Does Bible Morality Make Sense?
An article by this title was published in July/August, 2003 issue of “Does God Exist,” and was written by John Clayton. I am condensing and editing the article but the thoughts are from him and very worthwhile.
“For the time will come when men will not endure logical teaching, but will heap to themselves professors because they have itching ears” (2 Tim. 4:3). “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man (or woman) of God may be perfect, completely furnished into every good thing” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
“These two passages of Scripture provide an incredible challenge to people living in the twenty-first century. We live in a time when the media, some preachers, and popularizers of science are telling us that the old biblical absolutes simply do not apply in today’s world.”
He continued that “one of the causes of the current moral climate of America, in this writer’s view, is the failure of the Christian community to make convincing arguments for the validity of the biblical system. There is a need to speak frankly about moral choices, how they are to be made according to the Bible, and what the consequences are when these standards are not followed. We would like to attempt to do that in this article.”
His first illustration of the moral decline in our society is the prevalent attitude toward sexual purity. He said, “Sex is not a spectator nor recreational sport.” The Bible teaches that God designed sex to be part of the marital relationship (Gen. 2:24; 1 Cor. 6: 15-17). Detractors say that the the Bible is far too restrictive. “When your hormones are working overtime, waiting until you are ready for marriage financially and emotionally is not reasonable to many people. In this view, sex is something to enjoy by any method you wish to use. How you engage in sexual activity, with whom, and how often is your own business.” He then said the he wanted to make three points in defense of the Biblical teaching.
First, “recreational sex is a naïve view that fails to bring the total promise of sexual pleasure.” This attitude perverts the true purpose and enjoyment of the sexual relationship. God’s plan brings oneness between a husband and wife and speaks of commitment to one another in bringing about true happiness.
Second, “recreational sex by its nature is medically dangerous.” Those who choose to be sexually promiscuous automatically increase their probability of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. “Those who study venereal diseases tell us that when you have sex with someone, you essentially have sex with everyone that person has had sex with.” There is no such thing as illicit “safe sex.”
Third, “violation of biblical moral standards always brings negative results.” The facts show that any alternative life style, to the Bible, are detrimental. “People who live together before marriage do
not have a lower divorce rate than those who do not—in fact, the divorce rate is significantly higher. (There are many studies to support this—see ‘The Myth of Safe Sex’ by Robert Noble, Reader’s Digest, Sept., 1991, page 24,25; ‘Really Good Sex’ by William Frey, Christianity Today,’ Aug. 19, 1991, page 12).” In these studies, emotional wellness and happiness in marriage are also consistently higher for those who follow the Biblical standard.
He said that “altruistic (unselfish) values are impossible without God.” The Bible standards are solid, clear and workable. “If a follower of Christ needs to know whether something is right or wrong, he can go to the Bible and find out,” but what standard is used by a person who rejects the Bible? “It may be the person’s feelings, the values of the peer group, the opinion of a particular philosopher or psychologist, the latest law, or the values of family or friends—but it is going to be a current human’s view. No human has the ability to do this in a perfect way. Yesterday’s expert is today’s idiot and charlatans exist in such enormous numbers that a person can never be sure what the real reasons are behind the advice we have been given.” The Christian, however, has a standard and a motivation to follow that standard. Our faith in God motivates us to want to follow His word. The consequences of the alternative attitude may be read in Romans 1:19-25.
“For the time will come when men will not endure logical teaching, but will heap to themselves professors because they have itching ears” (2 Tim. 4:3). “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for correction, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man (or woman) of God may be perfect, completely furnished into every good thing” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
“These two passages of Scripture provide an incredible challenge to people living in the twenty-first century. We live in a time when the media, some preachers, and popularizers of science are telling us that the old biblical absolutes simply do not apply in today’s world.”
He continued that “one of the causes of the current moral climate of America, in this writer’s view, is the failure of the Christian community to make convincing arguments for the validity of the biblical system. There is a need to speak frankly about moral choices, how they are to be made according to the Bible, and what the consequences are when these standards are not followed. We would like to attempt to do that in this article.”
His first illustration of the moral decline in our society is the prevalent attitude toward sexual purity. He said, “Sex is not a spectator nor recreational sport.” The Bible teaches that God designed sex to be part of the marital relationship (Gen. 2:24; 1 Cor. 6: 15-17). Detractors say that the the Bible is far too restrictive. “When your hormones are working overtime, waiting until you are ready for marriage financially and emotionally is not reasonable to many people. In this view, sex is something to enjoy by any method you wish to use. How you engage in sexual activity, with whom, and how often is your own business.” He then said the he wanted to make three points in defense of the Biblical teaching.
First, “recreational sex is a naïve view that fails to bring the total promise of sexual pleasure.” This attitude perverts the true purpose and enjoyment of the sexual relationship. God’s plan brings oneness between a husband and wife and speaks of commitment to one another in bringing about true happiness.
Second, “recreational sex by its nature is medically dangerous.” Those who choose to be sexually promiscuous automatically increase their probability of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. “Those who study venereal diseases tell us that when you have sex with someone, you essentially have sex with everyone that person has had sex with.” There is no such thing as illicit “safe sex.”
Third, “violation of biblical moral standards always brings negative results.” The facts show that any alternative life style, to the Bible, are detrimental. “People who live together before marriage do
not have a lower divorce rate than those who do not—in fact, the divorce rate is significantly higher. (There are many studies to support this—see ‘The Myth of Safe Sex’ by Robert Noble, Reader’s Digest, Sept., 1991, page 24,25; ‘Really Good Sex’ by William Frey, Christianity Today,’ Aug. 19, 1991, page 12).” In these studies, emotional wellness and happiness in marriage are also consistently higher for those who follow the Biblical standard.
He said that “altruistic (unselfish) values are impossible without God.” The Bible standards are solid, clear and workable. “If a follower of Christ needs to know whether something is right or wrong, he can go to the Bible and find out,” but what standard is used by a person who rejects the Bible? “It may be the person’s feelings, the values of the peer group, the opinion of a particular philosopher or psychologist, the latest law, or the values of family or friends—but it is going to be a current human’s view. No human has the ability to do this in a perfect way. Yesterday’s expert is today’s idiot and charlatans exist in such enormous numbers that a person can never be sure what the real reasons are behind the advice we have been given.” The Christian, however, has a standard and a motivation to follow that standard. Our faith in God motivates us to want to follow His word. The consequences of the alternative attitude may be read in Romans 1:19-25.