Friday, 9 August 2019

LIFE IN CHRIST: A FUNDAMENTAL FOR CHRISTIAN ETHICS


INTRODUCTION

Christian ethics as a branch of theology studies morality, the guidelines expected that man should follow, in the light of Christian faith and reason. Christianity as a religion is presented as the new covenant by the New Testament. The New Testament itself is a history of the fulfillment of the promises and the hopes given to Israel in the Old Testament. With the person of Christ at the center of the new testament events, the manifestation of God’s glory and salvation plan for the humanity that have erred was obvious. The Old Testament precedes the new testament, during the period of the Old Testament, the laws and the prophecies where obvious basis for the covenant and thus was an inevitable source or reference for Israel’s moral code. In the New Testament, the covenant, remaining one and the same, took a new dimension, and this covenant was consummated in the person of Christ, thus Christ is the fulfillment of the laws and prophecies, this is obviously seen in the account of the transfiguration given by the gospels in the appearance of Moses (law) and Elijah (prophet). Jesus is a continuity of the Torah.

The above bears witness to the continuance and renewal of the Old Testament by the New Testament. However the New Testament adopted covenant as a means to describe the link between religion and morality.[1] Above all, it implies a permanent inspiration by the ideas, values and concerns of Jesus Christ. Thus, life in Christ is a fundamental for Christian ethics. A Christian moral identity is culminated in the person of Christ. Christianity is a religion of love and the fundamental ethics thought by Jesus is summed up in love; love for God and love for neighbor.

In order to avoid ambiguity of any form regarding the understanding of terms as they apply to this work, it is necessary that I make a conceptual clarification of some basic terms as they imply and are to be understood in this work.

WHAT IS CHRISTIAN ETHICS?

Morality is ultimately a response to God’s calling and making sure it is in line with God’s will. Christian ethics is an offshoot of theology that studies morality with special reference to the Christian faith. It studies in the light of faith and of reason the guidelines man must follow to attain his final goal. This implies that the ideals and norms presented are inspired by the sacred books of the Old and New Testament and is directly related to the Christian belief about God, the world and Man. Above all it connotes a permanent inspiration by the ideas, values and concerns of Jesus Christ.[2] Ethics deals with the moral standards of man’s conduct from the perspective of achieving the highest good of human life. In Christianity, the highest good of man is solely placed on the achievement (by grace) of membership to the Kingdom of God. Christian ethics therefore, is concerned with the principles that deal with the moral standard (rightness or wrongness) of the action of the Christians leading to the Kingdom of God.

In one of her lectures on the subject, Sr. Marian defines the Christian ethics as the branch of theology that studies the final ends of man created in the image of God, the beatitudes and the way of reaching it through the right conduct freely chosen with the help of God’s law and grace. In the Christian view a person is totally dependent upon God and cannot achieve goodness by means of will or intelligence but only with the help of God’s grace.[3] This implies that Christian morality is a responsibility; a deliberate response to God’s freely given love and the gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ.

WHO IS CHRIST?

Christ is a word derived from the Greek word Christos which means anointed one, and a translation of the Hebrew mashiah. This is a title added to our Lord’s name, Jesus[4] Christ; the Son of God made man for us. Jesus as Christ reflects the early Christian conviction that Jesus was the messianic figure. Christ is often used to indicate Jesus’ divinity. [5] Christ is the central character of the Gospels and the founder of the Christian religion. A fundamental authority from where Christian ethics springs forth.

LIFE IN CHRIST

Christian ethics is morality considered and pursued in the context of what God has done in Jesus Christ. The highest good is what God has made known and given us in Jesus Christ. Therefore, faith and commitment to Jesus Christ determines the norms and objectives of Christian ethics.

Life in Christ implies a life lived in accordance to the model provided by Jesus with his life and his teachings. The model provided by Christ is in His life and teachings as recorded by the Gospel; this is summed up within the moral code as the commandment of love. The commandments are a path involving a moral and spiritual journey towards perfection, at the heart of which is love. Jesus always amplifies and deepens the understanding of the particular commandments. Thus Jesus said “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Morality as taught by Jesus in the gospels rekindles the light of the commandments and aims to the kingdom of heaven as the final end of man. Christian ethics is not substantially different from the Jewish ethics. In fact, it is a continuation and fulfillment of Jewish ethics. The pre-supposition ethics of the Old Testament fulfilled itself in the New Testament. The New Testament does not stand by itself, but it is a fulfillment of the Old one and all is summed up in the person of Jesus. Thus Jesus said

“Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. In truth I tell you, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear from the law until all its purpose is achieved. Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven”. (matt. 5:17-19)

This simply implies that the old is not abolished with the coming of the new, but rather it is renewed and kindled. In Christ everything is created anew.

