ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (09/26/90)
Two Principles of Conduct
Part I
2 Cor. 5:7; Matt. 17:3, 5, 8; 1 Cor 4:3, 4; Gen. 2:8, 9, 16, 17.
God created man, and He who created man made provision for the sustenance
of the man He had created. Man derived his existence frm God, and it was God's
intention that man should be dependent on Him for his life throughout its
entire course. The life He had given was to be nourished by means of suitable
food which He Himself supplied.
"And the Lord God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put
the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow
every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; and the tree
of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil" (Gen. 2:8, 9). Through these two trees God has shown us
in figure two different ways in which people may spend their days on earth:
the principle that governs the conduct of some is the knowledge of good
and evil, while others are governed by the principle of life.
Let us spend a little time together considering these two different principles
as they affect the lives of God's children: and let us note at the outset
that while Christians may be governed mainly by the one principle or the
other, not all the actions of the same Christian are invariably regulated by
the same principle.
WHAT IS THE PRINCIPLE OF GOOD AND EVIL?
If our conduct is controlled by the principle of good and evil, then whenever
we have to make a decision we first enquire: Is this right, or is it wrong?
Would it be good to do this, or would it be evil? Many Christians hesitate
before doing anything and turn such questions round and round in their minds.
They are bent on doing the right thing: they wish to avoid all evil: they
want to live a life in keeping with what they consider to be Christianity:
so they scrupulously weigh all their actions. They carefully examine each
situation they meet, and not until they are persuaded a certain course of
action is good will they go ahead. They seek to act in a way that befits a
Christian, so they are always on the alert to select the right from the wrong
and to do only what they consider to be right.
But God's word says: "The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall
not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest therof thou shalt surely
die." To act according to the seemingly lofty standard of rejecting all that
is bad and choosing only the good is not Christianity. That is living under
the law: it is acting according to the Old Covenant, not the New. To act
in this way is to conform to religious or ethical standards: it falls
altogether short of the Christian standard.
CHRISTIANITY IS BASED ON LIFE
What is Christianity? Christianity is a matter of life. If you are a
Christian, then you possess a new life; and when you have to decide on a
course of action, you do not ask, Would it be right to do this? You ask,
If I do this, how will it affect my inner life? How will that new life within
me react to this? It is a most amazing thing that the objective of so many
Christians is only conformity to an external standard, though what God has given
us by new birth is not a lot of new rules and regulations to which we are
required to conform. He has not brought us to a new Sinai and given us
a new set of commandments with their "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not."
Christianity does not require that we investigate the rights and wrongs of
alternative courses of action, but that we test the reaction of the divine
life to any proposed course. As a Christian you now possess the life of
Christ, and it is the reactions of His life that you have to consider.
If, when you comtemplate any move, there is a rise of life within you to
make that move; if there is a positive response from the inner life; if there
is "the anointing" within (1 John 2:20, 27); then you can confidently pursue
the proposed course. The inner life has indicated that. But if, when you
comtemplate a certain move, the inner life begins to languish, they you may
know that the move you comtemplated should be avoided, however commendable
it may seem to be.
Do you realize that the conduct of many a non-Christian is governed by the
principle of right and wrong? Wherein does the Christian differ from the
non-Christian if the same principle governs both? God's Word shows us plainly
that the Christian is controlled by the life of Christ, not by any external
code of ethics. There is something vital within the Christian that responds
to what is of God and reacts against what is not of Him; so we must take heed
to our inner reactions. When the living spring within us wells up in response
to any suggestion, we should follow that; but when it declines, we should
repudiate the idea. We dare not be governed by externalities, nor by
reasonings, our own or other people's. Others may approve a certain thing,
and when we weigh up the pros and cons we too may think it right; but what
is the inner life saying about it?
THE TRANSCENDENT STANDARD OF LIFE
Once you realize that the determining factor in all Christian conduct is life,
then you know that you must not only avoid all that is evil, but also all that
is just externally good. Only what issues from the Christian life is Christian
conduct; therefore we cannot consent to any action that does not spring
from life. Let us remember God's Word: "Of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die." Note that "good and evil" are set together
here, and over against "good and evil" is set "life." The standard of life
is a transcendent standard.
