All Roads Lead Back to the Ethical Core

The bible is filled with: prophecy, history, miracles, theology, discussions of God's nature. futurism etc. All these various types of instruction are built upon (or revolve around) an ethical core. That core is based on concepts like equal justice, honesty, loyalty, non-violence, avoiding destructive thought patterns.

Simple (not simplistic) concepts that don't require a Phd to learn... or teach... and all the prophecy, history, miracles etc. serve the purpose of pointing us back to this ethical core.

Today, I would like to use the virtue list of 2 Peter to see how the bible’s many roads lead back to the ethical core of moral behavior.

A List of Virtues

2 Peter 1:3-9 Peter's letter to the Church presents us with a list of virtues. This list gives us a moral and ethical core. Then the rest of the letter revolves around this teaching. Examples of how the balance of the letter revolves around these opening verses are:

1. Peter says "my purpose in writing is to remind you of these things and put together a body of writings future generation could refer to  verses 1:12-15, 3:1-2, 15-16. You are that future generation so this letter is for you.
2. Peter cites biblical examples of past judgment (rebellious angels, pre-flood people, Sodom and Gomorrah... and biblical prophecies concerning future judgment... :
   1. 1 Peter 2:3-22 a warning of what lays ahead for those who teach contrary to this moral code... judgment and eternal destruction. In the process Peter spells out some characteristics of these false teachers (repeating much of what Jude said). For example, undermining the need to obey... substituting fables and speculation for revealed truth... filling itching ears with words they want to hear rather than true instruction... etc. 2 Peter 2:1-3, 18-19
   2. 2 Peter 3:1-18 warns what lays ahead for individuals who buy into these false ideas and do not conform to this moral code... a day of judgement. In the process Peter reminds us of the wonderful future for those who are transformed in behavior and attitude 2 Peter 3:7, 10-11
3.  Throughout his letter, Peter addresses erroneous assumptions inherited from the Hellenistic world the Church members found themselves immersed in.

Popular Teachings of the Day

The Greeks and Romans had assumptions about truth and reality that can harm, block, and undermine how human beings interact with core issues like obedience and truth. Briefly discussing Hellenistic teachings might sound like an irrelevant journey into forgotten history. But, most of their errors are still alive and well in the 21st century... remember, this letter is for you.

Sin and Evil

Hellenistic thought teaches sin as undue attachment to material things. They reasoned that material and physical things were naturally evil and corrupting whereas spiritual things were pure. Like many other world religions they came to this conclusion as a way to explain the evil they could see with their own eyes in the physical world around them.

Questions about how a God who is good could be responsible for creating a material world which contains evil still bother and confuse people in our own time.

Biblical teaching is that the material creation is good... that sin is not built into the creation but enters into it through choices made... and that sin is a personal trespass against God's will and commandments... notice how that takes us back to the core.

Note: 2 Peter 2:4 Peter says angels (which are spirit and not of the material world) are capable of sin and subject to judgment. So… sin is not confined to the material world... sin is a matter of choices… even in the spirit realm.  

Immortal Soul

Hellenistic thought assumes that humans are born with a built in immortal essence... which continues on after death of the flesh. A concept shared with most humanly devised religious systems.

The bible teaches that humans are temporary... that both human flesh and human spirit are subject to permanent death and destruction. Immortality can be added to a person but it is a gift from God... granted at His pleasure... to those He chooses. God is pleased by those who buy into the ethical core. Buying into, and living by, God's simple yet effective behavioral program determines His choosing.

So… immortality does not operate independently from ethical and moral behavior.

Human Potential

Hellenist thought assumed that humans can ascend to a divine/spiritual status. They also taught this ascension happens immediately after death of the individual. You receive your reward (or punishment) on a spiritual plane while the material world keeps spinning round and round. Another patch of common ground with humanly devised religious thought of this world.

The Bible also teaches that humans have the potential to ascend to a divine/spiritual status BUT places personal reward or punishment at a distinct future point a) for the first-fruits it comes at the appointed time Christ's return b) for the rest of the dead it comes during the great white throne judgment which follows the 1,000 year rule of the returning Christ.

2 Peter 3:11-12  judgment affects each individual uniquely but is performed collectively. We experience it together. Also, resurrected spirit beings continue to interact with a material created world... new heavens... new earth.

The bible teaches that becoming spiritual is not about escaping creation... it is about how to properly interact with other created beings... cherubim, seraphim, spirit born children of God etc. Proper interaction is spelled out in the bible’s ethic core.

