Teaching the Church to Live as Colonists

Christian Ethics

Matt 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (KJV).

The primary task of the church, as a Colony of Heaven on earth, is to seek to bring people to Christ, and then to nurture them in the Christian walk. Today, instead of stressing the preaching of the Gospel, and personal soul winning and evangelism, many think the church is to be an action group that speaks out on political issues, lobbies for legislative action in behalf of various rights groups, and seeks to change society through the power of government.

I reiterate, the primary task of the church, as a Colony of Heaven on earth, is to carry out the Great Commission. This necessitates ethical conduct and witness before a wayward world to challenge those of the world to a higher standard of conduct than that of the world. Ethics by the dictionary definition is:

The body of moral principles or values held by or governing a culture, group, or individual: the Christian ethic, a personal ethic. 2. A moral precept or rule of conduct (Webster).

Although responsibilities and duties may vary from person to person, minister to layperson, location to location, yet there are some obligations and requirements that never change and are expected of all believers in the body of Christ, the church. God expects all of us to submit to His authority, to walk in His footsteps, to learn of His Word, to yield to His Spirit, to live by His principles, and to abide by His teachings. When we accept this sacred calling to be a child of God, then we become responsible for these obligations. God always has, and always will expect certain characteristics to be in His servants. God expects them to be holy in their attitudes, actions and their activities. This means that their minds must be pure, their motives must be pure, and their methods must be pure. They must be righteous in their character, righteous in their conduct and righteous in their conversations.

A human is composed of three distinctive, although not independent parts, i.e., the intellect, the emotions, and the will. We think, we feel, and we act! A true Christian must be one who has been affected in all three of these areas of his personality. We must think as Christians ought to think. We must feel as Christians ought to feel. We must act as Christians ought to act! The contents of our thinking we call Doctrine. The element of feeling we call Experience. The acts of the will we call Ethics.

So Christianity must encompass these three things: Doctrine, Experience, and Ethics. What then is a Christian? He is one who believes something. He is one who has experienced certain changes. He is one who has accepted and practices certain codes of conduct. Therefore Believing, Experiencing, and Practicing are the three essential areas that must be Christianized.

Truth is what God thinks, what God feels, and what God wills. That which God does not think is error. That which God does not feel is evil. That which God does not will is sin. A Christian is one who strives to be free from error intellectually, is delivered from evil (sin) experientially, and is not willingly or knowingly involved and engaged in sin. A real, genuine Christian is one who has come to the knowledge of the truth in his mind, experienced the power of Christ in his heart, and lives the life of Christ in his conduct.