Moral Integrity

A. W. Tozer has written: “One of our great tasks is to demonstrate to the young people of this generation that there is nothing stupid about righteousness. To do so, we must stop negotiating with evil. We Christians must stop apologizing for our moral position and start making our voices heard, exposing sin as the enemy of the human race and setting forth righteousness and true holiness as the only worthy pursuit for moral beings. I have no doubt that historians will conclude that we of the twentieth century (should the Lord tarry) had intelligence enough to create a great civilization but not the moral wisdom to preserve it.”

There are only two approaches to ethics and morality.

Either we believe that right conduct is based on some authoritative standard, or we believe that morality is entirely relative — that there are no fixed standards of right and wrong.

If we do not accept some standard as authoritative in regard to moral and ethical issues, then we are put in the position of making those decisions for ourselves.

The Bible describes this attitude when the historian wrote concerning the period of the Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). As you might imagine, chaos was the result.

For the Christian, the Bible is our standard for right and wrong.

On its pages we discover what is authorized, approved, and desired by God in the heart and actions of His people. Some things are always right and some things are always wrong!

Right and wrong are not determined on the basis of what is easiest, brings the most pleasure, or feels best in a given situation. Proper moral and ethical conduct is prescribed on the pages of God’s word. With the Psalmist we should exclaim, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).

The Bible offers the only basis upon which we may make morally and ethically sound judgments.

We would encourage you to examine it carefully, believe it fully, obey it completely, and live it daily. Your life will be richly blessed.

— Roger