·            The newness of man in Christ: In the second letter to the Corinthians (5:17), St Paul says if any man be in Christ he is a new creation. Moral imperatives are resulting consequences of new life in Christ. The humanity that erred are reconcile to God through Christ, born into a new life as members of Christ’s body and sanctified by the spirit. This newness of life serves as the foundational basis for Christian morality. Humanity being created anew, strives to live this new life in righteousness, shedding off the old and putting on the new in Christ. The life of Christ and his teachings as a fundamental basis and yardstick for Christian morality is summed up in the words of St. Paul, “until Christ is formed in you” (Gal 4:19)

Morality is contained integrally in all Christian writings dating from the earliest centuries. Christianity as founded by Christ is presented as an ethical religion, directly relating ethics to certain convictions about God, man and the world. Reconciled to God through Christ, Christians are born to a new life, members of his body, sanctified by the spirit and children of God. This new life in Christ is the foundation of Christian ethics.[6]  However, life in Christ would simply imply an imitation of Christ

·         Imitation of Christ: Christ is presented as an example. Himself said he has given us an example, that we should do as he has done (John 13:15). Saint Paul repeats this admonition too that we should be imitators of Christ. This call to imitate Christ is very obvious in the commandment of love, “I give you a new commandment: love one another; you must love one another just as I have loved you” (John 13:34). In the Biblical Ethics, R.E.O. White says that the imitation of Christ is the heart of Christian ethics. The moral life of Christians is more radically measured by the person of Christ.[7] The following of Christ is not merely an outward imitation since it touches us at the very depts. Of our being.

THE FUNDAMENTALS IN CHRIST

The man who is wounded by sin is called to the beatitudes. He is in need of God’s salvation and God’s help comes to man in Christ. Jesus is the living fulfillment of the law in as much as he fulfills its authentic meaning by the total giving of himself. This may imply that prior to the coming of Christ the law was not “fulfilled”. The primary and final authority for Christian ethics is found in life, teachings, ministry and death of Jesus Christ as the revelation of God. Moral laws are revealed to man by God in Jesus who is His visible revelation. Ethics in Christianity is directly related to sets of religious convictions about God, man and the world. It is believed in Christianity that God is the moral law giver. There would be no objective moral code if God does not exist. God is the ultimate and primary custodian of morality. God as the ultimate custodian of morality made the ultimate revelation of the moral law to man through Christ the messiah. It is the duty of man to accept and practice this good way of life under the guidelines provided by Jesus. Here I turn to the roots of Christian ethics in the ministry of Jesus as made explicit in the gospels.

The locus of Jesus’ teaching concerns the kingdom of God and he exemplifies it in his own life. Jesus reflected on the traditions and the laws and interpreted them in a new and original way in terms of his own mission. Jesus expressed his teachings less by doctrinal affirmations and more by indirect means, parables and pithy sayings related to everyday experiences but designed to startle the assumptions of his audience to a new dimension. Jesus’ teaching is at the level of natural morality; an example is the famous code, the golden rule, found in the gospel of Mathew chapter 7:12 stating that we should treat others as we would like to be treated. Some of the moral teachings of Jesus may be hard or unrealistic to the common man, for example as seen in the gospel of Mathew 18:21, He taught that there is to be no limit to forgiveness, not on the grounds that it will win over the offender but because it corresponds to God’s forgiveness of us. Jesus did not promote ethic reciprocity; instead he teaches that we should do good to those who do us bad. Morality as seen in Jesus is not extreme or too judgmental, this is clear from many passages of the gospel that He thought bad people to not be nearly as bad as the ‘good’ thought them to be.[8]

The Gospels tell stories about Jesus, containing within it a representation of Jesus as a moral teacher. In his The moral vision of the New Testament, Hays recognizes that the moral implications of the Gospels cannot be limited to explicitly didactic passages. These stories form our values and moral sensibilities in more indirect and complex ways, teaching us how to see the world, what to fear, and what to hope for.[9] The basis for morality is found in some fundamental convictions about man’s calling by God and his sanctification by grace. These convictions furnish the criteria for the formation and selection of moral norms. These criteria are basic for Christian morality.[10]

Attractions to the person of Christ should be a sufficient motive for Christian morality. There should be a necessary attachment to Christ, simply because in the search for happiness, we cannot conceive of finding fulfillment in any other way.[11] The teachings of Christ are the locus within which our moral code is received in its encompassing form. The first hand Jesus’ teachings were recorded and handed down by the gospel writers. The gospel is the most direct source of Jesus’ moral teaching.[12]As taught by Jesus, Christian morality transcends cultural limitations. In other words, the teachings of Christ have no racial specification. Thus, the teaching of Christ is a foundation for a moral code of a universal character, even though within our contest, we limit it to Christianity because morality as taught by Jesus is of central interest for Christianity.

