Schedule

One of the most foundational aspects of a faithful Christian ethic is the truth that we are made in the image of God. This message will explore what it means for men and women to be made in God’s image and how this truth is one of the primary starting points for approaching all ethical questions.

In creation, God established the one-flesh marriage relationship of husband and wife for procreation, for companionship, and for carrying out His mandate to take dominion over creation to His glory. This message will look at the biblical teaching on marriage, considering the ethical implications of God’s design for marriage.

The Bible is our only infallible guide to faith and practice and thus gives us the ethical principles by which we can bring glory to God. This message will consider how Scripture is the normative guide for ethics and how we are to use it to formulate ethical standards, taking into account also the role of natural revelation and the church community.

The reason that Christian ethics are needed in our day is because man is totally depraved. Though man knows what is right, he insists on what is wrong and even suppresses the truth (Rom. 1:18). This message will consider the sinfulness of man and how our only hope for righteousness resides in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is only in being redeemed that we can understand the true foundation of ethics.

In our era of confusion regarding gender and human sexuality, there is a great need for Christians to understand what Scripture says about these core matters of human identity. This message will expound on the Bible’s teaching about these ethical issues, emphasizing the truth of the gender binary, proper sexual desire and its right expression, and other related topics.

Throughout history, civil governments have frequently set themselves up as the final arbiters of right and wrong, demanding that people surrender all their rights and identities to the state. This message will consider the threat of statism in general and its manifestation in socialism in particular, exploring ethical concerns related to the proper role of the civil magistrate according to Scripture.

As Western culture becomes more overtly hostile to the Christian faith and the freedom of believers to follow God’s Word in all of life, we face the temptation to compromise biblical teaching for the sake of peace and prosperity. This message will call attendees to stand firm on God’s Word when they are asked to surrender biblical truth and exhort the church to prepare people to endure worldly opposition to divine truth.

God’s Word mandates equal justice for all, commanding us to show no partiality on the basis of external factors such as socioeconomic status or ethnicity. This message will look at what Scripture has to say about the sin of partiality, exhorting us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, no matter their nationality or place in society.

Christianity has stood out historically for its high view of the sanctity of life, proclaiming that we must preserve and protect the lives of all people, including the most helpless among us. This message will walk through the Bible’s ethical instruction on the sanctity of life, paying particular attention to the issues of abortion and euthanasia.

As with every other aspect of life, we engage in ethical reasoning and make moral decisions not merely for our good and the good of others but ultimately for the glory of God. This message will consider the glory of God as the end of ethics, considering how God’s free grace puts us in a right relationship with Him and then empowers us to seek the good of others in gratitude for our salvation and for the sake of the Lord’s final glory.

Our holy, righteous, and triune God is the source of our ethics, and He is directing all of history toward His sure end. That end will not only glorify Him but also result in a new heavens and new earth - a perfectly ethical universe. Christians will dwell in the new Jerusalem, where righteousness dwells fully and finally. This message will consider the hope that Christians have in the future because of God’s redemptive purposes.