I. Opening activity: Write out the 10 commandments. Give each participant a pen and paper. Have them write out the Ten Commandments. (If you want to make it a game: Award 1 point for each commandment they get right, 2 points for getting it in the right order) Go over answers & discuss: How many did you get right? How challenging was it? What does this little challenge reveal? Main Point: Most of us don’t know the commandments very well. How then can we obey them? Remind them of what Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” If we really love God, it behooves us to study, know and obey everything he has revealed in his word. (Optional: You can use this as a springboard to talking about current trends in society. Many people claim that they believe in God. Many will even say that they love God. But they prove that they don’t by the way they act. One person I met was living with her boyfriend and having sex out of wedlock. Another person said that if we really loved God we would we would engage in gay sex to help gay people. These are obviously against God’s law and contradictory to real love for God.) Explain that the goal of this study is to acquaint you further with the commandments. In so doing you will be more equipped to love the Lord and serve him only. II. Worldviews in Conflict: The ungodly theories of Ethics Ask: Which of these two statements is true?
Even though they seem contradictory, both statements are true. Everybody acknowledges the truth of God’s law. All men are moral beings. God has written his law on every man’s heart. Even though people might reject God, they acknowledge him by how they become outraged when God’s law is broken. If someone lies to you, you get mad at them. You get mad because you know God’s law is right. Everybody rejects the truth of God’s law People are also sinners. They will reject God and seek to concoct some other moral standard by which to live. (Romans 1) Ethics is the term we typically use to refer to the study of right and wrong. It is one of the basic elements of a worldview. Everyone has a worldview (whether it is consciously developed or not, is another question). So everyone seeks to define a standard for living. Here are a couple common ones today: Existentialism: This worldview is famous for telling you to “Follow your heart.” That is, do whatever feels good to you; choose in the moment what you think is best no matter the consequences. The following video clip gives you an accurate understanding of this worldview's ethics. Discuss what is right and what is not biblical. Stress that this worldview is purely concerned with yourself and has no real moral standard. One can choose to be a serial killer just as easily as he chooses to jump from a plane. Humanism: This worldview tells you to seek the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It finds its basis in human reason (and not Scripture). Man ultimately determines his own good. This video explains humanistic ethics. Watch it and look for its contradictions. For one, it may even be considered funny how it says that we should make our decisions without respect to authority. We should then ask, “Should this theory be followed since someone posing as an authority suggests it?” Ultimately, we must say that human reason alone cannot give a cohesive ethic. It reduces to relativism and one's personal decision. But more than that, there is no real standard for what is "good." Good, according to this worldview, is simply what I determine it to be. Relativism/postmodernism: This worldview says that what is right for you might not be right for me. It ultimately denies that there is anything that may be good or bad. The absurdity of this worldview may be seen in the following clip. Pragmatism & "Whatever it takes":
This worldview says "Do whatever works best." It leaves the rightness or wrongness of something to its results. Someone will say, "Let's be practical and just do what will get us results." Any of these above mentioned ethical theories can also reduce to "the ends justifies the means." In movies and on TV you will often here someone say, "I'll do whatever it takes" to get something they really want. When they say this, they are saying that the end (the thing they desire/goal) is so "good" that they are willing to do anything (means) to obtain it, even if it means doing something wrong. So, if being united to your lover is your deepest goal, killing her spouse could potentially be an option in order to be together. Or, if being rich is your goal, cheating and stealing would be a legitimate means to the end. All of the above worldviews are foolishness. The Bible summarizes them all by saying that "There is a way that seems right unto man, but its end is the way of death." Even though people may reject it, God’s law is our only true moral basis. Scripture alone should be that which guides and acts as our final authority for all maters of ethics. God alone, who is good, is the only one who can truly determine what is right and wrong. Without it anything becomes permissible. III. Read Psalm 119:97-104 Discuss: What does the Psalmist say? What are the fruits of his loving God's law? Do we love God's law? How do we know if we do?
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