Tag Archives: Morality

Christian Living, eBook, Religion and Spirituality

Free eBook: The Pursuit of the Holy

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The Pursuit of the Holy

It’s the most extravagant—and audacious—invitation ever sent: Or in the words of Jesus: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” But can that really happen? Is holiness an achievable goal for sinful human beings? That’s the ultimate focus of this thoughtful, thorough, and engaging study of what it means to be holy. Drawing on the Bible and Christian thinkers through the ages, Simon Ponsonby affirms that because of God’s gracious love and desire for communion with us, he has done what is possible for us not only to pursue holiness, but to achieve it. While we can never count on attaining moral perfection in this life, we need not settle for less than increasing victory over sin. And as more and more Christians choose to partner with God in the ongoing process of sanctification, we set the stage for revival.

Simon Ponsonby

The pastor of theology at St. Aldates Church in Oxford, England, Simon Ponsonby is author of More, God Inside Out, and And the Lamb Wins. He holds two degrees in theology from Trinity College Bristol. A passionate evangelist and thoughtful theologian, Simon is married to Tiffany and they have two children.

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Quote, Religion and Spirituality

Ravi Zacharias – Unplugging Truth in a Morally Suicidal Culture

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The pursuit of the Hebrews was idealized and symbolized by light. “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” “The people that sat in darkness have seen a great light.” “This is the light that lighteth every man that comes into the world.” The pursuit of the Greeks was symbolized by knowledge. That’s why the Biblical writers say, “These things are written that you might know that you have eternal life.” For the Hebrews, it was light. For the Greeks, it was knowledge. For the Romans, it was glory. For the Romans, it was glory, the glory of the city of Rome, the glory of the city that wasn’t built in a day. And here we have it. The apostle Paul, a Hebrew by birth, a citizen of Rome, living in a Greek city, had to give to them the ideal of his ethic. And he says this: “God, who caused the light to shine out of darkness, has caused His light to shine in our hearts, to give to us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus our Lord.” For the apostle Paul, the ultimate ethic was not an abstraction, not symbolized merely by light, not merely by knowledge, not merely by glory, but in the very face of our Lord. “God who caused the light to shine out of darkness has caused his light to shine in our hearts to give to us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Source: “Unplugging Truth in a Morally Suicidal Culture”

Apologia

Sabbatum Excerpt: Ravi Zacharias on Morality

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“Next, Christianity says morality is not culturally based, but instead it grows out of the very character of God. Otherwise, you end up with the dilemma from philosophy of old: is the moral law over and above you, or is a moral law subject to you? If it is over and above you, where do you find its root, then? The only only way to explain that is to find it in an eternal, moral, omnipotent, infinite God who is inseparable from his character. Thus, Christianity explains morality in a coherent manner.”[1]

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[1] Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), 215. Print.

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Ethics, Terminology

Biblical Nuggets: Supererogation

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Supererogation: Moral *actions that go beyond what is required by duty, especially those actions that are commendable and indicative of superior *character. Some Protestants have been critical of the idea of supererogation on the grounds that humans never fully realize their moral duties, much less exceed them. But there is a clear sense in which certain actions—for example, deciding to donate a kidney to a stranger—go beyond what is required by duty and seem to express a high degree of moral character. See also ethics; morality.[1]

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[1] Evans, C. Stephen (2010-04-28). Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Kindle Locations 1688-1691). Intervarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

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Sabbatum Excerpt: Peter Kreeft on Christian Morality

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“When the morally good atheist practices Christian morality better than many Christians do, he is not succeeding in being good without God. It’s God’s grace that’s helping him be good, even though he doesn’t recognize it or give God the thanks that is due to him for it. You can no more be good without God than you can see without light. But you needn’t notice the light when you see objects.

God is the source of all goodness. Moral goodness is like light and God is like the sun. You can see sunlight without seeing the sun, just as an atheist can know moral goodness without knowing God; but there can’t really be any sunlight without there being a sun, and there can’t really be any moral goodness, even in the life of an atheist, without there really being a good God who is the sole source and first cause of all goodness.”[1]

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1. Peter Kreeft, Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions (Cincinnati: OH, Servant Books, 1990), 49. Print.