“Christian ethics is not an arbitrary collection of rules, but the embodiment of God’s moral order in redemption.” —Andrew T. Walker

Andrew Walker is a Professor of Ethics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Read here as he demonstrates how scripture provides a symphony of creation, law, and gospel that resolves in Christ. Extract of his article follows:

Scripture does not present isolated moral commands. It presents a unified composition—a symphony of creation, law, and gospel that resolves in Christ. Dr. Walker traces this narrative to show how Christian ethics relies on the entire biblical storyline.

Here is how the moral symphony unfolds:

1. Morality begins with Creation.

The foundation of ethics is God’s action to bring order to the cosmos. God established a “teleological” order in Genesis 1, meaning creation has an embedded moral design and purpose.

• When God decreed creation “good,” He declared it was rightly ordered. Therefore, humans are called to live in accordance with that original design.

2. The Law clarifies the design.

The Mosaic Covenant and the Ten Commandments were not an entirely novel law code. Instead, they served as a republication of the natural law already embedded in creation.

• Directives such as honoring parents or rejecting murder flow from the structure of creation itself. The law gives explicit expression to principles that were always binding on humanity.

3. Christ fulfills the order.

Jesus is the “Logos,” the ordering principle of the universe. He does not introduce a new moral law. He brings the existing law to its fulfillment.

• Grace does not erase the contents of the creation order. It vindicates them. The gospel trains us to renounce ungodliness, and the Spirit empowers us to experience creation as God originally envisioned.

4. Reading the Bible for ethical guidance.

To apply the moral law faithfully, Walker suggests three hermeneutical tests:

• Creation Order Test: How does this moral issue uphold God’s creational design?
• Natural Law Test: How is this consistent with moral goods knowable by reason?
• Redemptive Revelation Test: How does this align with biblical principles in light of Christ?

Christian ethics is nothing less than living as creatures redeemed by Christ. We reflect God’s glory by aligning our lives with the order He declared “good” from the beginning.

Read here the full article.