EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE

OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.

Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

SESSION 8
The Ultimate Basis for Ethics: The Moral Character of God

I. OBJECTIVES

Knowledge: By the end of this session, students will be able to:

1. Articulate the difference between the terms absolute/objective vs.
relative/subjective.
2. Understand the impossibility of having a basis for ultimate moral standards
without God.
3. Perceive the insufficiency of godless ethical systems’ bases of morality.
4. Prove the insufficiency of cultural relativism alone to determine moral values.

Character: By the end of this session, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a desire to know God more personally.
2. Demonstrate a worshipful attitude in response to God’s perfect moral
character.
3. Respond in utter reverence to God’s holiness.

Skill: By the end of this session, students will be able to:

1. Draw the connection between God’s moral character and daily godly living.
2. Reject ethical systems that undermine God’s moral character as the basis of
morality.
Dedicate their lives to the pursuit of what God says are true and good and moral.

II. INTRODUCTION

• Christians acknowledge not only a duty to announce the gospel, profess the
faith, and worship God but also to live their entire lives according to God’s will.
• Being God’s people means following God’s law, which means;
a. Walking in the way of truth (Psalm 25:4–5; 86:11)
b. and obeying it (Romans 2:8; Galatians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:22; 3 John 3–4).
• The dual commandment holds good: to love God and to love neighbor
(Matthew 22:37–39). To “dwell in love” is to dwell in God, who is both truth
and love (1 John).
• Historically, Christian ethical teaching has had two biblical foci: the Ten
Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 5:6–21) and the Sermon on
the Mount (Matthew 5–7)1.

1 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Ethics-obeying-the-truth
 EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.
Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

III. THE ARGUMENTS OF OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE MORALITY

• Is Morality Objective or Subjective?

• Objective means
o Something that’s truly objective has nothing to do with a person’s own
feelings or views—it just deals with facts. When someone says
“Objectively speaking,” they’re indicating that they’re going to give an
unbiased assessment—not one based on their personal preferences2.
o The arguments for Objective Morality3
a. _____________ Determines Morality: The most common argument
for objective morality relies on good and bad as viewed through the
lens of God.
b. _____________ Determines Morality: Even to atheists or people who
don't subscribe to religion, the idea of objective morality can still be
argued for. The simple fact that we hold certain behaviors as
acceptable in society and others as unacceptable is an argument for
objective morality's existence.
c. _____________ Determines Morality: Another argument for the
existence of objective morality is how people often want to better
themselves. This idea involves similar acts and ideas no matter who is
trying to do that.
• Subjective means
o Subjective is an adjective, meaning based on or influenced by personal
feelings or emotions.
o It means that it is an interpretation that has been influenced by personal
feelings or emotions. Synonyms for subjective could be words like
personal or biased.
o The arguments for Subjective Morality4
a. ______________ relativism: The most common argument against the
existence of objective morality is the concept of moral relativism. Moral
relativism argues that morality is relative, changing between cultures
and historical periods. It also postulates that viewpoints change
depending on perspective.
b. ______________ Analysis: One scientific analysis notes that there is
"no set criteria by which two opposing moral beliefs can be directly
compared to see which one is correct." Instead, the analysis says that
we can only decide what is right and wrong for us based on the past,

2 https://www.dictionary.com/e/subjective-vs-objective/
3 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-objective-morality-5525515
4 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-objective-morality-5525515
 EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.
Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

such as how we now, as a whole, think slavery, polygamy, and animal

cruelty are wrong5.

IV. THE ULTIMATE BASIS FOR ETHICS

• For Christians, we believe that Morality is objective because we believe with

the existence of a highest standard for living.
• Christian morality consists of living one’s life with guidance and inspiration
from the Christian scriptures and traditions.
• Christian ethics as an academic discipline uses these scriptures and
traditions in developing and critiquing ethical norms and theories and applying
them to ethical issues.
• Most Christian ethicists agree that the sources for doing ethics include
revelation (scripture) and tradition, as well as human reason and experience6.
• For Christians, morality has an objective truth, for we believe that God is the
very source of our morality that transcend all subjective morality around the
world.
• What is Christian Ethics?
o Christian ethics is any study that answers the question, “What does the
whole Bible teach us about which acts, attitudes, and personal character
traits receive God’s approval, and which do not?”
o Christian ethics is any study that answers the question, ‘What does God
require us to do and what attitudes does he require us to have today?’ with
regard to any given situation.
• The Basis of Christian Ethics?
o The Basis of the Bible’s Ethical Standards Is the Moral Character of God.

1. God’s Character Is ______________.

When the Bible talks about God’s moral character, it talks about God
as being “good.” (Ps. 119:68; Deut. 32:4; Rev. 15:3–4)

2. God Approves of Creatures Who Conform to His

_______________. (1 Pet. 1:15; Luke 6:36; 1 John 4:19; Eph. 5:1;
Matt. 5:48; Col. 3:9–10)

3. God Could Not Have Made Other _________________.

Because the moral standards that God gives us are grounded in his
moral character, he could not have made other moral standards for us
than the ones that he made.

5 Wilson C. The scientific perspective on moral objectivity. Ethic Theory Moral Prac. 2017 Aug 1;20(4):723–36.
6 https://peped.org/philosophicalinvestigations/article-what-is-christian-ethics/
 EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
OF THE PHILIPPINES- LUZON, INC.
Lot 1 Block 1 Valley Hills Subd., Valley Golf, Cainta Rizal 1900

4. God’s Abiding Moral Standards as Found in the ___________

Apply to All

People in All Cultures in All Periods of History. If God’s moral standards

flow from his unchanging moral character, then it follows that these are
the moral standards by which God will hold all people everywhere
accountable. Several passages indicate that God will one day be the
Judge of the entire earth. (Gen. 18:25; Ps. 96:13)

5. God’s Moral Standards Will ________________ to Be Valid for Us.

Since God’s moral standards flow from his character, which is

unchanging, we can conclude that these standards will also apply to us
in the age to come.