In our lives, every single one of us must make moral judgments. When we’re faced with a gray area, when the Bible doesn’t give us a clear commandment, we have to make our own decisions. Some Christians take a legalistic approach—if the Bible doesn’t specifically forbid me from doing it, it must be morally right and sound. But God doesn’t want us to justify ourselves through legalism; he wants us to use the moral judgment and common sense he created in us. The Bible should be our moral framework, not our excuse.
Live distinctly
Scripture calls for Christians to live distinctly apart from the world around us. We are not to be negatively influenced by nonbelievers: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). We are meant to influence and encourage the world around us toward God and salvation, but we can’t do that if we stop behaving in accordance with the Scripture. God has always called for his people to live apart; in Leviticus 18: 1-4, God said to the ancient Hebrews, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God.” And in Ephesians 5:7-10, Paul wrote, “Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” We should incur judgment from the world for being distinct and strange. People should take note of how Christians live.
Gray areas
But if the Bible doesn’t specifically tell us how to live in every conceivable situation, how can we know what is right and wrong? Paul already told us in Ephesians 5:10: “...try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” We were created with the ability to make moral discernments. Thomas Aquinas, the medieval theologian, described a system of moral philosophy known as the Natural Law. He theorized that all rational creatures (i.e. humans) could participate in God’s eternal laws (i.e. His commands and morality) through our innate reasoning, without needing special divine revelations. Humanity innately knows the difference between good and evil, and we can make moral judgments through natural inferences.
Scripture does not always have a specific moral stance for us to take. “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19-21). That’s a long list! But it doesn’t include every immoral thing in the world, which is why it ends with the words “things like these.” We are expected to use our common sense (our innate moral reasoning!) to determine what those things are and how we should avoid them. You probably don’t deal with a lot of sorcery in your day-to-day life, but what about fits of anger? What about jealousy? Strife? The Bible doesn’t say that road rage and tailgating is wrong, but we know it is. The Bible doesn’t say that talking down to your employees is wrong, but we know it is.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). Without detailed scriptural instruction, we are still able to determine right from wrong.
Reflection questions
