + INCORRECT purpose + INCORRECT way = INCORRECT ethics
Satan on a regular basis has demonstrated this ethical pattern from the very beginning with his pride and deception. There are many examples of this, the first being his rebellion against God recorded in Isaiah 14:12-15. Satan’s action was incorrect; he rebelled against God. His purposes were incorrect; he wanted to be like God and ascend above God’s throne. Satan’s way was incorrect; he did not rebel alone but pulled down one third of the angels with him. What was the outcome? He was cast out of heaven; his position as the highest of the angels was stripped; he is destined to an eternity of suffering in hell.
However, this combination is not restricted only to the Devil, free will allows any man to follow this pattern in his life – at his own risk. David was a man after God’s heart, but he followed this pattern in his life in 2 Samuel 11:1-21. A long series of wrong decisions led David to the situation in which he is found by the end of this passage: he stayed home when he should have gone to war with his men; he looked on a naked woman and lusted after her; he committed adultery. Sending Bathsheba’s husband to die was the incorrect action. His attempt to cover his adultery by taking this action was the incorrect purpose. His deceit by first attempting to get Uriah the Hittite to have intimate relations with Bathsheba, his wife, to cover the consequences of David’s sin (e.g. – Bathsheba’s pregnancy), and then sending Uriah to the front lines and ordering the other soldiers to withdraw from him leaving him to die was the incorrect way. This combination demonstrated his incorrect ethics and brought about terrible long-reaching side effects including the death of the child born of his sin to the rape of his daughter by his son which in turn led to the death of that son at the hands of another son. This story sadly demonstrates the saying, “What a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive.”
3. INCORRECT action + CORRECT intent + CORRECT manner = INCORRECT ethics
In this particular combination, two out of the three steps are correct. In today’s relativistic mindset this should lead to a correct outcome and demonstrate a correct set of ethics; however, the story told in God’s Word indicates that the opposite is true. In Genesis 29:15-35, the use of this combination in Laban’s life brought about sad results not only in his life but also in the lives of his daughters. In this passage Jacob and Laban agreed that Jacob would work for seven years in exchange for the hand of Laban’s daughter Rachel. After seven years of hard work the wedding day finally arrived, and Laban’s ethics become apparent. Although Laban had promised Rachel to Jacob, he took the incorrect action and switched the prospective bride with Leah his elder daughter. His intent was correct since in regional tradition the youngest could not marry before eldest. Even his way could be called correct: Laban gave his daughter in marriage; he was not making her live in sin. The outcome of his ethics was most painful to the person Laban probably had the least intent of harming, his daughter Leah. Leah had to endure the knowledge that her husband loved another woman, and not just any woman, it was her sister; not only this but she was hated, and could only hope that through bearing children could she win his love. It is never right to do wrong to do right.
- CORRECT action + CORRECT intent + INCORRECT manner = INCORRECT ethics
This is probably the most infuriating combination for followers of relativistic philosophy since the way in which something is done is considered by many to be the least important factor. God’s stand in situations that fall under this particular category flies in the face of the accepted societal norm that the end justifies the means. The consequences of following this pattern can be seen in the lives of two men, David and Uzza, in 1 Chronicles 13. A cursory look at this short chapter and the story it tells often elicits complaints concerning God’s sense of fairness when in truth it clearly demonstrates His unwavering ethics. The two men mentioned here were both doing the correct action; they were returning the ark of the covenant to its proper place among the children of Israel. Both David and Uzza had the correct intent; they wanted to please the Lord with their actions. However, they implemented the incorrect manner in carrying out this action with severe results. King David had the ark moved in an incorrect manner: on a cart instead of carried by priests. Because of this the ark tipped and threatened to fall when the oxen tripped at the threshing floor of Chidon. This event caused Uzza who was driving the cart to put out his hand and touch the ark to steady it when God had ordered that no person was ever to touch the ark. These two incorrect manners of dealing with the action of moving the ark led to a severe result: the death of Uzza for the trespass of touching the ark. The Bible reveals that David was displeased because of this just as any person who held to relativism would be. However, David feared the Lord that day and did not dare to continue moving the ark. Thus the outcome of David’s incorrect pattern of ethics was the death of a servant and the inability to complete his planned action. There are no exceptions with God, and regardless of the cost He will keep His Word. Before assuming this situation to be the height of unfairness, consider this: the very same attribute of rigid adherence to His Word that God demonstrates in this passage gives us the security of our salvation and of countless of His promises.
Conclusion:
The ethics demonstrated in the Bible can be difficult to swallow in today’s society; however, they are as unchanging as God is. Their outcome is secure. The blessings and cursings associated with each pattern are clearly delineated in God’s Word. It is every Christian’s, yea, every individual’s choice as to the outcome they desire.
Truer words could not be spoken than those expressed in Isaiah 55:8-11, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” God is a bastion unchanging in this topsy turvy world. The Christian should find both security and a perfect example in His Ways!
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