In my early Christian days I sedulously sought to avoid all that was evil
and deliberately set myself to do what was good. And I seemed to be making
splendid progress. At that time I had a fellow-worker who was two years older
than I, and we two were always disagreeing. The differences that arose between
us were not concerning our own personal affairs: our disagreements were
about public matters and our disputes were public too. I used to say to
myself: If he wants to do that bit of work in such-and-such a way I shall
protest, for it is not right. But no matter how I protested, he always
refused to give way. I had one line of argument--right and wrong; he also
had one line of argument--his seniority. No matter how I might reason in
support of my views, he invariably reasoned that he was two years older than
I. However many irrefutable evidences I might produce to prove that he was
wrong and I was right, he produced his one unvarying evidence to justify
every course of action he adopted--he was two years older than I. How could
I refute that fact? So he always won the day. He gained his point outwardly,
but inwardly I never gave way. I resented his unreasonableness and still
clung firmly to my contention that he was wrong and I was right. One day I
brought my grievance to an elderly sister in the Lord who had a wealth of
spiritual experience. I explained the case, brought forth my arguments, then
appealed to her to arbitrate. Was he right or was i?--that was what I wanted
to know. She seemed to ignore all the rights and wrongs of the situation,
and looking me straight in the face, just answered quietly, "You'd better
do as he says." I was thoroughly dissatisfied with her answer and thought
to myself: If I'm right, why not acknowledge that I'm right? If I'm, wrong,
why not tell me I'm wrong? Why tell me to do what he says? So I asked,
"Why?" "Because," she said, "in the Lord the younger should submit to
the older." "But," I retorted, "in the Lord, if the younger is right and
the older wrong, must the younger still submit?" At that time I was a college
student and had learned nothing of discipline, so I gave free vent to my
annoyance. She simply smiled and said once more: "You'd better do as he
says."
At a latter date there was to be a baptismal service and three of us were to
bear responsibility together--the brother who was two years older than I,
a brother that was seven years older than he, and myself. Now let's see
what will happen, I thought. I always have to do what you, who are my senior
by two years, tell me; will you also do what this brother, who is your
senior by seven years, tells you? Together we three discussed the work,
but he refused to accept any suggestion put forward by his senior: at every
point he insisted on having his own way. Finally he dismissed us both with
the remark: "You two just leave things to me; I can manage quite well
alone." I thought, What kind of logic is this? You insist that I always
obey you because you are my senior, but you need never obey your senior.
Forthwith I sought out the elderly sister, spread the matter before her, and
asked for the verdict on the case. "The thing that annoys me," I said, "is
that the brother has no place for right and wrong." She rose to her feet
and asked: "Have you, right up to this present day, never seen what the life
of Christ is? These past few months you keep asserting that you are right
and your brother is wrong. Do you not know the meaning of the cross?" Since
the one issue I raised was the issue of right or wrong, she met me on my own
ground and asked: "Do you think it right for you to behave as you have been
doing? Do you think it right for you to talk as you have been talking? Do
you think it right to come and report these matters to me? You may be acting
reasonably and rightly; but even if you are, what about your inner
registrations? Does the life within you not protest against your own
behavior?" I had to admit that even when I was right by human standards,
the inner life pronounced me wrong.
The Christian standard not only passes its verdict on what is not good, but
also on that which is merely external goodness. Many things are right
according to human standards, but the divine standard pronounces them wrong
because they lack the divine life. On the day to which have just referred
I saw for the first time that if I was to live in the presence of God, then
all my conduct must be governed by the principle of life, not by the
principle of right and wrong. From that day I began to see more and more
clearly that in relation to any course of action, even if others prounced
it right, and every aspect of the case indicated that it was right, I must
still be sensitive to the reactions of the life of Christ within me. As
we advance in the approved course, does the inner life grow stronger or
weaker? Does the inner "anointing" confirm the righteous of the course, or
does an absence of the "anointing" indicate that the divine approval is
withheld? God's way for us is not known by external indications, but by
internal registrations. It is peace and joy in the spirit that indicate
the Christian's path.
When I was visiting a certain place, a brother who was exceedingly critical
of the place was a quest there too. He knew the place had much to offer
spiritually, but he disapproved of very much that was done there and was
constantly making adverse comparisons with the place from which he came.
During the two or three months we were there together his criticisms exceeded
those of everyone else. One day he went altogether too far, so I said to
him: "Why ever do you remain here? Why not pack up and leave?" "The reason
lies here," he answered, pointing to his heart. "Every time I prepare to
go, my peace of heart goes. Once I actually departed, and I stayed away
for a fortnight, but I had to ask to be allowed to return." "Brother," I
said, "can't you see these two different lines of conduct--that which is
determined by life and that which is determined by right and wrong?" "Oh!"
he said, "not once or twice merely, but a number of times I have sought to
leave here, and every time my experience has been the same; as soon as I
prepare to go there is an inner forbidding. Even if much that is done here
is wrong, for me to leave is also wrong." This brother saw that if there
was much spiritual help to be gained in that place, then his only way was to
remain there and meet God.
PART II tomorrow or next Monday.
Robert W. Johnson
ROBERT at FIRIEN (Bitnet)
ROBERT at KONTU.UTU.FI (InterNet)
The prceeding is my opinion and may not reflect that of my employer and has
nothing to do with my employer.