The word “ethics” is a word that most of us know but may find hard to define. Simply speaking, ethics refers to the system of moral rules that we live and operate by. These rules are grounded in our belief about truth and the source of truth in our lives. For example, if a person believes the Bible to be the true Word of God, then they will allow that truth to shape the “ethics” or “rules” by which they operate in life. This will become clearer as we go along.

 

In our ongoing discussion surrounding the Great Commission I feel it is noteworthy to think about how these guiding ethics play a pivotal role in our mission to make disciples for Jesus. Now please understand I am not advocating that one’s ethical system be downgraded to a few simple points. Certainly, the conversation about ethics should be much more detailed. But there are a few points that Scripture emphasizes that enable us to live a type of life that promotes discipleship.

 

One of my favorite theologians is an old Free Will Baptist theologian by the name of Leroy Forlines. In his book Biblical Ethics Forlines highlights what he calls the four basic values (or ethical foundations) of the Christian life. He provides a very detailed explanation of these, but I will produce a more simplified and “devotional” version of these below and only speak of them in the context of our mission to make disciples. Also, I will only be analyzing three of the four that he mentions. These three basic ethical values are holiness, love, and wisdom.

 

Holiness, in simple terms, means to be “set apart.” In Scripture, holiness involves separation from sin, conformity to righteousness, and dedication to God. But holiness is more than morality; holiness implies a personal relationship with God. This personal relationship is one where he is Lord and the believer is the servant. Holiness also embraces both godliness (reverential living before God) and righteousness (conformity to God’s moral standard). So being holy is something we cannot do without God. He is the one that sets us apart for himself. But at the same time holiness is something we engage in by choosing, as saved people, to conform our lives to God’s moral standards. A good passage of Scripture that explains this is 1 Peter 2:9-21 which states: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”  

 

Notice in that passage that the Apostle Peter describes holiness as being set apart by God. But he also explains that because we have been set apart, we have the ability to choose holiness as a lifestyle so that the world will see the transforming power of Christ in us. He mentions things like our “conduct” among lost people, being honorable and treating others in a respectable way, obeying the law and the authorities in our lives, loving the church (other Christians), living according to the fear of the Lord, etc. Salvation should introduce godliness and righteousness into our lives in a way that transforms who we are. This progressive transformation will be noticed by others around us and serves as a form of testimony to the power of God’s saving grace.

 

When it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission, holiness is an essential component. If we as believers are not living a transformed life that reflects the power of God and the attributes of Christ, then how can the message we preach be received by an unbeliever as a message of truth and integrity? If you claim to be a Christian, yet are known as either a gossip, slanderer, boastful, arrogant, sexually immoral, hateful, or lying person, then you actually damage the church, your testimony, and the cause of Christ. This is why our lives should continually reflect progressive change. Such a life demonstrates that the power of God is continually changing who we are.

 

It doesn’t take much reasoning to understand why love is an essential ethic of the Great Commission. In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus taught that the greatest commandments were to (1) love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and (2) love your neighbor as yourself. To love God more than anything, anyone, or yourself will be the greatest challenge of all. I believe genuine love for God is demonstrated in Jesus’ call to be his disciple. Jesus asserts, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Genuine love is demonstrated more so when Jesus states, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple…So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33). Love for God is demonstrated through obedience—especially when that obedience requires great sacrifice. When we make choices to obey Jesus, even though such choices may cause us pain, sacrifice, persecution, etc. we are demonstrating that we love God more than those things we risk losing.

