Dear Aby #9 – What’s right and wrong?

by

Hi Aby,

Morality: What’s right and wrong?

The Christian worldview cites that morality is derived from the person of God. Specifically God provided mankind with law to establish a baseline for morality (Exodus 20). Morality was not left for man to determine, but was established by God. Jesus came and fulfilled God’s law and revealed to the human race the true meaning and intention of God’s law.

Christian Ethics – Moral Absolutes
According to the Christian worldview, God’s moral nature is absolute and unchanging. God always hates evil and loves good. The Bible is of supreme importance because it reveals the difference between good and evil, providing a framework on which a completely unambiguous ethics can be built.

According to the Christian worldview, ethical relativism leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). Christian ethics is grounded in the character of God. Rather than believing in some ethical scheme bound to society’s ever-changing whims, the Christian worldview has a specific moral order revealed to man through both general revelation and special revelation of the Bible and the person of Jesus Christ.

The core essence of Christian morality was summed up by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” God’s unconditional, sacrificial love, as revealed through the death of Jesus on the cross is the absolute, never-changing standard by which “rightness” and “wrongness” is determined.

Secular Ethics – Moral Relativism
Since the Secular Worldview rejects the existence of God, human beings get to decide on standards and values. Humanists believe that science, reason, and historical experience are sufficient guides for figuring out what is right or wrong in any situation. These standards will not always be the same, as each person has a different background and reasoning. Therefore, the standards and values – ethics – are relative. The Humanist Manifesto II states, “We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience.” Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing not theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human need and interest.

In contrast, as I mentioned, the nature and character of God, as revealed to us through the Bible and the person of Jesus is the standard for a biblical worldview on morality. God Himself is the eternal, never-changing moral absolute in the universe.

Love you, Grandpa

Note from Larry Ballard on these letters:
Dear friends,

Thank you for your interest in these letters I am sending to my granddaughter in preparation for college. You are welcome to use them in any way you wish. You can alter them by adding or deleting from the text. There is no need to give any credit to me. You can personalize them or forward them on as written. These letters were not written with a wider audience in mind. In one sense, I am letting you listen in on my communication with Aby. These messages will be brief and focused, rather than exhaustive. I do not claim to be an apologist. However, I do claim to be a caring grandfather with a desire to help my granddaughter be able to “defend” her faith as she transitions from home to college.
Most of what I have included in these letters comes from respected Christian apologists: Ravi Zacharias with RZIM, Greg Koukl with Stand To Reason, Josh McDowell, etc.  
Blessings, Larry