David Clyde Jones’ Biblical Christian Ethics
Biblical Christian Ethics mines the Scriptures in order to build a foundation of ethical behavior. Instead of devoting most of his time to specific ethical dilemmas, Jones builds a foundation for making ethical decisions and then discusses the difficult moral issues within the framework of biblical behavior.
Jones’ book can be divided into three broad sections.
- First, he spends several chapters developing the biblical teaching about God’s intention for the flourishing of humanity. He writes of the goal of the Christian life (the glory of God), the motivation that drives Christians toward this goal (love), and the places where Christians find direction toward that goal (Scriptures, Jesus, the Holy Spirit).
- Next, Jones turns to the biblical emphasis on love. He demonstrates how love forms the foundation of justice and mercy. He devotes considerable attention to the universal norms of love, especially how the Law of Moses reveals God’s standard of love to us.
- The last three chapters of the book begin to delve into the practicalities of the Christian life. Jones shows how one navigates through difficult ethical decisions, when two standards appear to conflict with each other. The final chapters deal with the family life, particularly the marriage covenant and the sin of divorce.
Jones begins by discussing the goal, motivation and direction of the Christian life because he believes that “for conduct to be morally praiseworthy it must be good in all three respects, not least because end, motive, and means are not finally separable” (11). In other words, truly ethical behavior must be directed towards a worthy end, enacted from pure motivations, and pursued in a way that conforms to God’s moral standard. For Christians, the purpose of life is God’s glory; the motive is love for God; and the directing principle is God’s will revealed in Jesus and the Bible (16).
Jones believes the goal of the Christian life is best summed up in the words of the Westminster Confession: “to glorify God and enjoy him” (17). Though he appreciates the impulse in John Piper’s tweaking of the confession to “glorify God by enjoying him,” Jones writes that “the saints’ glorification of God cannot be reduced to their taking pleasure in him. God is glorified by the holiness as well as the happiness of the redeemed” (34). The practical application of the Christian view of life’s purpose is that people are not required to pledge allegiance to an impersonal law, but to the Giver of the Law (36).
Moral behavior must be accompanied by moral motives. Love for God (that is then expressed in love for neighbor) must stand at the center of morality (37). Jones sees a biblical precedent for affirming “self-love” as long as it is clearly defined in such a way that the selfish connotations are excised (56-57).
How are Christians to live the Christian life, which is best defined as “obedient love” (59)? Jones points to the Scriptures, which contain directives for all of life under the forms of prohibition (62-63), permission (63-64), mandate (64-65), counsel (65-66), precedent (67), and example (67-68). Outside of Scriptures, Christians have the example of Christ (68-70), the internal witness of the Holy Spirit (70-72), and the conscience (72-76).
The middle section focuses on love as the controlling motivation for Christian ethics. Jones demonstrates how love forms the basis for justice, mercy and faithfulness (77-95). The love expressed in these practices is made effective by the “cardinal personal virtues” such as discernment, courage, self-discipline and humility (95-101). The universal norms of human conduct (moral law) inform our vision of ethical behavior (103). Jones provides a helpful discussion of how Christians have distinguished between the different aspects of the Law (103-115) and issues a solemn warning against the varieties of legalism (122-124)
In the practical chapters at the end of Biblical Christian Ethics, Jones lays out the different options for resolving moral conflicts (127-144) and then offers practical advice on what to do in tough situations (144-151). Before tackling the controversial issue of divorce and remarriage, Jones helpfully lays out the biblical understanding of the family, namely its structure (155-158), its covenantal nature (158-165) and its purpose (166-175). After providing the biblical context, Jones lays out the ethical implications of divorce and remarriage (Chapter 9), representing the differing viewpoints on divorce with clarity and fairness.
Tomorrow, I’ll be back with some evaluative remarks regarding Jones’ Biblical Christian Ethics
