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Christian Conduct

Only conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the good news of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or I am absent, I may hear the things about you, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one soul, striving together for the faith of the good news.
—Philippians 1:27

The most famous set of commands for proper conduct is undeniably the Ten Commandments. These are found at Exodus 20:1-17, and are commonly arranged as:

I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

1 You must have no other gods before me.

2 You must not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down yourself to them nor serve them.

3 You must not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.

4 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you will labor, and do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Jehovah your God. In it you will not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor the foreigner who is within your gates.

5 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Jehovah your God gives you.

6 You must not kill.

7 You must not commit adultery.

8 You must not steal.

9 You must not give false testimony against your neighbor.

10 You must not covet your neighbor's house, you must not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.

The first four commandments concern our relationship with God, and the last six with our fellow-man. They regulate how we treat others. They are instructions on how to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the good news. They show us proper Christian conduct.

Undoubtedly, most professed Christians believe they carry out these commandments, but they might be mistaken, and that will have far-reaching consequences.

The Christian and Violence

Do you agree with the commandment that says You must not kill? It is almost certain that you do. But what about if you or your family are threatened? Do you feel it would be all right to kill the assailant? The answer to that question is up to your conscience, but is your answer the right one. Your conscience is there to guide you, but to do that correctly it has to be trained to do God’s will, to think God’s thoughts. If you don’t train it right, it won’t guide you right. What do you think God would say about your answer? Remember, your eternal life depends on your pleasing God, not someone here on this earth. Eternal life depends on meeting God’s approval, not man’s approval. But let God be found true, even if every man is found a liar. (Romans 3:4)

We must train our conscience

But how do you train your conscience to think God’s thoughts and not the opportunistic and unchristian thoughts and ideas of men who are separated from God? There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Psalm 14:2) It is necessary to always keep in mind what is at stake. At Job 14:1 it says: Man, that is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble. But if we know and do the will of God, we will have everlasting life. (John 17:3)

So it is important to do what God wants us to do and not what man thinks is right. The wisdom of God is infinitely greater than that of man. If you do what man thinks is right or the best course of action, you might preserve your life, but you may also do the opposite. Doing what man claims is the best course could even cost you your life. Doing what God says is right will reward you with everlasting life. Always keep that in mind. Now, how do you answer that question that was asked above? Think about it.

Many who claim to be Christian, and many who know their Bible, and what the Bible requires of a Christian, still fail to train their conscience to be Christian. They rationalize the commands and instructions found in the Holy Scriptures to justify and defend non-Christian attitudes. Because they want to follow their inclinations which are at odds with God’s Holy Word, they try to explain away scriptural admonitions that they don’t want to follow.

If we enter a difficult situation well trained in what God wants, we are less likely to follow the justifications of men who do not have Jesus Christ in their hearts. The Bible condemns the works of the flesh and tells us they include hatred, strife, anger, that is, fits of rage, and contentions. It tells us that those guilty of these things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Instead we should exhibit God’s spirit by being peaceful, showing patience and long-suffering, mildness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:19-26)

Learn God's will so we are always prepared

This does not mean we should be foolish in the face of danger, or fail to protect our family, but it does mean that as far as possible we will harm no person. There are many situations we might face, and how we deal with them will often involve difficult decisions, and indeed there may be little time to make a decision, that is why our conscience must be well trained.

Even if a soldier fights only infrequent battles, he must be well trained. He must practice repeatedly for what may be a brief but intense fight, so that in battle, with little or no time to think, he will almost automatically do what is the right thing. So too with our conscience, which is really that part of us that guides us when there is no time to think. We must take in and take to heart the teachings of God’s word, so in the heat of the moment we will always follow his will and not the impure reflexive actions of the ungodly.

Most know that the Bible says to turn the other cheek, but what does that really mean? It doesn’t mean to put up with evil, but is a statement of a principle for those who wish to do the will of God. We do not wish to go against the teachings of the Bible, but we also don’t want to behave in an apathetic manner. To understand the difference, we have to get to know the mind of God, which we can only do if we study his Word and learn from what it says. (Matthew 5:39)

By following the Bible we can avoid many difficult situations. When it tells us to be slow to anger, we should follow that Christ inspired advice. At 2 Timothy 2:24 we are instructed that the bond servant of the Lord does not need to fight but must be mild towards all. The original word that is translated here as fight, is machomai, which some translate as quarrelsome. It also has the meaning ‘to do battle’. The concept is obvious. A Christian avoids fighting, quarrelling, or doing battle, if that is at all possible. (James 1:19; Romans 12:18)

The Christian and Sex

Do you agree with the commandment that says You must not commit adultery? It is very likely that you also agree with that commandment. In the Greek Scriptures, the New Testament, it uses the word porneia which includes all forms of illicit sexual conduct. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have impaled the flesh with its passions and desires. (Exodus 20:14; Galatians 5:24)

But there is an aspect of that command that Jesus brought out. You have heard that it was said, “You must not commit adultery.” But I say to you, that everyone that looks at a woman so as to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So Jesus was saying that if you want to commit adultery you are as guilty as if you committed the act itself. He was not talking about a passing improper thought. He was talking about dwelling on it and wanting to carry it out. In other words, we should endeavor to put improper and illicit thoughts out of our mind. And we will actually be happier that way. You will also note that he is not talking about consequences or punishment, but of guilt.

