Page 6 - Biblical Ethics Course

Consider these situations:

Situation 1:
You are sitting in your living room, reading a book, when suddenly you hear a pounding
on the door. You go to the door to find a young woman heavily panting and who says,
“Please, let me in. There is a man chasing me!” Well, of course, you let her in and
invite her to sit down to rest. Suddenly, you hear another pounding on the door. The
girl panics and runs into the other room. The pounding persists. So, you go over to the
door and open it.

You see a huge man with long hair and a gruffy appearance. He looks very mean and
extremely dangerous. He asks you, “I think I saw a girl come into this house. Have you
seen a young girl?”

What do you say?

Is it right to lie in some situations? After all, Rahab the harlot lied about hiding the spies and she was blessed by
God.

Situation 2:
A lady in church walks up to you wearing the most disgusting hat you have ever
seen. It looks like a horse on her head! In fact, you can hardly contain your laughter
as she approaches you. She is so excited. She tells you that she has been saving for
some time, and finally was able to purchase the new hat she always wanted. Then
she asks you, “What do you think? Do you like it?”

What do you say?

Is it right to lie in some situations? After all, Abraham lied to Abimelech. David lied
to the Ahimelech in care of the tabernacle to obtain bread (I Sam 21). He even pretended to be mad by letting
his spit cover his beard and pounded his head on the city gate before the Philistine king Achish (I Sam 21:13).
David had a heart after God! Was he wrong in lying?

Your ethical system, your core beliefs would determine the answer to these and other difficult questions. What
we believe determines how we respond to others and how we live our lives. Biblical ethics is a study of how to
make God’s Word so engrained into our minds that we act as Jesus would act in every situation.

Answers to these and other situations.

How can we know what the correct response is in these and hundreds of other difficult situations? That’s what
this course is all about. We are going to learn to take God’s Word and search for the answers. In some cases,
the answers will be totally straightforward. Others, we will certainly have to allow the Holy Spirit to apply
Biblical truths to our hearts to ascertain the best and biblical response.

Our ethical beliefs determine our position on:

1. Abortion – Do women have the right to choose to an abortion? Is abortion killing a baby or removing
unwanted tissue? What about rape and incest?

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