What Are Ethics?
•The science of morals.
•The study of the principles of human duty.
•The moral principles or system of a leader or school of thought.
•The moral principles by which a person is guided.
•The rules of conduct recognized in certain aspects of human life.
What Are Christian Ethics?
•The principles of godliness taught in the Bible for human conduct.
•It is nearly a synonym for Bible wisdom, discretion, and prudence.
•Rules to resolve evident conflict between God’s laws.
•Principles to know what is right in varying circumstances.
•The difference between judging rightly or by appearance.
•Learning the mind of God to correctly know His will.
(letgodbetrue.com)
Eph 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Isa 11:2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
2 Tim 3:16-16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Some mistakenly use the terms “ethics” and “morals” interchangeably, but they are not the same. The term “morals” comes from the Latin meaning “custom” or “habit.” Morals are what people do. The word “ethics” is from the Greek meaning a standard or rule; a norm. In contrast to morals, ethics communicates the idea of what one ought to do, whereas morals are what they actually do. Ethics is faith translated into actions. It is living according to biblical facts and principles, not just having knowledge of them. (Dr. Russell Tardo)
We live in an age in which people are greatly concerned about ethics. Every day, the news media bring to mind issues of war and peace, preserving the environment, the powers of government, abortion and euthanasia, genetic research, and so on. Many people seem very sure of the answers to these ethical questions. But when you probe deeply into their positions, they admit that their conviction is based on nothing more than partisan consensus or individual feeling. But the Bible does give us a basis for ethical judgments: the revelation of the living God. So ethical discussions open a wide door for Christian witness. (Living Under God’s Law: Christian Ethics)
Why study Christian Ethics?
- Because all people make moral and ethical decisions every day.
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Because every decision is made according to some ethic, i.e., some standard or norm.
[Is it ok to make a decision based upon what you think is right?]
Judg 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
This, unfortunately, is the standard of ethics for many today. [We aren’t suppose to base ethics upon what ‘we think is right’; that is normative ethics. This methodology for ethics changes as the wind blows…as popular opinion changes…it is a ‘trending ethics’. This is true for abortion and homosexuality…100 years ago the standard ethical opinion on these was the exact opposite that it is today.]
There is a vast difference between Christian ethics and all other ethical systems. For example, philosophical ethics are the ethics of the world and they 
are based on such things as duty, pleasure, law, science, etc., whereas Christian ethics are based on right and wrong in the light of the scriptures. Philosophy raises all the same questions as theology but the conclusions drawn from philosophy are all wrong. Philosophical ethics tries to answer all questions based on man’s fallen intellect.
Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
1 Cor 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
The Christian religion requires certain moral and ethical behavior. However, some professing Christian groups and individuals have abandoned their Judeo-Christian moral and ethical heritage, and now promote pro-abortion positions, homosexual clergy, gambling (bingos, raffles, etc.) drinking, etc. in their church sponsored activities and think there is nothing wrong with it.
Christian ethics is not a legal system of ethics or laws but principles that inform us how we should act based on the Word of God. Christian ethics are not based on principles alone but on a living person, i.e., Jesus Christ. One can easily become legalistic by just memorizing a law and not having understood the principle behind it. If all we do is simply adhere to a policy or a rule, we fall into Pharisaic legalism! For the Christian, it should be a matter of conviction of the heart. We choose to follow certain principles of conduct out of love for our Savior.
(Dr. Russell Tardo)
1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Matt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
(The following is taken from “Christian Ethics”, 2nd Edition, by Norman L. Geisler)
There are six major ethical systems. Each [one is defined] by its answer to the question, “Are there any objective ethical laws?”
Antinomianism states there are no moral laws.
Situationism affirms there is one absolute law.
Generalism claims there are some general laws but no absolute ones.
Unqualified absolutism believes in many absolute laws that never conflict.
Conflicting absolutism contends there are many absolute norms that sometimes conflict, and we are obligated to do the lesser evil.
Graded absolutism holds that many absolute laws sometimes conflict, and we are responsible for obeying the higher law.
