when starting out on the subject of morality it is important that believers go to the solid foundation which is Gods word, as this is the only place one can make such an inquiry into any subject, and this one is no different .... we have to remember that God has made is perfect standard seeable to the man who is willing to just take the time to find out what his standards are:
You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. .. leviticus 20 :26
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. isaiah 55 :8 -9
here
we briefly note two points which well help us in this area ... (1) ....
God is holy in his being and this is an unchangable factor .. God is
eternal and unchanging .... such a position is of importance in
understanding God. (2) .... Gods ways and thoughts are
unlike ours they far superior ... this includes his laws since they too
are undoubtly seen as extentions of his holy being
with this we need to fully aware of how God acts against sin, even to his own chosen people.. to broke the law is to defy God and call him unworthy
in this topic we must see that God is objective in his standards unlike us we are subjective ... as our
opinions change dogmatically ... it is never a level judgement,
however God is far above this as the second scripture communicates
let us consider one more text so that we may get a feel of what God standards are like to which reflect his perfection
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
from this psalm we get the cler picture that Gods law is not just some style ideal of what man thinks it should be but that it is infact the very definition of the holiness of God
to be absolute on this matter we must understand that all Gods
attributes flow from his sovereign rule over creation, and his laws are
the function which reveals his holy character .... since a christian
must believe that the law is the method to which man is seen as a
sinner, and the direction of the law is to lead one to the perfect
saviour
one must like wise see that the laws are an extention of God holiness and to break the law is to disrespect the one who is holy in and of himself
the
laws which apply to this area ... the moral laws .. those which are
binding on man feom creation till now, in fact they are also seen as
creation laws too
the first portions are the ten commandments which are as follows :
1) You shall have no other gods before me.
2) You
shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them
3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. .
5) Honor your father and your mother,
6) You shall not murder.
7) You shall not commit adultery.
8) You shall not steal.
9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10)You shall not covet
here are the "ten commandments" ... which can be useful to understand in two catagories a) love the lord your God, and b) love your neighbour as yourself. the
basis of the first set lies in the first five commands which are
focused on the holiness of God as the creator, and the second set are
those which emphasis the importance of the fellow human beings ..
to clarify on these issues we need to recognise that man does not truly understand himslf til God first draws him from sin and gives him a heart of repentance
the second set are also seen in other texts of scripture such as the following:
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. 3 You
shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you
shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing
you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.6 “None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. 7 You
shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness
of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. 9 You
shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter
or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in
another home. 10 You
shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your
daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 You
shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter,
brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. 12 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. 13 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. 14 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. 17 You
shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you
shall not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover
her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. 18 And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.19 “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20 And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21 You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23 And
you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it,
neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is
perversion.
24 “Do
not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these
the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But
you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these
abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29 For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30 So
keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that
were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them:
I am the Lord your God.”
we also have the following text
“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 If a man lies with his father's wife, he has uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 14 If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. 15 If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 17 “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to make naked one's relative; they shall bear their iniquity. 20 If a man lies with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother's wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.
we are to only stop carrying out a certian law if th bible annuls that particular law such as in the case of once fordden foods in mark 7 or matthew 15, but note in the same chapter that the moral laws still abide on all mankind
or in the case of the sacrificial law as seen in the book of hebrews chapters 7 -10
If both old and new testament both agree on the laws that both jews and christians are too follow as in the case of the universally binding moral laws as seen in the above scriptures ... then ultimately God has spoken on these matter and no man can promote the ideal that man is free to choose how he live and t the same time claim to be a follower of christ
the renegate believer has been instructed on the living that is excepted befor God in these few scriptural examples
Or
do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of
God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And
such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of
our God.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For
you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or
impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and God.
as we see in the above
passages and the number could be doubled, tripled, quadrupled .. you
name the amount then it can be.. but the 2 given from 1 corinthians 5
and ephesian 5 are just a few examples of how the bible tells us that
God standards of morality are way above ours in all matters
and
to enter the kingdom .. one has to pure in Gods sight that means all
sin and evil as God defines it has to be purged from the individual
its
no good saying from subjectivity that your good and that youll make ..
when you have a desire which in and of itself is something which is
sinful and is defiling you 