As Kingdom business professionals serve God in the marketplace day by day, we are inevitably beset by a whole host of perplexing moral and ethical questions that aren't always as easily answered at the "coalface" as they are in the theological seminary.

Sometimes we have to make decisions under pressure and "on the run." We don't normally have the luxury of time to debate and consider the finer point of ethical dilemmas. But as Christians, we have an answer to that problem, and it lies simply in the Word of God.

Jesus, the Living Word of God, resides in us, and progressively renews and transforms our minds (Rom. 12:2 and Eph. 4:23) so that when we are faced with moral and ethical issues, we don't have to start thinking about them from scratch, because the Word—God's wisdom—is right there already in our hearts (Rom. 10:8).

The key of course is to make sure that there is a good deposit of godly wisdom already stored up ready for us to call upon when it is needed.

Storing Up "Jesus Wisdom"

Jesus Christ is both the Wisdom and Power of God (1 Cor. 1:24). So if we take in enough of the Word by reading our Bibles regularly and consistently, we always have a good store of "Jesus Wisdom" when we need it.

It is like a bank. We have to make deposits before we can withdraw.

In our Christian life, we have to make deposits of the Word of God in our hearts and minds, so that when we need to call upon it, our spiritual "bank manager" doesn't have to tell us: "Sorry. Insufficient funds!" It is too late to make the deposit when we urgently need to withdraw. We have to make the deposits in advance over a period of time.

As J. Francis Stafford says in an article entitled "Foundational Norms for Christian Ethics," Jesus Christ is the "concrete, absolute, unqualified norm of all ethical actions ... the supreme norm for Christian ethics is Christ. His obedience to the Father's will is the starting point for moral development."

Christian ethics is based upon the very nature of God, as lived and taught in the Person of His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Prof. Georgia Harkness in her book "Christian Ethics," says: "The term 'Christian Ethics' ... means a systematic study of the way of life set forth by Jesus Christ, applied to daily demands and decisions on our personal and social existence."

Prof. Harkness says the keynote in the life and teaching of Jesus with regard to man's moral duty is found in "obedient love." She goes on: "This means that with faith in God as the energizing center of one's being, one is required to seek to do the will of God by loving God supremely, and one's neighbor as oneself" (Matt. 22:37-39).

Ethics—Word vs World

In a very real sense, Christian ethics is Biblical ethics, because it is in the Bible that the moral and ethical standards set by Christ Himself are enunciated. If we want to live our lives according to the ethical system set down by Jesus, then we have to become avid, daily readers of His Word.

The world we live in is not ruled by Christian standards—we live in a world ruled by relativism and materialism. Naturalistic philosophies have declared war on the Judeo-Christian worldview, denying the existence of any transcendent value system based on a Supreme Being. If there is no God, there is no absolute standard of behavior, and the ruling mantra seems to be: "If it feels good, do it."

Interestingly enough, though, we are all ultimately made in the image of God, and even the most avid secularists carry with them at least a memory of a higher, transcendent law. Situational ethics guru Joseph Fletcher reaches back to an absolute when he says, "One should always do the loving thing."

If there is no God, and no absolute standard, how can we know what this "loving thing" is? Where does love come from, if not from a loving God?

Even legendary atheist Bertrand Russell, in a well-known article, "Why I Am Not a Christian," says the world still needs something "simple and old-fashioned." He says: "I am almost ashamed to mention it for fear of the derisive smile with which cynics will greet my words. The thing I mean ... is love, Christian love, or compassion."

As Norman L. Geisler states in his very sound book, "Christian Ethics—Options and Issues," "Ethics deals with what is morally right and wrong." But actions can only be judged as "right" or "wrong" if there is some transcending standard against which the judgment of "rightness" or "wrongness" can be made.

If the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras is right, that "man is the measure of all things," then there is a separate, differing right and a wrong for every single individual. Would that truly be feasible? Geisler lists a number of other unethical ways by which actions are judged:

The Only Way

The only acceptable definition for Christians is that what is right and good is whatever God wills. Thus, moral rights and wrongs can be judged, and good and evil can be compared and contrasted. Friends, it is either God's way or the morally relativistic "highway"!

God's nature never changes, and is based on God's commands, "the revelation of which is both general (Rom. 1:19-20; 2:12-15) and special (Rom. 2:18; 3:2)". God has revealed Himself both in nature (Ps. 19:1-6) and in Scripture (Ps. 19:7-14). General revelation contains God's commands for all people. Special revelation declares His will for believers. But in either case, the basis of human ethical responsibility is divine revelation, Geisler says.

In any discussion of Christian ethics, the obvious question that arises is that of potentially conflicting absolutes. God is a god of absolutes, otherwise any discussion of a Christian ethical standard would be nonsense.

Conflicting Absolutes

But what if one absolute conflicts with another?

The most apt example is that of well-known author Corrie Ten Boom. During the Second World War, her family in Holland hid Jews in their home to protect them from the Nazi death camps. In one famous incident, Corrie denied to Nazi soldiers that there were any Jews in their house. She lied to protect them.

So, is it ever right to tell a lie to save a life? Is love a higher absolute than truth? God is Love, and God is Truth. If absolutes conflict, can they be put into some sort of hierarchy? You can construct any number of other scenarios, but the central conundrum remains.

Ethicists such as Geisler have developed six major ways to analyze and make sense of the problem. Two of these ways—antinomianism and generalism—deny all objectively absolute moral laws, while the other four—situationism, unqualified absolutism, conflicting absolutism, and graded absolutism—are all based on absolutes. Situationism believes in only one absolute, while the final three believe in two or more absolutes.


This has been part one of a two-part look at Christian ethics and how they impact on the Kingdom business professional.

Catch the next edition to find out more about the six approaches to ethical systems.