Jesus proclaimed a divine act that brought a new dimension to morality, thus inferring that the person of God gave birth to the possibility of an objective morality; devoid of any contamination or prejudice. However, within the teachings of Jesus, morality took a singular nature. The morality of Christ is characterized by precepts which claim man’s total, unconditional obedience and open up vistas towards a surpassing and even inconceivable perfection[13] and including love for God and his neighbor. Morality as taught by Jesus is culminated in his sermon on the mount which gave birth to the beatitudes (Mt 5-7). However, Jesus did not try to give a detailed list of rules and regulations. Rather, he taught guidelines which get at the basic attitudes his followers should have. The beatitudes summarize the morality prescribed by Jesus for his followers in response to both God and man; it introduces and capsulises the essence of New Testament morality.[14] These precepts of Christ expose the need for constant conversion.

FINDING ETHICS IN THE STORY OF JESUS: THE GOSPEL

The ethics of the gospel is the ethics of Christ, in forms of hyperbolical speeches to enable men clearly recognize the radical demand of God, calling men to an ever greater perfection. The invitation to a radical response to God is shown in certain themes and other teachings of Christ. The gospel is a record of Jesus’ life on earth. Although these stories were written and crafted by the evangelists to bear witness in their own time, they are not explicitly addressed to any particular situation or community. By adopting a narrative mode of presentation, the gospel clothes their message in the form of a story about the past and thus allow their message to address the whole church, wherever and whenever the church understands its destiny to be shaped by Jesus’ life and death.[15]

The ethical vision of the Gospels should be discerned by considering and understanding the shape of the story as a whole. Mathew especially shaped his Gospel in a way that shows Jesus as a teacher who brings forth the Torah in a new and authoritative way. In order to grasp the moral vision of the evangelist, we must ask how Jesus’ life and ministry are portrayed in the story and how his call to discipleship reshapes the lives of the other character.[16]

Jesus taught in parables and stories that declare the imminent bursting in of God’s kingdom, bringing grace and mercy in unexpected ways in unexpected places. His parable of the coming kingdom is taken closely with his warnings of apocalyptic judgment: he preached that the kingdom of God will bring radical restoration of God’s justice. The message of Jesus carried with it a fundamental transvaluation of values; an exaltation of the humble and critique of the mighty.[17] Jesus proclaimed an abrogation of the law. His critique was directed at those who profess allegiance to the law while ignoring its weightier demands, its fundamental thrust towards justice and mercy.[18]

However, ethics in the life of Jesus is seen in many occasions, in his responses and teachings especially in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): the ethics of Beatitude, the discussion on fulfilling the Law and the Prophets, the teaching on being Salt and Light, the instruction on avoiding religious hypocrisy, the requirement to forgive others, the imperative on unjust censorious judgment, and the ethics of Golden Rule. But I would like to consider only the beatitudes.

THE BEATITUDES

At the very outset of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is a list of nine blessings for right behaviour known as “the Beatitudes”.  They contain qualities or characters which Jesus’ disciples should possess in order to be blessed with an eternal life in heaven. These qualities represent the fundamental Christian virtues of humility, simplicity, an active desire for righteousness, purity of heart, mercy, peacemaking and willingness to suffer persecution for righteousness.

These beatitudes speak to basic attitudes and dispositions of life. They are not necessarily in lock step with the commandments, but nevertheless they are very much in harmony with them. The Pope, John Paul II in his Splendour of Truth sees the beatitudes as a veritable self-portrait of Christ himself.

ETHICS IN THE LIGHT OF MORAL DEMANDS

Here, Christian morality is thus revealed as the complete fulfillment of the law. Genuine moral autonomy implies that human freedom and God’s law meet and intersect with each other. Ethics in the light of moral demands is seen in Jesus’ response to the rich young man in the Gospel, concisely expressing the very heart and spirit of Christian morality and bringing out the essential elements of the Old and New Testament revelation with regards to moral action. This is firstly seen in the subordination of human action to God who alone is good, secondly, since the commandment of God which Jesus confirms and take up into the new law of love are the path of life, it is seen in the close relationship between the moral good of human action and the eternal life, and thirdly, the way of perfection which consists in a readiness to leave everything in order to follow Jesus in imitation of his own gift of self to God and to all mankind in the service of love.

The rich young man was taken aback by the response Jesus gave. This is because this truth transcends human aspiration and abilities; even the apostles were astounded that they asked: “who then can be saved?” but Jesus answered that with men it is impossible but with God all things are possible. (Mt. 19:26)

THE “JESUS PRINCIPLE” IN MORALITY

Jesus summarized the ten commandments to one commandment, the commandment of love, which is behind every moral teachings of Christianity and henceforth remains the outstanding characteristics of Christian morality, this summary of Jesus is two dimensional with the first part (you shall love your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind) regarding an attitude to God and the second part (you shall love your neighbor as yourself) an attitude to neighbor. These two dimensions of love works with each other, thus John said in his first letter “anyone who says I love God and hate his neighbour is a liar” (1John 4:20). What Jesus proposed is the commandment of love. Therefore, love in Christianity is taken as the highest moral value; the expression of love makes man morally good.

