Ministerial Ethics

A Guide For Spirit-Filled Leaders

T. Burton Pierce

• Publisher: Logion Press
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781607311720
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

Helps ministers deal with ethical decisions and dilemmas. Answers questions concering ethics in three featured parts: The basis for Christian Ethics, Scipture, Ethics and Church Doctrine, and Ethics in Practical Ministry.

Part 1

The Basis for Christian Ethics—Scripture

Chapter 1

The New Morality of Christ: Ethics Defined

FLESH, SPIRIT, AND POPULAR THEOLOGY

Though taught by the apostle Paul, the concept of flesh (the sinful nature) versus Spirit—and the Spirit’s ultimate triumph—has not been espoused in either the seminaries or the pulpits of most evangelical churches. Neither is the concept of an internal spiritual struggle found any longer among Holiness groups. In most charismatic churches the tendency is to believe a personal devil or demon is the cause of the foibles and failures of the child of God. Apparently the Church needs only to point in any direction other than inward to identify the source of spiritual shortcomings.

It is time for Christians, especially ministers, to accept and promote personal responsibility for high ethical standards rather than making human failure into a spiritual whipping boy. Being an overcomer is not a matter of gritting one’s teeth in the face of temptation and holding on to integrity by sheer willpower. As we walk in faith in this sin-darkened world, God provides for victorious living; appropriating His resources becomes a fulfilling experience, affording peace of mind and heart.

NEW BIRTH, NEW NATURE

Before experiencing salvation, everyone is both dead and alive: spiritually dead in sin but physically alive to sin. Without being fully aware of the jeopardy they face, people are potentially doomed, threatened daily by the possibility of eternal damnation. They may have little or no interest in matters of the Spirit or in enjoying the transformed life of a child of God.

Despite being without God, they may hold to a high code of conduct and personal integrity, rivaling that of some professing Christians. Philip E. Hughes reflects on this paradox:

That ethical standards are seriously regarded by the secular authorities as well as by the Christian church is not questioned. The presence of police forces and courts of law throughout the world testifies to concern for what is socially fair and equitable. . . .

It would, however, be a mistake to conclude that Christian and secular ethics must be virtually identical simply because both have a concern for decency and order and profess antipathy to injustice.¹

At their virtuous best, secular ethics are the product of each individual’s upbringing, what we may refer to as “generation ethics.” Thus evolves a form of morality that springs from the unregenerate conscience. Each individual holds to a personal set of values profoundly affected by the contemporary moral climate. As a result, the ethical standards of our society spiral downward.

What is the solution? The greatest love story of all time, drawn from the Scriptures. The more persistently people have rejected God, the more persistently His love has pursued them. God “so loved” that He sent His holy, spotless Son; “Salvation is found in no one else” (Acts 4:12).

Christ took the occasion of welcoming a despised tax collector into the Kingdom to clearly state His mission: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). At Calvary He paid to provide the divine energy for the plan of redemption, which had been in place since “the creation of the world” (Rev. 13:8; cf. 1 Peter 1:20).

In an interview with a righteous religious leader and teacher of Israel, Nicodemus, Jesus described the dynamic change necessary for even him, the most ethical of men: the new birth. This radical moral transformation begins with humble repentance, a permanent turning away from the old life to the new. The Holy Spirit monitors the process whereby the Father forgives and Christ redeems, rescuing the soul from the evil one. Thus a Christian stands, a completely justified son or daughter, before a God who maintains the highest standard of ethical excellence. Second Corinthians 5:17 neatly sums up the new status: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

With this newness of life comes a newfound ability to live with integrity and morality—befitting a child of God. The new birth not only brings new life but also renders one dead to sin, without any conscious act on one’s part. Romans 6:11–12 explains it particularly well: “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”

Although redeemed believers are dead to sin, their wills are never violated. Therefore, they can and must choose to remain “dead,” unresponsive to the natural urges to revert to their old ways, old habits, old patterns of ethics. On the other hand, they must respond to motivation to pursue the new and higher lifestyle. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3:1–2).

Consistently taking the high road, honoring God, is not a simple matter; the negative influences in one’s upbringing and the corrupt thought patterns of the old life must continually be dealt with. As David Read notes: “[T]he ‘old man’ is always waiting in the wings.” ² But the greatest incentive for ethical wholeness in the life of new converts is their newfound love for the Lord.

Furthermore, the Spirit-quickened conscience gives guidance over uncertain paths. Ephesians 2:1 (NKJV) points out that we are no longer “dead in trespasses and sins”; by God’s grace we have been “made alive.” And more than that, restoration work has begun in us—restoration of the image of God. “The conscience is a line connecting man to his Creator: it is one aspect of the image of God in which man was created. It demarcates man from the rest of the animal creation as essentially a moral being who is answerable for his actions—answerable primarily and ultimately to God—and whose behavior should reflect the holiness and lovingkindness of his Creator.” ³

Since receiving a quickened conscience, the child of God is ready for a new set of values, which grow out of the moral climate of the local church as well as that of the Church universal. Hopefully the ethical norms of the Church will reflect the work of the Spirit and not the debilitating influence of the world. So getting the new Christian into a study of the Scriptures is imperative for establishing sound ethical norms. Key passages are the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Pauline epistles, the latter particularly for their practical flavor.

