Chapter 5 – Ordinary People: Christian Ethics
From the book: “Resident Aliens – A Provocative Christian Assessment of Culture and Ministry for People Who Know That Something is Wrong.” By Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon.
- People Who Follow a God Who Is Odd.
In many ways, we fail to see or appreciate the uniqueness of the church within the culture when it is most faithful to the example of the church set by Christ and the apostles. The church does not help us be moral; it teaches us what being moral is. Without the church, the world is adrift on a sea of subjective moral individuality. We will discuss this in our next section.
We can tell right from wrong only when there is a standard against which we can judge. God established this standard with the life, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of His incarnate Son, Jesus.
However, if the church has lost its moorings and is adrift in the world of subjective individuality, it cannot offer this standard to the world.
“Just as Bonhoeffer talks about how the German Church of his time had cheapened the idea of grace unconscionably, so have we in the American Church cheapened the ideas of belief and real faith.”[1]
When the things of God no longer matter within the church, the world has nothing upon which to be challenged. With no God to believe in, either paganism[2] or atheism[3] becomes the default belief. Paganism is a belief in anything of your choosing. Intriguingly, atheism is not a belief but a lack of belief. With the wrong thing or nothing to believe in, there are no standards beyond one’s self by which to live.
Failing to live life as a colony exemplified by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, the church becomes nothing more than a bigger and better social club. A place where stories are told while helping one another with self-esteem issues and dealing with the anxiety and depression brought on by the nihilism[4] of the practice of unbelief in who the real Jesus is and what He exemplified.
When one realizes they are a child of God, there should be no issues with self-esteem.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12, ESV)
Fear brings on anxiety and depression. When one realizes they are a child of God and loved by God, there is no reason to fear.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18, ESV)
Rather than wonder whether God exists, we should focus on who God is. We must give up our preconceived notions about who we want God to be and come to know the real God. The only way to find out about God is through prayer, Bible reading, and practicing what we learn about Him.
Our author shows us the way to do this through the example of Jesus calling for the disciples to bring him a child. He then tells us:
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4, ESV)
“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” (Psalm 25:9, ESV)
Children learn from example and through imitation. Like children, we are called to be imitators of others who are imitators of Christ. We, therefore, become imitators of Christ.
“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” (3 John 1:11, ESV)
- Saints as Significant Examples
Our authors compare the philosophies of Emmanuel Kant and Aristotle. Kant’s philosophy was that of individualist rationality.
“All you have to do to be moral is to think clearly and to think for yourself, to get your basic, universally fitting principles right, and you will do the right thing.” (p. 98)
King Solomon wrote about this in the Book of Proverbs.
“There is a way that seem right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12, ESV)
Aristotle’s philosophy contrasts significantly with Kant. Aristotle’s philosophy was to do the right thing because it is the right thing, not because one might benefit from it. We learn about these right things from others who also do the right things because they are the right things. This is a form of imitation, but it is greater than just imitation. It becomes who we are by internalizing these beliefs through action.
“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” (Hebrews, 13:7, ESV)
What is interesting about the philosophies of each of these men is that each developed their own philosophy based on their early lives and the traditions into which they were born.
The same is true for the Christian church. Christian ethics developed out of the life and example of Jesus Christ; therefore, to understand Christian ethics, you must understand the example of Jesus Christ.
This is where understanding and living the Sermon on the Mount become critical. This is where Jesus told us, “You’ve heard it said… but I say…” We all know this is much easier said than done. The Apostle Paul put it very well when he wrote to the Roman church:
“For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” (Romans 7:18, ESV)
But the grace of God has a response to this.
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11, ESV)
The Sermon on the Mount is incomprehensible and impossible to live without the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to become disciples and do those things that we cannot before we have the Spirit within us. Part of this is the Holy Spirit’s use of other faithful Christians as examples for us to imitate.
“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9, ESV)
- Faith Confirmed Through Example
Just as we learn from example, we teach by example.
“We already have too many people who know something about Jesus, about the church. What we need is people who will follow Jesus, who will be the church.” (p. 104)
What should be the church’s goal for a new Christian or someone just seeking an answer?
- Engagement: Christianity is life together. This begins and strengthens the growth that has already begun.
- Tools: Giving people the information, direction, and encouragement they need now to be disciples.
- Mentorship: Firsthand observation of a mature Christian’s life provides the above for a new disciple. The ability to look over someone’s shoulder and emulate them in the challenges of living as a Christian in today’s world.
- Discipleship: Enable people to resemble the disciples of Jesus more closely in their beliefs, values, and lifestyle.
This is the basis for The Source’s motto: “Reach, Love, Grow, Repeat.”
Recent surveys show the decline in church attendance continues. We can blame COVID for the recent decline, but this trend is only a continuation of a much longer trend. See “What Percent of Church Members Attend Regularly”. https://www.churchtrac.com/articles/the-state-of-church-attendance-trends-and-statistics-2023
The creation of online church attendance has only exacerbated this trend. While intending on making church available to those who could not attend services in person, this now allows those who do not wish to attend in person. “We shall have to break our habit of having church in such a way that people are deceived into thinking that they can be Christians and remain strangers.” (p. 108)
It is essential for the church to appreciate and use the extraordinary Christians within their congregations who can be significant examples to the rest of us of what it means to be the church. This is not to venerate them as individuals, but to see them as living examples of what the church can be.
“Ethics does not get much more than this – an ordinary person living the Christian life before ordinary people.”
Although it is social, this makes the Church more than just a social club. It is much more than that. It is a place to challenge one another through example and loving accountability.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35, ESV)
For some additional light reading.
“Following Christ Will Get You In Trouble”, Doug Giles, Clash Daily, https://clashdaily.com/2024/04/following-christ-will-get-you-in-trouble/
Introducing Christianity Lite! https://twitter.com/i/status/1771325990855155889
[1] Eric Metaxas, Letter to the American Church, Salem Books, Washington D.C., 2022.
[2] What is Paganism?, Pagan Federation International, https://www.paganfederation.org/what-is-paganism/.
[3] What is Atheism?, American Atheists, https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/about-atheism/.
[4] What is Nihilism?, The Daily Philosopher, https://dailyphilosopher.net/what-is-nihilism/.