The Theology of Ethics
Kent Husted
Executive Director at Empowering Action | Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership
Dutch Reformed theologian and ethicist Herman Bavinck saw the fields of theology and ethics as inextricably related (Bavinck & Vriend, 2003).
With that in mind, let me offer this brief ethical and theological reflection:
Antinomy is a theological term?that describes?an apparent contradiction between two equally valid biblical principles.
The late Charles Ryrie (1999) warned that one could either accept by faith what cannot be reconciled or, in attempting to harmonize the apparent contradiction, inevitably overemphasize one truth to the neglect or even denial of the other.?
The error of overemphasizing God's love at the expense of His wrath is evident in our culture today. God's love is often improperly overemphasized or even considered incompatible with His wrath. This imbalance, as one theologian has pointed out, can lead to one of the greatest modern assaults on the character of God. Professing Christians, in their well-intentioned zeal to emphasize God's love, may inadvertently fashion a god of their own making who is passive and indifferent towards evil (MacArthur, 2015). This distortion of God's character is a severe consequence of this error.
The reality is that because God loves what is good, He hates what is evil.?
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As Christian leaders who desire to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16) and known for our integrity of heart (Psalm 78:72), we must recognize that God's holiness demands nothing less than hostile opposition to every form of evil and requires that those made in His image also abhor what is evil and love what is good (Romans 12:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:21).?
?References:
Bavinck, H., Bolt, J., & Vriend, J. (2003). Reformed dogmatics. Baker Academic.
MacArthur, J. (2022, April 8). Hating evil. Grace To You. https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B150807
Ryrie, C. C. (1999). Basic theology: A popular systematic guide to understanding biblical truth. Moody.