RESTITUTION

Turning from the theoretical to the practical aspects of the new birth experience, the blessing of restitution should never be overlooked. While restitution is not a scriptural requirement for salvation, it becomes an important building block in the character and ethical strength of the Christian who responds to the urging of the Holy Spirit. For example, the Law required that damaged or lost goods or livestock be restored: “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep” (Exod. 22:1). If a man committed a violation related to holy things, “he must make restitution for what he . . . failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest, . . . and he will be forgiven” (Lev. 5:16).

The concept of restitution, doing more than expected, is certainly implied in the “second mile” teaching in the Sermon on the Mount: “‘If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you’” (Matt. 5:40–42). Here the basic principles of steadfast love, justice, and righteousness far exceed the requirements of the Law.

By accepting the hospitality of a notorious tax collector, Zaccheus, Jesus inspired him to make things right with the people. Upon seeing Zaccheus’s generous response, Jesus saw proof that he had accepted salvation and so announced it (Luke 19:9). The act of restitution reinforces one’s ethical posture still today.

In the late 1920s my father, who in a few years would be called into ministry, was converted. He had just completed four years in the Navy and was living the usual carefree, sinful life of a young man with little thought of character development. However, when he found the Lord, he was transformed. The Holy Spirit whispered and brought his conscience to life. He responded by turning a set of tools he had stolen from an unsuspecting elderly friend, confessing his misdeed. His friend, who was not a Christian, wept with him as they reveled in the grace of God. The return of the tools was evidence that the power of the Spirit had taken my dad to a new ethical plane.

The same precepts apply from generation to generation. After a number of false starts, I was genuinely converted as a teenager. Since early childhood I had been trained to be truthful, but I couldn’t be consistently straightforward until the Lord saved me. Even as a new Christian I had my moments of weakness in this area. Working at a summer job at an Army depot, I had a minor accident that damaged a piece of equipment on the truck I was driving. Afraid of losing my job, I did not report the accident and for years afterward rationalized that had I done so I would have been cleared of any liability. My rationalization satisfied my heart that I had not committed an immoral act, but the Holy Spirit continued to remind me that I had acted unethically and needed to make restitution for His sake as well as my own. I found a sweet release the day I finally sent off a sizable check to the Army Engineers’ conscience fund.

THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE

Unfortunately, the person who remains responsive to the promptings of the Spirit in ethical matters is usually thought of as frustrated, unhappy, and guilt-ridden. This assumption is reinforced by a social climate that emphasizes a pleasure-packed life in the fast lane. But not all pleasure produces joy; neither does joy always lead to lasting happiness. However, for the Christian, wholesome pleasure brings joy, and the joyful life produces happiness and fulfillment. The question then becomes, Are there both good pleasures and bad pleasures, and if so, how does one determine the nature of each?

Sidney Zink in The Concepts of Ethics approaches the question based on his determination that pleasure is a feeling or an experience that includes good, “the good of feeling or experience. The most obvious evidence that we do think pleasure a good thing is that we reward persons by giving them pleasure (and punish them by giving them pain). . . . But there is also contrary evidence in that we think some pleasures are bad—for example, revenge, rage, lust.” ⁴

Zink further explains a distinction between the sources of the two kinds of pleasures: “There are other sorts of cases which show that what we admire in the so-called good pleasures, and what we deplore in the bad ones, are not these as states of feeling but as the expression of states of character.” ⁵ It becomes necessary, then, in a study of the ethics of flesh versus spirit to determine when pleasure is bad, especially since pleasure is a goal of so many of our activities. The following typically engender bad pleasures:

1. When self-love dominates the pleasure-seeker’s heart

A degree of self-love is only natural and proper. Scriptures supports this premise, both Old and New Testaments. For example, Leviticus 19:18 states: “‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Jesus sums up the Law and the Prophets in terms of loving God and your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37–40). And Paul does the same in his epistle to the Romans: “‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Rom. 13:9).

Furthermore, the ethicist can argue that we even have a responsibility to God to care for ourselves: “Agape-love requires that one properly care for himself . . . for the sake of service to God and man. Such concern and care of self turns out to be more of a duty to God than to self.” ⁶

The problem that may arise then in enjoying pleasure is doing so selfishly at the expense of others. Milton Rudnick views this self-centered approach to pleasure as a reflection of the times. He observes: “The ‘new morality’ that we have been experiencing is, . . . in fact, an ethical revolution in which the principles of Christian ethics have been assaulted and repudiated by many. . . . ‘If you enjoy it, it is good,’ many would say. Others with more social sensitivity might put it this way: ‘If most people in a given situation enjoy it or benefit from it, it is good.’ ” ⁷

Rudnick summarizes the accepted evangelical posture on the subject by concluding that “few Christian ethicists, even those who question the concept of divinely revealed ethical norms, come out in favor of this kind of pleasure-centered and self-centered approach.” ⁸

2. When pleasure is harmful to oneself or to others

Most Christians would agree that masochistic activity seriously violates acceptable norms. To enjoy abusing oneself or being abused hardly seems compatible with the changed life that flows from being born-again. However, it is not uncommon for otherwise conscientious believers to develop harmful eating habits; to drive with abandon and unfastened seat belts; or to be involved in vigorous recreational activity without ...