Many people identify themselves as Christians, accepting Jesus and trying to follow the moral prescriptions He demonstrated with his own life. In the area of morality they practice what is known as the “Jesus Principle”. The “Jesus principle” is to make decisions to act based on genuine love for people. This love is unaffected by selfish gain or false interests. It is concern, help, sympathy and genuine interest in the real welfare of others. This principle is embodied in the expression “love of neighbor”, this kind of love is the one ingredient that most reflects the ideal of what it means to be human. It is the expression of human behavior that enables people, both those expressing love and those receiving it, to be what they were created to be. It is what makes them most like God.[19]

Both in the gospels and in the writings of Paul and Peter, the rule of love is presented as the great commandment that is above all others. The Christian virtues are bound together in perfect harmony by love. The entire law is summed up by the law of love. The commandment of love is most perfectly realized in Jesus’ own mission.

CONCLUSION

Ethics as taught by Jesus (the commandment of love) hits at the core of man’s purpose as created in the image and likeness of God: to know God, to love God, to serve God and to be with God in this world and in the next. Love is the greatest commandment. Life in Christ is a life of love and Christianity is a religion of love. We are bound to love God and to love our neighbor as much as ourselves. Whatever we do to the least of our brothers, we do unto God. When we love as taught by Jesus, then we are not far from the final end which is happiness; the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God as the end of man finds its principal source in the grace of Christ, who is both son of God, perfect image of the Father and Son of Mary, truly human like us. However this grace requires man’s collaboration above all through faith, hope and charity.[20]

Life in Christ as a fundamental of Christian ethics simply implies that the primary and the basic precepts of ethics are ultimately grounded in Jesus Christ, who is always the same, yesterday and today and forever. Jesus’ way of acting and his words, his deeds and his precepts, constitute the moral rule of Christian life.





BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.      R. J. WILKINS, Understanding Christian morality, C. Brown Company Publishers, Iowa, 1981

2.      R. HAYS, The moral vision of the New Testament: A contemporary introduction to New Testament ethics, Continuum, New York, 1997

3.      M. F. PENNOCK, This is our faith: A catholic Catechism for Adults, Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, 1989

4.      K.H. PESCHKE, Christian ethics: General Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II, volume 1, Theological publications, India, 1993

5.      M. RICHARDS, The Church 2001, St Paul Publications, London, 1982

6.      P. SINGER, A companion to ethics, oxford, Blackwell, 1991

7.      Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved

8.      D.  ATTWATER (Ed), A Catholic Dictionary, Tan books and publishers, New York, 1997

9.      O. ESPIN and J. NICKOLOFF, An Introductory Dictionary of theology and religious studies, Liturgical press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 2007



[1] K.H. PESCHKE, Christian ethics: General Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II, volume 1, Theological publications, India, 1993, 29.
[2] Ibidem, 3.
[3] Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
[4] D.  ATTWATER (Ed), A Catholic Dictionary, Tan books and publishers, New York, 1997, 94.
[5]  O. ESPIN and J. NICKOLOFF, An Introductory Dictionary of theology and religious studies, Liturgical press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 2007,  231.
[6] K.H. PESCHKE, Christian ethics: General Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II, volume 1, Theological publications, India, 1993, 39
[7] Ibidem, 59
[8] P. SINGER, A companion to ethics, oxford, Blackwell, 1991, 4.
[9] R. HAYS, The moral vision of the New Testament: A contemporary introduction to New Testament ethics, Continuum, New York, 1997, 73.
[10] K.H. PESCHKE, Christian ethics: General Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II, volume 1, Theological publications, India, 1993, 39.
[11] M. RICHARDS, The Church 2001, St Paul Publications, London, 1982, 283.
[12] K.H. PESCHKE, Christian ethics: General Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II, volume 1, Theological publications, India, 1993, 30
[13] Ibidem, 34
[14]  M. F. PENNOCK, This is our faith: A catholic Catechism for Adults, Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, 1989, 109.
[15] R. HAYS, The moral vision of the New Testament: A contemporary introduction to New Testament ethics, Continuum, New York, 1997, 73.
[16] Ibidem, 74
[17] Ibidem, 163
[18] Ibidem, 164
[19] R. J. WILKINS, Understanding Christian morality, C. Brown Company Publishers, Iowa, 1981, 196.
[20]  Lecture on chrsitian ethics by Sr. Marian Anyanwu on the 6th of November 2018

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