 

But we are also commanded to love other people. We should continually work at loving other people with the same type of love the Jesus has demonstrated to us. As Christians we all know that we should be “Christ-like” thus, we should love like Christ loved. When it comes to the Great Commission, the ethic of love plays an essential role. First, it is one of the reasons why we “go” and “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19, 20). Having a love for lost people should be one of the motivating factors in why we seek to share the gospel with others. But secondly, love is the attitude for how we go and make disciples. Our love for others should translate into how we treat them and relate to them. We should continually work at showing ways to love others. Something the church has not always done a good job with is demonstrating love to the community without expecting anything in return. Have you ever known a person who went out of their way to be kind to you or love you, only to realize that the reason behind it was because they wanted something in return? Their reasons for “demonstrating love” were selfishly motivated. Unfortunately, the church has a tendency to do the same thing. Churches will do something positive to reach out to the community, but the primary reason behind it is so they can grow their numbers. But where is this found in Christ’s teaching? Where in the book of Acts do you see local churches loving others so they will numerically benefit? Well, you don’t see such things in the New Testament. We should continually, as individual Christians and a local church, seek out ways we can show love to our neighbors and community simply because Jesus has commanded us to. Of course, Jesus’ reason for commanding such things is ultimately so the unbelieving world will get a taste of God’s love. How will the world ever know God’s love if it is not demonstrated to them through his redeemed church?

 

But love is not always easy. In fact, Jesus makes a very uncultured and radical statement in Luke 6:27-28 when he declares, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Spend time reflecting on each of those phrases. No, seriously re-read that verse and reflect on each phrase. In every way a person could hurt us we are commanded to respond with love. The power to do this is found in the same power of God that redeems our soul. I believe one of the greatest tests of genuine faith is found right here. Does the person who claims they are of Christ, truly exhibit an attitude of Christ-like love toward their brothers and sisters in Christ, their enemies, and their neighbors? Is the person one who truly strives to forgive those who do them wrong? We as Christ’s church should endeavor to live out the love, mercy and grace that has been granted to us.

 

Forlines states, “Wisdom is the source of good, sound, judgement. Wisdom is sanctified common sense. Wisdom weighs matters carefully in the light of eternal values. Doctrinal, moral, and spiritual truth is translated into practical truth for real life situations. Wisdom does not live in a dream world. It does not spend its energies conceiving idealistic answers on how to cope with the situations of life. It finds answers that are workable in a world filled with harsh reality” (43-44). What Forlines is expounding on has to do with how we make choices. Wisdom is when we take biblical truth and allow it to shape how we make decisions.

 

But what does wisdom have to do with the Great Commission? Well, if wisdom is defined as allowing biblical truth to inform our practical decision making, then it logically follows that living with biblical wisdom is when we don’t just study the Scripture, we obey it. The Scriptures teach us that we should “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19, 20). Therefore, biblical wisdom is when we make life choices that correspond to this biblical conviction to go make disciples. Think about decisions such as career paths, jobs, how we spend our money (and what we often times go into debt for), how we utilize our time, who we choose to be best friends with, our hobbies, our commitments, etc. Now what if we strived to make all of these decisions within the context of this question: “What choice will help me be a better disciple for Jesus?” Or to even put it more pointedly: “What choice will help me do better at making disciples for Jesus?” Maybe instead of buying expensive homes and cars we should spend our money on ministries, charities, helping the poor, and showing love to our neighbors. Maybe instead of wasting so much time on television, games, and other multimedia venues, we should choose instead to invest our time studying God’s truth, praying, making disciples, reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Christ so we might be an encouragement to them, etc. What if the church stopped being so self-focused and started making every decision in light of the Great Commission? How much of a difference could we make in our own community? Maybe it’s time that God’s people stopped focusing on themselves, spending God’s money on themselves, and wasting God’s time on themselves. Biblical wisdom is when we allow the truths of Scripture to inform how we make decisions concerning all these things. Our goal should be to glorify God in all things by seeking to fulfill the Great Commission.

 

Holiness, love, and biblical wisdom are the guiding ethics of the Great Commission. These are also the guiding values which Scripture and the Holy Spirit produce in the life of a humble servant of Christ. Do these things define you? Are you engaging Scripture enough to allow its influence to mold the totality of who you are? We must continue to be discipleship-minded people. It is God’s will for our lives to bring him glory by being disciples who make disciples. My prayer is that you will be a disciple who brings God glory in all things.