[Is it ever ‘right’ to lie?]:
Corrie ten Boom tells how she lied to save Jews from Nazi death camps. During U.S. Senate hearings on the Iran-Contra issue, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North testified that in the process of performing his duties, he had lied to save innocent lives. North said, “I had to weigh lying and lives.” In a number of biblical stories, people lied to save lives. The Hebrew midwives lied to save the baby boys pharaoh had commanded them to kill. Rahab lied to save the lives of the Jewish spies in Jericho. Is it ever right to lie to save a life? This issue will serve to focus the differences among the six basic ethical positions.
- Lying is neither right nor wrong: there are no laws. Antinomianism asserts that lying to save lives is
neither right nor wrong. It affirms that there are no objective moral principles by which the issue can
be judged right or wrong.
- Lying is generally wrong: there are no universal laws. Generalism claims that lying is generally
wrong. As a rule, lying is wrong, but in specific cases this general rule can be broken. Since there
are no universal moral laws, whether a given lie is right will depend on the results. If the results are
good, then the lie is right. Most generalists believe that lying to save a life is right because the end
justifies the means. However, lying in general is wrong.
- Lying is sometimes right: there is only one universal law. Situationism claims that there is only one
absolute moral law, and telling the truth is not it. Love is the only absolute, and lying may be the
loving thing to do. In fact, lying to save a life is the loving thing to do. Hence, lying is sometimes
right. Everything is relative; only one thing is absolute [(i.e. to love)].
- Lying is always wrong: there are many nonconflicting laws. Unqualified absolutism believes that
there are many absolute moral laws, and none of them should ever be broken. Truth is such a law.
Therefore, one must always tell the truth, even if someone dies as a result of it. Truth is absolute,
and absolutes cannot be broken. [Many of us ‘fundamentalists’ wrongly try to adhere to this
position.]
- Lying is forgivable: there are many conflicting laws. Conflicting absolutism recognizes that we live
in an evil world, where absolute moral laws sometimes run into inevitable conflict. In such cases it
is our moral duty to do the lesser evil. We must break the lesser law and plead mercy. God cannot
change his absolute moral prescriptions because of our moral predicaments.
- Lying sometimes is right: there are higher laws. Graded absolutism holds that there are many moral
absolutes, and they sometimes conflict. However, some laws are higher than others, so when there is
an unavoidable conflict, it is our duty to follow the higher moral law. God does not blame us for
what we could not avoid. Many graded absolutists believe that mercy to the innocent is a greater
moral duty than telling truth to the guilty.
[This last position, Graded Absolutism, seems to be the proper position to hold.]
Matt 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
[Here is a blending of two commandments. Though, they might conflict in certain instances. For example, it is Sunday morning and you are preparing to go to your church’s services and the neighbor comes over and asks if you could help him unload his truck for about an hour. In most scenarios, you would help your neighbor, but there is a higher law working here. Though, if you just noticed that the neighbor’s house was on fire, you might rush next door and try to save their lives…going to your church’s service will just have to wait.]
Matt 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
[Aren’t we suppose to love our father and our mother? Yes, but not more than we love God. Our devotion to our God must be more than our devotion to our parents. Thus, if you are showing love to your parents by obeying them (which is good), but they forbid you to go to church, and you are 21 years old, what should you do? You respectfully must disobey your parents and go to church. What about a 10 year old in this situation? What about a wife and her husband that refuses for her to go to church?]
Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. 29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
[The answer to these dilemmas is that ‘we ought to obey God rather than men’. There is a higher law to follow.]
God does not hold the individual responsible for personally unavoidable moral conflicts, providing that one keeps the higher law. Clearly, a person is not blameworthy for breaking a promise to meet his wife for dinner at six o’clock if he has been delayed by helping to save a life. Likewise, who would blame a man for refusing to return a gun to an angry neighbor who wants to kill his wife?
[In comparing] Graded Absolutism with Conflicting Absolutism, the latter believes that the right thing to do in unavoidable moral conflicts is a ‘lesser evil’, but Graded Absolutism believes we should do the ‘greater good’. The Graded Absolutist does not proclaim that the evil is a good thing to do, but rather that the highest obligation in the conflict is the good thing to do. Also, the Conflicting Absolutist sees sin involved in the decision, whereas the Grade Absolutist does not.