The Christian and Stealing

The Bible says: You must not steal. But what does that mean? The answer might seem obvious, and yet is it really? The obvious answer is taking something that does not belong to you but to someone else. Do you agree? But what does that really mean? Does it mean what morally, ethically, intrinsically belongs to someone, or does it mean what the law says belongs to someone. The difference becomes obvious.

Back in the times of ancient Rome, the state could take the property of Christians, and even take their life, putting them to death in the arena for the entertainment of the populace. It was legal, but was it right? Before, and during the Second World War, the Nazis took the property of millions of people and also the property of nations it invaded. It was legal under the law of the Nazis, but was considered stealing by everyone else. In ancient Rome and in World War II, what the governments in power considered legal, would by all good people be considered stealing.

Most can see this clearly because they do not live under these jurisdictions. But what about actions by governments in power at this time? The Bible makes clear, that from a Christian viewpoint, taxes are legal, but what about the confiscation of property and other actions. What about the practices of individuals? What is legal, may be going against the laws of God. This is something which as Christians we have to give careful thought to, because we will be judged by our obedience to the laws of God, not those of men.

If we employ people to work for us, and we pay them less than is necessary for them to live on, are we stealing their labor? The Bible deals with this situation when it says for the laborer is worthy of his hire, at Luke 10:7. If someone damages your car, and the insurance company will not pay to fix it, but offers you less than it costs to replace it, depending that your need to have a working vehicle will force you to accept what they are willing to pay, are they stealing from you? Legally no, but from the point-of-view of fairness, equity, and most important, the Word of God, they are indeed breaking the commandment, You must not steal.

Once again we see the need for a well-trained conscience that puts the Law of God above expediency and the unchristian inclinations of man.

The Christian and Lying

When the Bible says You must not give false testimony against your neighbor, it is clearly referring to testimony in a trial or some similar situation. But the principle applies to anything we might say about anyone or any occurrence. As a result, this might be the commandment that is broken the most by professed Christians.

While most Christians realize they must not testify falsely in court, or in any kind of an official situation, they seem to weaken when it comes to things they say in everyday life. It’s as if they do not realize they are lying, or somehow believe what they are saying or doing does not really constitute a lie.

It may be inconvenient, but if you include false information on your tax forms, or any other government authorized forms, from the point-of-view of the Bible it is lying. To somehow convince ourselves that they have no right to the information or that it isn’t really a lie, in no way mitigates what we have done, and since we want to meet with God’s approval and not just satisfy our desires, we should listen to the Bible.

The right of the government to make demands, even ones we consider unfair, even ones that are wrong, was made clear by Jesus in the matter of taxes. Then he said to them: Give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, and to God the things that belong to God. In keeping with this admonition Jesus paid taxes. (Matthew 22:21; Matthew 17:24-27; Romans 13:7)

Is lying ever justified?

But if you had lived in Nazi Germany, or in the old Soviet Union, or in ancient Rome, or any other such place, and you knew where Christians were in hiding, and the authorities demanded to know their whereabouts, what would you say? If you refused to tell them you would likely face terrible punishment. So, would you give them false information and claim you did not know. That is clearly a very difficult decision to make, and one that each has to decide on their own.

Some claim that lying is justified where the questioner has no right to know. But, even if that were the case, how would you decide when they have the right to know and when they do not? The claim is made that denying the authorities, or anyone else, a correct answer is acceptable to God and the right thing to do under certain circumstances, is shown by the case of David, who later became king of Israel.

David, having fled for his life before King Saul, came to Gath, where he feigned insanity before the king, and as a result was able to escape into the wilds. This action probably saved David’s life. His insanity was clearly a lie, but the Bible does not say if God approved or disapproved. It does not pass judgment. So we cannot use it to know if some lying is acceptable to God or not. God certainly blessed him afterwards, but that still does not inform us.

This is the type of situation where you need a properly trained conscience, and it needs to be well trained beforehand.

The Christian and Coveting

Some, when they read the admonition forbidding coveting in the Ten Commandments, may feel that it is a less serious offence than the others. But, in fact, it is the basis of much evil, including adultery, killing, stealing, lying, and even the worship of false gods. By looking at another man’s wife and feeding a growing desire and lust for her, or allowing a desire for property, lands, riches, possessions, and many other things, to grow within us, so that the desire becomes an overwhelming need to be satisfied, leads to these other sins. The people of Israel, rejected God’s kingship over them and demanded a human king, because they coveted what the other nations had.

This is where the matter of coveting is so dangerous. It begins almost innocently, and grows, sometimes almost imperceptibly, until it becomes all-consuming and overwhelming. We must recognize it and the dangers it presents, and then crush these wrong ideas and notions, before they are able to take us over and consume us.

Stand firm, therefore, with the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having your feet shod in readiness with the gospel of peace. Besides all, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:14-17)

If we accept the true teachings of the Bible and reject the falsehoods of the Churches then what we need to do is engage in the true worship taught in God's Word. So lastly, let us look at True Christian Worship.

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