The simplest Christian ethic is based on what Jesus said and did. It begins by believing Jesus said exactly what he meant. It discerns that he lived by what he said. And it assumes if we are to follow him, we are to do the same. Other New Testament writers and the early Church pretty much accepted this ethic.
The most concise record of what Jesus taught is found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6: 20- 49). You get the gist of its commandments to love and share unconditionally by contemplating the implications of the most radical of Jesus’ statements, “Love your enemy!” Jesus is calling for an entirely different life that demands repentance as a complete change in the way we live. The motivation to do this is based on the belief that this is the truth that sets us free.
Jesus proclaimed this is to live according to God’s will that sends sun and rain on the good and the evil. God’s Way is not to destroy, but to bless; not to take away, but to provide. You can appreciate what he meant when you understand that the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32) and the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16) for all practical purposes say the same thing. Luke shows the graciousness of the father toward all his children; Matthew presents how this works in an economic framework. Yet most Christians I know believe the first is most beautiful story in the Bible and the second the most unjust. Obviously, we are not ready to accept Jesus’ kind of justice that is based not on fairness, but supplying what people need.
Jesus lived by this redemptive ethic. His life is a record of overcoming evil with good. Even in the face of violent death, he remains silent. Jesus’ life from beginning to end remained faithful to God’s covenant that is based on love not retribution. As Paul writes in Romans 5: 6-11 Christ died for us while we were weak, sinners, even enemies. God’s salvation is always redemption, always based on loving enemies.
In this passage to believe is to allow this truth to change our lives. When we accept it, we experience God pouring his love into our hearts. The simplest Christian ethic is then to imitate Jesus. Like him we are to overcome evil with good (I Peter 3: 9 and Romans 12: 17-21). Acts 2 and Acts 4 report this is exactly what the early Church did when they shared according to the principle “from everyone according to their ability, to everyone according to their needs”. And we know for the first 300 years the Church refrained from bloodshed of all kinds.
The implications for us are radical indeed. They would include no capital punishment and no war. They would include an economic system that provides enough for all. They would call for us to oppose the paganism all around us with only prayer and martyrdom.
Most people respond to this simple Christian ethics by declaring it is impossible and so immoral. I’m not so sure. I think we have to start here and justify every deviation very carefully. On examination, I find most of these are rationalizations for refusing to do God’s will.
