9-3-2023 “Christian” Ethics Romans 12:9-21 Pentecost XIV

Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor

I think the pendulum may now be swinging the other way. For decades, we have been talking about how mainline Christian churches are in a state of decline. Many prognosticators predicted that denominations would soon be dead — relics of the past. However, the pendulum may be changing course.

The crazier the world gets, the more that people look for meaning. They want to know that life is more than work, bills, politics, the economy, and divisive ideologies. They want to find meaning beyond themselves and their close-knit circles. They want meaning that is real, substantive, and eternal. People are starting to say, “Maybe there is a God after all. Maybe I should go to church and see if I can figure this out and discern my place and purpose.”

I have long told my philosophy students that all religions have two things in common: first, they try to explain who or what God is — or “gods” (plural) if it is a polytheistic religion; and second, they tell their followers how they should live their lives — they provide them with an ethical framework, a list of all the do’s and don’ts, a moral compass of sorts. In terms of the second point, God is filling a vacuum. Humankind has shown that we are quite short on morality, so maybe God is saying to the church, “There is a way to live life to the fullest. People want that. Show them.” That’s the message: “There is a way to live life to the fullest. People want that. Show them.”

But what is that ethic? What is the rule for us (Christians) to follow? How is it different from what the world says, or is it? In other words, what makes Christian ethics “Christian”?

Before we delve into that, we have to realize that Christian ethics and secular ethics cross over at multiple points. The great ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, for example, claimed that ethics was found in virtue and cultivating those virtues by finding the balance between extremes. He called those extremes vices and the balance between them the Golden Mean, meaning a virtuous sort of average. Christians believe in virtue. We believe that we are to live lives that are holy and just and align with the examples Jesus puts forth in the Gospels. Like Aristotle, Christians believe that this does not happen overnight. We cultivate these virtues through practice and by emulating those whom we feel are paragons of the faith.

And then there is the eighteenth-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant’s teachings are quite similar to what Jesus taught. Kant is a difficult read. People typically only read Kant if they have to: i.e., they were assigned to do so by their mean professor. Kant said, “I should never act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal law.”[1] See what I mean! When you break it all down (and I am oversimplifying this highly influential thinker a bit here), Kant claims that before you act, you should ask yourself if this is something you want everyone to do. If the answer is yes, do it. If the answer is no, then don’t do it. There are no exceptions. Sounds a lot like the Golden Rule, doesn’t it? Treat others the way you want to be treated. This is a fundamental aspect of “Christian” ethics.

And then there is Utilitarianism, which found its fullest expression in the works of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Utilitarianism maintains that we should seek the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It sounds good on the surface, but Utilitarianism has its flaws. Among them is the critique that if we do the greatest good for the greatest number of people, then we don’t do the greatest good (and we may actually do something horrific) for those not in the numerical majority. How can any theory be considered ethical if it hurts anyone? I am simplifying Utilitarianism here, but you get the gist.

So back to our original question: What makes Christian ethics “Christian”? Many things. We can turn to the Gospel of Matthew, to the story of the Great Judgment in chapter twenty-five when Jesus talks about the separation of the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be rewarded because they did specific things: they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and imprisoned. The goats will face eternal punishment because they did not do these things. We can also look at Jesus’ own life, how he ministered to the sick, the demon-possessed, tax collectors, prostitutes, and others who were considered social outcasts. Or we could look at today’s passage from Romans.

Paul instructs his readers what it means to be a Christian in Romans 12. He tells them, quite clearly:

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, and serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Some of these dictums are self-explanatory and relate to what we consider both good Christian ethics as well as secular moral norms: love others, be honorable, extend hospitality to strangers, and live in harmony with one another. But some of them, if we are honest, are more of a challenge: be patient in suffering, bless those who persecute you, and do not claim to be wiser than you are.

These are “Christian” ethics because they are countercultural. Has anyone (outside of the church) told you to be patient when you suffer? How many people do you know bless those who persecute them? Do not claim to be wiser than you are. Sounds like something my father used to say. “If you were as smart as you think you are you’d be a millionaire.” (That’s an actual quote from the old man.) These commands are also considered “Christian” ethics because they require the practitioner to do the servant role. Our culture does not teach us to serve. It teaches us to make the most money possible so that we can live the good life and others can serve us. Our culture teaches us to be Kardashians.

The Christian way is different. It is modeled after the one who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:41-45). It is modeled after one who rules from a cross, not a regal palace. This is the one we are to emulate. This is the one whose teachings we are to embody.

It is true, as Allen Verhey writes, that “Biblical ethics is unyieldingly diverse. The Bible contains many books and more traditions, each addressed in a specific cultural and social context to a particular community facing concrete questions of moral conduct and character.”[2] We cannot and should not assume that because we come to church and read the Bible we know all there is to know about Christian conduct. If, however, our actions align with the ongoing revelation of God as found in Scripture but also in the community, then we can live a life of faith confident that the Living Christ will guide us into all truth leading us to do and be what God desires. Amen.

[1] Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, James W. Ellington, ed., 3d ed. (Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1993, originally published in 1785), 14.

[2] Allen D. Verhey, “Ethics” taken from The Oxford Companion to the Bible (New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), 202.