Self Development

Hellenist thought valued the cultivation of virtue. They loved creating lists of virtues... using them as teaching tools self development. For the Hellenist, cultivation of virtue led to becoming a more excellent being worthy (primarily focused on developing a spiritual mindset unmoved by material concerns). A more excellent being was worthy of ascent to that divine/spiritual status (detached from all material things).

Biblical thought also valued the cultivation of virtue (even some of the same ones as the Hellenists)... but biblical virtue is found in submission to God, not the pursuit of a more excellent self.

Which brings us back to Peter's list of virtues...  

Cultivation of Virtue

2 Peter 1:3-10 has the most obvious connection to the ethical core being itself a brief list of ethical goals. But lets look at certain unique and important differences between biblical and Hellenistic moral instruction... Hellenism shares many virtue goals  commonly found in humanly devised religious systems.

The listing of virtues found in verses 1:5-8 would have sounded very familiar to the Church members living in the cities of Greece. Their ears were attuned to philosophers and moral teachers building lists of virtues. Especially lists that built upon each other leading to a climactic end point… seeking new levels of personal excellence... primarily focused on mental detachment from a material world of sin and suffering.

Goodness-->knowledge-->self-control-->perseverance-->reverence-->brotherly love... these are all characteristics valued by Greeks, Romans, Bhuddists, Hindus, Muslims... and Christians. Furthermore Peter is stylizing them as a ladder of development with each virtue building on  the previous.

But Peter brackets this biblical ladder of virtue with two key biblical assumptions about where spiritual transformation begins and its goal.

Beginning With Faith

Peter  starts off saying "begin with faith and add to it goodness... then add knowledge to goodness etc, etc.". That simple addition of faith as the first step on the ladder brings a different perspective to the process

Hellenist s began with a contemplation of "what is good". They looked at nature, they applied their rational minds, they applied logic, they discussed, they approved, they disproved "what is good".

Biblical teaching is that definitions of "what is good" are received from God... then we test, approve, disprove what has been received Romans 12:2b, Ephesians:8-10, Philippians 1:9-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

2 Peter 1:1 the bible teaches that we receive faith. Through the power of God's spirit at work in the world each of us must, at some point, become convicted of guilt in regard to sin and convicted of  righteousness and of judgment.

However, faith is not just the ability to believe it is also the substance of what is believed. We know about sin and righteousness through God's commandments, statutes, and judgments. We know about guilt and judgment through God's pronouncements and prophecies.

Followers of God begin with what is given and revealed, not what is discovered through human inquiry. This revealed information comes from outside the material world. It comes to us from outside the capacity of the human mind. Once its revealed to us we have the capacity to understand… but we would not have thought of it ourselves.

Beginning with faith means we submit ourself to God. We place ourself under His personal command. We are not building our self up... we are allowing God to build us up. The biblical ladder of virtue does not begin with us… it begins with God graciously intervening in our life.

The Goal: Agape

Peter ends his listing of virtue with agape, saying... "add to brotherly love (philadelphia) a love like God's (agape)". Another simple addition that give a very different purpose to the process.

Agape is a type of love that is not driven by human emotions or desires. Agape is love that we choose... love that we learn and apply. Sometimes even choosing to love when our human emotions and disires push us, or pull us, in a very different direction.

Agape is often rightly called "Godly love"... because it is God's choice to love that comes first (to bless, to do good)... even when the ones loved are not especially worthy, not especially desirable.

Deuteronomy 7:7 perhaps God chooses what is small, weak, despised to make this point. To demonstrate agape... a choice to love not driven by desire, emotion, appeal... a choice to love that God wants us to learn.  

The end point (goal) of Peter's list of virtues is not for the attainment of a more excellent self. Its purpose is not to transcend evil and gain entrance into a spiritual realm of bliss. The goal before us is to submit our self to one another in agape. To submit our self to becoming like God... submission to Him and submission to one another.

Bliss is not achieved through spiritual aloofness... transcendence... becoming untouched and unmoved. The good life is through becoming connected in agape. Transcendence, incorruptibility, and all that are gifts we receive BUT they are not the goal.

2 Peter 1:2 knowledge of God which is truth rightly received and revealed... knowledge of God that comes through living that truth.

Conclusion

2 Peter 1:10-11 the end point (goal) of this ladder of virtues is welcome into the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ. Which comes at an appointed time... it comes after judgment... it is connected not alone or aloof.