Uniqueness of a christian (Ethics)

I remember when a friend of mine came to me, telling me he wants to help me solve the issue of me paying excess PHCN (NEPA) bills, I ask him how and he said he was going to bypass the wires that at the end of it all I will be billed less or nothing on my power consumption. I ask him why must he do that. That to me it’s as good as one stealing and he told me to my face that that was his own share of the national cake and he is a Christian.

The Christian who accept the truth of the gospel practices them. Christian ethics is more than mere theory. In other for ethics to be valuable, they must be evident in everyday practical living. According to 2 Peter 1:3. It says, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

How often do we observe people in authority making mistakes in judgement or even immoral choices that we feel are beneath our own ‘margin for error’? we are sometimes tempted to think that such faults disqualify these men and women from receiving our continued respect and obedience. 1 Peter 2:13-14 says, believers are to obey the laws of the land and not try to ignore the civil authority of our day.

In regards to any unique society or group of people, rumor has a way of growing rapidly within a surrounding community. Rumors abounded concerning certain practices of Christianity. Christians are accused of moral atrocities committed in secret meetings and these were hidden from public view. In as much as we don’t want anything to hinder our godly testimony as believers, Christians need to put to rest false accusations by publicly showing themselves to be citizen of solid stand. 1Peter 2:15-16. 

Christian are to “Honour” everyone. They are to respect others’ rights and personal concerns. Love is to be another important characteristic of their lives. Foundational to believers’ treatment of other people is their commitment to honour God in all that they do. Finally, Christians will honour the king, or live faithfully according to society’s laws whenever they do not conflict with the other principles listed in 1 Peter 2:17.

 Christianity is not just an individual experience. The bible repeatedly describes the Christian as a member of the body of Christ and strongly associated with the other members of that body. As each Christian in a local body of believers guards against evil speech and actions, relationship with other Christians will grow and the church will move forward with God’s blessings.

Practical Christian Ethics, then, "is much more than our deciding to put spiritual principles into practice. It is allowing God to move in our lives and bring out those attitudes and actions that please Him and draw others to Him. Christian ethics must be a part of our everyday lives.

ISSUES & MATTERS

On day, I was in a car with a couple who had been married for about 12 years. The wife jokingly turned to me and said “if my husband had a choice he would have unmarried me a long time ago”. The husband in response said “if I do that, what is the guarantee that the next woman I will marry will be better?”

The answer is none. There is no guarantee that the next woman will be better. Same goes for women who think that their husbands are not good enough and there are millions of better men out there. There is no guarantee that you will find a man better than your husband.

My guess here is that the couple are Christians and this went a long way in shaping heir perspective on the matter at hand. Actually the scripture addresses every matter of life.

Our lesson today gave a scriptural perspective to it in Matthew 19:3 – 12, Jesus declared that marriage covenant should never be broken. Marriage is a covenant between God and the couple to be married. Once the man and woman agree to the marriage, God joins them together and no man should put asunder (verse 6).

Apart from marriage, Christians are encouraged to submit to constituted authorities regardless of how they feel about them and their political agenda (Romans 13:1 – 5). Christians should be motivated to respond to the authority as an act of obedience to God and they should be motivated by their desire to live in peace (verse 5).

Christians owe government more than their money (as taxes). They also owe her respect and honour. When you curse government with your words and actions, you are doing nothing for the health of the nation and more grievously, you stand in opposition to God. This does not mean that Christians cannot vote in democratic government and change leadership; rather if a leader is already in place, you must show honour and respect. Most importantly, Christians owe their government prayers (1 Timothy 2:1,2).

The query into self is the critical inquiry into success-path. Check your life today, are all your actions really Christian? Are there issues weighing you down or you are confused about? Get a bible, get a bible teacher...ITS ALL IN THE WORD; Embrace bible patterns for living today.

Making A Differnce In A World Like Ours.

“…The bad news is that while the numerical increase in the number of Christians in Nigeria is self-evident, and church attendance is an all-time high, it is however, unfortunate that there is no significant commensurate impact on the level of virtue and integrity in the Nigeria society, Nigeria has consistently ranked as one of the most perceived corrupt countries on earth. This has given rise to a befuddling paradox, namely; how can a people that profess so much faith and religiosity be regarded as the face of the earth?...”

This was an extract from an M.Sc Thesis, Political Science Dept. UNN; by Ulu, K.O. (2007) The Politics of Foreign Aid and National Development: A Focus on Nigeria, 1999-2006. 

With regard to the Nigerian church, over the last thirty years, there has been an explosion in expression of faith. Church attendance by Nigerians ranks as one of the highest in the world. The Nigerian church in many respects has become a force to be reckoned with domestically and internationally. One would expect a proportionate rise in the national index of virtues which in turn will manifest in low levels of crime, reduction in incidents of fraud and corruption. However this has not been the case.

For Christians, ethical behavior is to be determined by the word of God, not by situations or circumstances. When circumstance will be to our benefit, we should be very careful what choices we make. Those who practice situational ethics all the way a situation affects them personally to dictate their behaviour; this leads to unwarranted justification of wrong actions such as stealing, sexual immorality, lying, cheating, etc. 

Unbelievers act according to carnal thinking because they are enemies of God (according to Romans 8:7,8). No matter how good people attempt to live, without salvation no one can please God. With salvation, comes the freedom from the bondage of self-contentedness. They can have peace of mind as they make ethical decisions, even when it seems those decisions will not work in their advantage.

If the entire believers (or many that claim to be) would embrace the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, making ethically correct and upright choices would be a culture in Nigeria. Things will turn around for better for us and for the future generation.