by Dr. Richard Chase
THE NEW MORALITY
W E heak much about morality to day but it is a timeless subject and worthy of frequent consideration. The Christian should always be alert to subtle changes in attitude, either on his part or on the part of society, that could cause him to deviate from principles of conduct that are found in the Word of God. The new morality is a radical de parture from the traditional concepts of Biblical morality with which most Christians are familiar. It has little to do with specific standards of con duct or basic sets of rules, standing in opposition to the strict standards of morality that are commonly identi fied with Christianity. Adultery in the new morality is not necessarily wrong, neither are stealing or lying. There are times, so its advocates say, when such conduct is acceptable. Strange as this may seem, the great tragedy is that this new morality has received, and is receiving, the support of many religious leaders. Perhaps the new morality may be best considered by setting it beside what we may call the “old” morality. In the past, Christians have been taught to evaluate their actions in the light of the principles of conduct laid down in the Word of God. The Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and the qualities of character that the Epistles urge upon Christians all contribute to the Biblical standard of conduct with which we are famil iar. Although it is not difficult to cre ate situations or think of acts that are not specifically embraced in the Biblical code of morality, the Bible does contain a broad firm base that forms a challenging standard for the best of men. Undoubtedly, we do an injustice to the Word of God when we dogmatically state that it is sin ful to engage in activities that are not clearly embraced by Biblical standards. But we are certainly un
wise to turn our back on Biblical in junctions simply because some actions are not commented on in the Bible. Paul’s injunction in Galatians 5 that we walk in the Spirit rather than the flesh is an excellent example. Although it doesn’t contain all the “do’s” and “don’ts” found on many a contempor ary list, it serves quite well as a starter! If we could merely abstain from fornication and idolatry and ex ercise self-control (a fruit of the spir it) we would be living a far more com mendable life than most of our con temporaries. The standards of conduct demanded by the law were not abolished when Christ was crucified. Through Christ we are free (as Christ declares in John 8, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free in deed.”) But by this He does not mean to imply that we are free to trans gress the moral standards given to Moses on the mountain and later un dergirded by Christ in His Sermon on the Mount. Sin is falling short of the glory of God. The New Testament word for sin leaves no room for toler ance where each man can do as he sees fit. We are not talking about
Three Biota alumni gather during a recent mis sionary meeting on the Campus. Fromleft to right are Frank Dunn, in charge of Indian work for Practical Missionary Training, KenBemis, director of P.M.T., and Bil Eitzen, Alumni executive secre tary. Through the years, a number of Biola students have had the opportunity of working with P.M.T.
9
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker