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I Timothy 1: 9-11 (NIV)
The law is made not for the
righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy
and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers – and
for whatever else is contrary to the glorious gospel . . . which is entrusted
to me.
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| The moral laws of life are just as immutable as the natural laws.* |
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Years
ago, someone called my attention to this list of sinners and pointed out that
liars were included among these most heinous of offenders. That made an
impression on me. What never got my attention was the inclusion of slave
traders in the list.
As
an American and a Christian, I am appalled that there are people who profit
from the sale of other humans and that these same humans have no rights to
themselves. But until recently I considered slavery to be one of those unnamed “whatever else is contrary to the glorious gospel” items because I was not
aware of any scripture which actually condemned it. But, even before I was aware of this list, I knew slavery had to be
wrong because it is clearly in conflict with the two “greatest” commandments:
love God and love others.
Any questionable principle or activity, whether specified as sin or not, could be held up to the light of these two greatest commandments to determine if it is
right or wrong. We should ask ourselves: Could someone who loves God participate in this activity? Could
I ask for God to bless me while I am taking part in it? Would others be
hurt by my actions? Could I accept a principle that is detrimental to
others? What would Jesus do?
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| It is in the light of God’s Word that ethical decisions must be weighed and made.* |
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