Higher and Lower Laws
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Premise: Is it ever right to tell a lie.
Premise: Is it ever right to tell a lie.
There is a great debate in Christian Ethic circles about “impossible moral conflicts.”
I will try to present two different points of views.
Wayne Grudem - Christian will never have to choose the “lesser sin”
Norman Geisler - Some personally unavoidable moral conflicts exist in which an individual cannot obey both commands.
Norman Geisler idea:
God does not hold a person guilty for not keeping a lower moral law so long as one keeps the higher law. God exempts one from his duty to keep the lower law since he could not keep it without breaking a higher law.
Example of an “Impossible Moral Conflict” or “Tragic Moral Choice”
Classic Example: A Christian in Nazi Germany who is hiding Jews in the basement of his house. What should he do when Nazi soldiers come pounding on the door, demanding to know if he is concealing Jews? The householder knows that if the Jews are discovered, they will be dragged away to a concentration camp and likely put to death.
Practical example: Spouse says, “do I look fat in the jeans.”
Modern Example: What gender pronouns do you use to address a transgender person.
Theological Ethical Question: In our Classic Example isn’t it better to tell a lie (the lesser sin) than to betray innocent people so that they die (greater sin?)
Are there such things as higher or lower laws (or sin?)
Matthew 23:23 (NASB95)
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
Notice, you are devoted to tithing but you have neglected the weightier provisions of the law.
Justice
Mercy
Faithfulness
19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Least, the word in the greek means, the least, in magnitude, number, or quality.
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.
13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
Matthew 12:31–32 (NASB95)
31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Are all sins equal?
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
“The common myth that all sins are equal is often based on erroneous interpretations of James 2:10, which does not speak of the equality of all sins but rather of the unity of the law: "Whoever ... fails in one point has become guilty of all of it" (RSV). It does not say that the transgressor is equally guilty of all, nor that all infractions bring equal guilt (James 3:1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.) However, it is true that any violation of the law brings some guilt.” Norman Geisler
Geisler explains that in "graded absolutism," there are certain categories of moral laws that are higher than others. He gives three examples:
1. Love for God over love for humankind
2. Obey God over government
3. Mercy over veracity?
Biblical and Modern Example of Moral Conflicts
A) Disobeying Civil and Government:
A) Disobeying Civil and Government:
Question: Can you disobey the government in order to be faithful to God?
1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
1 Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,
Geisler says, “it is clear that God commands Christians to obey government. Hence, when disobedience to government is approved by God, it is clearly in view of a higher moral law.”
Wayne Grudem agree with Geisler that the biblical narrative views with approval these actions of disobedience to the government in order to be faithful to God. But I disagree with Geisler's claim that these actions constituted disobedience to commands of God.
He add, “The Bible never tells people always to obey every command of a secular civil government. Instead, Paul wisely says, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities" (Rom. 13:1). To "be subject" to a government in general does not mean that one always must obey every command of that government.”
This is an interesting piont that i think must be made.
Individual passages of Scripture should be interpreted in the light of the whole teaching of The Bible.
Scripture always interprets scripture!
Grudem says, “There are several passages in which God clearly gave approval to his people who disobeyed a government that was commanding them to carry out a sinful action.”
4 Examples
4 Examples
1. The Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah, who disobeyed when Pharaoh told them to kill the baby Hebrew boys
15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah; 16 and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.” 20 So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. 21 Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.”
2. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to bow down to the golden image that was made by King Nebuchadnezzar
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
3. Daniel, who disobeyed the king's command not to pray to anyone but the king
13 Then they answered and spoke before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day.”
4. The apostles, who disobeyed the Sanhedrin when they were commanded not to preach in the name of Jesus
18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
B) Disobeying our Parents
B) Disobeying our Parents
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Geisler present as example that I (Derrick Marshall) personally thing is a bad example of a moral conflict. he says, "Jesus seemed to face real conflicts between obeying his heavenly Father and obeying his earthly parents (Luke 2)."' He says, "At age twelve, Jesus faced a conflict between his earthly parents and his heavenly Father."
I would argue Jesus wan’t the problem in this story, but the parents who left Jesus and didn’t know where he was for days.
Modern Day Example from Romania: New believer are told by parent that they will be disowned or forced to leave their home if they get baptised.
Question: Are new converts in sin if they disobey their parents and get baptized.
C) Working on the Sabbath
C) Working on the Sabbath
3 ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.
Geisler says, that Jesus faced a moral conflict between “showing mercy and keeping the sabbath holy.”
Wayne Grudem says, The New Testament Points out numerous cases where Jests broke the restrictive interpretations and rules that had been added to the Sabbath command by Jewish traditions but there is no instance in which He broke the Sabbath commandment itself when it understood correctly, in the way that God intended it. Jesus makes this very point In this passage, for he corrects the Pharisees wrongful understanding of the sabbath law when he says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). Jesus never broke the Old Testament Sabbath commandment when it is rightly understood. Therefore, these examples from Jesus's ministry do not prove that Jesus ever faced an impossible moral conflict.”
Modern Day Example and Question: Are we breaking the Sabbath by attending church on Sundays?