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GOOD CONDUCT + KEY MORAL PRINCIPLES - Coggle Diagram
GOOD CONDUCT + KEY MORAL PRINCIPLES
Why is good conduct important for Christians?
Earns them a place in heaven/avoid being sent to hell
Faith in Jesus = basis for good conduct
Paul - Letter to the Ephesians - he urges them to abandon bad conduct and use new moral nature that is learnt from Christ e.g. indulge in no evil talk and abandon anger
'Sermon on the Mount' - Jesus' teaching - 'Let your light so shine before men , that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. - good conduct glorifies God
In Matthew 22:35 - Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love god with all one's heart, soul and mind. Good conduct is therefore based on Loving God and other people 'love your neighbour as yourself'
Not all Christians agree about what good conduct is and why it's important
Some moral commands in the Bible are seen as immoral. E.g. the letter of Paul to Titus, part of the moral advice given is to slaves
they must be 'submissive to their masters + give satisfaction in every aspect ' - this appears to condone slavery by requiring slaves to put up with their situation
Jesus' command - 'turn the other cheek' (Matthew). Many Christians believe this promotes pacifism, where war is unjustifiable and should be settled peacefully, which they may find to be immoral
There's no defending of the innocent + allows evil to have its way
Justification by Faith
Pauls letter to the Romans
Paul said that no human being will be justified in God's eyes by works of the Jewish Law because for humans to be counted as righteous doesn't mean that they can earn it
Righteousness cannot be earnt by following the law because all humans have sinned (original sin)
To be judged as righteous by God, it must be a free gift of God's Grace.
The free gift of God's Grace is to redeem humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus, whose death atoned for human sin
We are justified by God's grace and faith, not by good moral conduct
We can't rely on our own works and deeds, we must have faith and rely upon God's Grace in order to have 'peace with God' so we can end up in our final destination with God
Martin Luther - proclaimed the sola fide (justification by faith alone)
He believed that God pardoned guilty sinners by faith alone, without reference to their works
Justification by Works
Letter of James
What is the point in faith without works?
If a brother or sister lacks food or clothing and someone says that they love them without doing anything to help - it is useless, so faith without works is dead
Faith on its own is useless because even the demons believe in God
Abraham - he had faith but he had to show through works of sacrificing Isaac
Its just like how a body without a spirit is dead, faith without works is dead
Many Christians across all denominations accept the needs for works on the basis of the Parable of the Sheep's and Goats
Sheep go to eternal life with God because they have carried out good works e.g. fed hungry + Goats go to hell due to the failure of living up to these expectations
Justification by works + Faith
The Catholic Church, at the time, was not impressed by Luther's sola fide
Catholics - grace comes to the individual through baptism
Faith grows after baptism , so the outcome is through good works