religiousaffections

Thinking about the ethical development of the believer (sanctification) as we move towards church planting:

Much has been written about foundations for Christian ethics with particular emphasis given to its biblical groundings.  The primary question for the Christian is - What would Jesus Do?  While some have suggested that this approach to Christian ethics is too vague, it would seem that truly being able to understand what Jesus would do in a given context it much more complex than simple rule following (more complex than wwjd bracelets).  It is one thing to understand what Christ might do in a certain context, but it is quite another to be one who has developed the virtue, character, and integrity of Christ in order that one might actually respond or act in a Christ-like manner.  Asking the WWJD questions is where the rubber meets the road for Christian ethics.  To fully comprehend the “why?” behind Christian ethics, we must return to Genesis and work our way through God’s mission.

Mission of God

What is God’s mission for this world?  His mission is to bless all nations through his people (Israel and the Church) who he chose, redeemed, and bound to himself in covenant relationship (Wright, Mission of God).  God initiated this mission in Genesis 1:28 when he told Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”  Christians know of God and his mission through Scripture, which is the story of God, the earth and humanity; what has gone wrong, what God has done to put it right, and what the future holds under God’s plan.  The Bible is the unfolding of the mission of God before our eyes in redemptive history - it began with the Father and it will culminate in Him as he is reclaiming all creation to himself.

The challenge for us, as God’s people is to recognize this grand mission, which provides the heartbeat of Christian existence.  If God were not on mission in this world, Christians would not exist.  Not only must we recognize its existence, but Christians must respond to God’s mission in ways that both express and facilitate it rather than deny or hinder it.  This is what it means to embrace and view life through the lens of a missional, Christian worldview.

The “Why?” of Christian Ethics

There are two aspects that we must discuss in thinking about the “Why?” behind Christian ethics.  The first aspect we will survey is ethics/life as worship.  The basic principle here is that the way one lives (ethics) is to be offered up as worship before the Father.  This principle is based on several biblical teachings.  Starting in Genesis 2:15, God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden to work it and keep it.  In Genesis 1:27-28 God gave Adam and Eve two commands - to fill the earth, and subdue it.  The Genesis 2:15 account is part of the second command.  God placed them in the Garden to worship God with their lives of obedience.  So, not only are we to worship with our lives, but according to Isaiah 43:7, we were created expressly for God’s glory.  This truth is reiterated in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all o the glory of God.”  Also, Paul reminds believers that we have been redeemed and reconciled by grace (Eph 2:8-10) so that we might do all things in the name of Him who reconciled us to the Father - Christ Jesus (Col 3:17).  This is ethics as worship.

Secondly, we must discuss the missional answer to the question “Why Christian ethics?” Christian conduct is to be offered up as worship to the Father, in the name of the Son.  As mentioned earlier - the challenge for God’s people (the Church) is to respond to God’s mission in ways that facilitate and express it.  This means recognizing that God is doing something through his people the Church, that is, redeeming all peoples unto himself.  This is why Paul calls the Church to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called, for the sake of unity (Eph 4:1).  He encourages the Colossians to conduct themselves wisely toward those outside the Church (Col 4:5).  In the same way, Peter encourages us to keep our conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that they might glorify God (1 Pet 2:11-12).  God is redeeming the nations and we, as the Church, are agents of this mission.  This is why Jesus prays that his followers will be unified.  He prays that we will be one just as he and the Father are one, “so that the world may believe that” God sent Jesus to this earth (John 17:21).

The local church is where sanctification happens.  The whole of the Christian journey is communal in nature - evidenced by the definition of the mission of God mentioned in the second paragraph.  While in the Old Testament, God worked through his people Israel, God is now working through his people the Church.  A good understanding of the doctrine of the Church is necessary for Christian ethics because only as a part of the community of Christ can individuals become the kind of person who will know what Jesus would do - and actually have the character to do it.  The journey of becoming this type of person is not one that is to be traveled alone (Acts 2:42ff; John 17; Eph 4).   

There is more to ethical Christian living than that which benefits our sanctification.  We do not worship through obedience just so that we become more holy and speedily sanctified.  No, Christian ethics are fully wrapped up in the mission that God is on in this world for his glory.  So, while the “Why?” of Christian ethics is life as worship - the “Why?” which stands behind it all is that through His holy, chosen, and redeemed people, God is reclaiming all of this world to himself.  God is reclaiming and redeeming people, media, the environment, sex, marriage, government, and everything else for Himself.  And as a part of this mission, the Church must be attractive to those outside the Kingdom.  Christian ethics is the guide for becoming attractive as the Body of Christ to the outside world.  But, the Church will only be attractive inasmuch as it exists as the fullness of Christ (Eph 1 or 4) - a people set apart, but on mission - concerned about the sanctification of their brothers and sisters for the sake of those who have not yet believed.

If the Doctrine of the Mission of God and the Doctrine of the Local Church are deviated from:

The missio Dei is not only the foundation of Christian ethics; it is the foundation of the whole of the Christian existence.  In short, the leaving behind of this doctrine will take away the true motivation for Christian ethics.  Applied Christian ethics (sanctification) is done for the purpose of worshipping God and bringing glory to his name - so that he may use his people as ambassadors to this lost kingdom of earth.  Deviating from the mission of God is to deviate from our God given purpose.  When you leave behind the mission of God, the Church becomes the holy huddle - only interested in themselves.

In the same way, to leave behind the doctrine of the Church is to cut the Christian off from all encouragement, accountability, and community.  How then does sanctification happen?  To take it one step further, if we understand Paul’s teachings in Ephesians to be true, then to leave behind the local church is to cut oneself off from the fullness of Jesus Christ - as he dwells bodily in the Church.  Jesus prayed for his people to be one (the Church) so that the world would believe that God sent Jesus to this world.  Without the Church, how will the world see the fullness of Christ on this earth?