Page 59 - Biblical Ethics Course

Study Section 9: Biblical Ethics of the New Testament - continued

9.1 Connect

Through the New Testament, we learn more and more about Jesus Christ and his nature. In
Philippians, we learn about how God chose to love us by becoming an obedient servant --- even to
the point of death on a cross. We learn about the character of God. True Biblical Ethics is to make
God our “hero” and to pattern our lives after Him. In pursuing this goal, we will become more like
Him but what will result is that our behavior will become obedient to Him. And obedience to Christ
allows us to always make right choices. That’s the secret of biblical ethics!

Today we are going to continue our study of the New Testament verses that speak loudly about how we should
behave and what we should believe. We are in the process of developing our biblical ethics….

9.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to explain the ethics of the various books and authors to be studied in
this section.

2. The student should be able to explain how the New Testament expanded the ethics of God to the
church.

3. The student should be able to derive the general principles presented in the New Testament to formulate a
complete Biblical ethics philosophy.

9.3 Philippians

This letter of friendship reinforces the bonds of fellowship between Paul and the Philippians. Here
Paul commends the virtues of faithfulness, generosity, and humility, especially in the majestic
Christ-hymn (Phil 2:6–11), which shows that Christ is the paragon of self-giving love. Paul teaches
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that the joy of the gospel should rule our lives, regardless of circumstances.

Philippians is about remaining steadfast in the faith and joy of the gospel. This is clear from Paul’s own response
to his hardships: His imprisonment could have led him to despair, but instead he chose to give thanks, to be
content, and to rely on God’s strength( Phil. 1:12–19; 4:10–13). Paul advises the Philippians to take this same
approach, urging them to stand firm together for the gospel (Phil.1:27–28). Humbling ourselves enables us to
find unity with fellow believers in Christ, to stand together in the midst of suffering, and to rejoice no matter the
circumstances.

Philippians 2:1–8 (NASB95)
1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of
the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the
2
same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with
3

29 John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).

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