The Voice of Zion August 2024 - Doctrine and Life Article --
This writing is an excerpt from Miten minä uskon (How I Believe), edited by Ari-Pekka Palola and published by SRK in 2020. The writings are not attributed to a certain author since they are compiled from a variety of texts originally published in Christ is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever: Writings on the Basics of Faith and Doctrine (LLC 2022), which was translated from the original Finnish version published in 2018.
Installment 17 of 19.
In everyday life, we constantly make choices. We don’t often need to think deeply about the reason for making those choices. Sometimes, however, we encounter questions that make us stop and consider how to act correctly in this situation and what to base a decision on.
Morals and Ethics
Morals mean distinguishing between good and evil, right and wrong and actions based on these, which are reflected in an individual’s decisions and choices. Ethics, on the other hand, is the examination of morality in which one considers, for example, a good life and how to achieve it.
Morality includes the understanding of what is good and worth striving for. Things considered good are called values. Examples of values are happiness, justice, and equality. They are goals and aspirations toward which one strives. Some things are pursued for their own sake, while others are used as a means to achieve a value. For example, money can be a means to pursue happiness.
In addition to values, morality includes rules or norms. They help to implement values by providing guidelines for different situations. Norms can be commands, recommendations, or prohibitions. Customs represent unwritten norms, while laws and regulations represent written norms.
The Basis of Doing the Right Thing
Morals are a part of humanity. Striving for good and doing the right thing are inseparable aspects of being human. We expect good from others and assume that we are treated fairly and that we will be spoken to truthfully.
The origin of morals is in God’s actions. Humans have received as a birth gift in God’s creation work the awareness of right and wrong. God speaks to us in our conscience and demands that we do what we know is right while forbidding us from doing what we know is wrong. As a result, humans naturally have the need and desire to act with moral correctness (Rom. 2:14–16).
Doing what is right is broader than following laws and rules. Something can be considered wrong even if it is not prohibited by law.
Distinguishing right from wrong is not always simple. Sometimes one must choose between bad options and choose the lesser evil.
The Conscience
The conscience is a person’s inner voice, an inner ability to determine right and wrong. Its functioning is evident when a person regrets his or her action or refrains from doing something because he or she considers it wrong.
The foundation of the conscience is that God has written His law in the hearts of all people. However, after the fall into sin, the conscience does not provide completely certain knowledge of God’s will. A properly functioning conscience is nurtured by God’s Word and enlightened by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 2:15; 9:1; 14:1).
The conscience is functioning when it warns of wrong or unjust actions. The human mind often tries in different ways to silence the voice of the conscience, but this is a bad path. If a person continuously acts against his or her conscience, its voice weakens and is eventually extinguished.
Ethical Teachings of the Bible and Luther
The Ten Commandments of the Old Testament encapsulate the content of God’s natural law. They embody love and doing good toward one’s neighbor. Jesus taught that what is morally significant is not just the act itself. Proper observance of the law also requires that the act includes the right attitude and motive.
The Bible’s ethical teaching is summarized in the Great Commandment, the dual command of love that Jesus taught: “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind…Love thy neighbour as thyself.” This instruction expresses the Christian view of a person’s place in the world. A person always acts before the face of God and is accountable to God for his or her actions. The person cannot escape or deny his or her moral responsibility (Matt. 22:37–40).
According to Lutheran understanding, Christ’s atonement work changes the significance of morality in the life of one who has been helped into faith. A Christian is no longer a slave of sin but rather free of all demands placed upon him or her. This freedom is the basis of Lutheran ethics. Having received love as a gift, the Christian treats his or her neighbors well as a fruit of faith. However, becoming a believer does not make a person sinless. His or her life is a constant battle between the old and new self (Eph. 4:17–24).
Morals and Secularization
The ever-quickening spread of secularization and the crumbling of biblical authority have been evident in recent decades in both church life and in how society functions. Increasingly, the basic handbook of Christianity is considered bound to time and culture. Nowadays the principle of the Reformation by which the Bible is the highest authority of Christian faith has been replaced by equality and love. It has been suggested that questions related to marriage and female priesthood, for example, be resolved from this standpoint.
As Christians we think that faith in God keeps our consciences in the right direction. The fallen human must continuously learn to know the will of God. Faith also gives strength to live according to the guidance of the conscience enlightened by God’s Word.
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