Our Foundation

Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe ... the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.

—Immanuel Kant, philosopher

Why does humankind feel guilt or remorse? Why do people have a sense of fairness or unfairness, justice or injustice, unselfishness or selfishness, courage or cowardice, right or wrong, distorted as they may be? To be sure, we add our shades of gray to these concepts, corrupting their purity through our self-interest. Nevertheless, how can anyone even compare these contrasting ideas without some internal standard by which to compare them? When we feel betrayed or cheated or lied to, something within us tells us a standard of behavior has been violated. When someone takes something that belongs to us without our permission, we are upset. Even a gang of thieves after a heist feels that their rights have been violated when they do not receive what they consider their "fair share." And when an innocent man is accused of or punished for something he didn't do, his sense of injustice is keen.

Each of us has a moral code ingrained within us, even though we do not always act in accordance with that code. C. S. Lewis, scholar and author, wrote, "First, human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and really cannot get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all the clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in." Lewis went on to write that human beings are "haunted by the idea of a sort of behavior they ought to practice, what you might call fair play, or decency, or morality, or the Law of Nature" and "that they did not in fact do so."

Moral impurity and spiritual corruption are the result of incremental compromise through a slow erosion of standards, a growing carelessness about details, a gradual blurring of distinctions, and poor moral discipline. One commentator said that the safest road to hell is a gradual one: the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turns or milestones or signposts.

So where does this embedded sense of right and wrong come from? Lewis argues that it is not simply cultural, as it is universal:

Some people say the idea of a Law of Nature or decent behavior known to all men is unsound, because different civilizations and different ages have quite different moralities. But this is not true. There have been differences between their moralities, but these have never amounted to anything like a total difference. If anyone will take the trouble to compare the moral teaching of, say, the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hindus, Chinese, Greeks and Romans, what will really strike him will be how very like they are to each other and to our own.

Back to the question: where does this implanted sense of right and wrong come from—what is its source? Simply put, it came from our Creator. God has communicated His existence, His nature, His moral standards, and His plan of salvation to us. Nelson Bible Dictionary clearly articulates this fact. The quote is rather long, but worth every word, as our foundation is based on its truths:

God is a personal Spirit distinct from the world; He is absolutely holy and is invisible to the view of physical, finite, sinful minds. Although people can never create truth about God, God has graciously unveiled and manifested Himself to mankind. Other religions and philosophies result from the endless human quest for God; Christianity results from God's quest for lost mankind. God has made Himself known to all people everywhere in the marvels of nature and in the human conscience, which is able to distinguish right from wrong. Because this knowledge is universal and continuous, by it God has displayed His glory to everyone. Some Christians think that only believers can see God's revelation in nature, but the apostle Paul said that unbelievers know truth about God: The unrighteous must have the truth to "suppress" it; they "clearly see" it; knowing God, they fail to worship Him as God; they alter the truth; they do not retain God in their knowledge; and knowing the righteous judgment (moral law) of God, they disobey it. The reason the ungodly are "inexcusable" before God's righteous judgment is that they possessed but rejected the truth which God gave them. What can be known of God from nature? God's universal revelation makes it clear that God exists, and that God, the Creator of the mountains, oceans, vegetation, animals, and mankind, is wise and powerful. People aware of their own moral responsibility, who know the difference between right and wrong conduct and who have a sense of guilt when they do wrong, reflect the requirements of God's moral law (the Ten Commandments) that is written on their hearts. What is the result of divine revelation in nature? If anyone lived up to that knowledge by loving and obeying God every day of his life, he would be right with God and would not need salvation. However, no one loves God with his whole being and his neighbors as himself. People worship and serve things in creation rather than the Creator. The problem does not lie with the revelation, which like the Law is holy, just, and good; the problem is with the sinfulness of human lives. The best human being (other than Jesus Christ) comes short of the uprightness God requires. When Christians defend justice, honesty, and decency in schools, homes, neighborhoods, businesses, and governments, they do not impose their special beliefs upon others. They merely point to universal principles that all sinners know but suppress in their unrighteousness. As valuable as general revelation is for justice, honesty, and decency in the world today, it is not enough. It must be completed by the good news of God's mercy and His gracious gift of perfect righteousness. Nature does not show God's plan for saving those who do wrong: that Jesus was the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and that He rose again from among the dead. The message of salvation was seen dimly throughout Old Testament sacrifices and ceremonies. It was seen more clearly as God redeemed the Israelites from enslavement in Egypt and as God disclosed to prophetic spokesmen the redemptive significance of His mighty acts of deliverance. The full and final revelation of God has occurred in Jesus Christ. "God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds." Christ has "declared" God to us personally. To see Christ is to see the Father. Christ gave us the words which the Father gave Him. At the cross Jesus revealed supremely God's self-giving love. There He died, "the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." And the good news is not complete until we hear that He rose again triumphantly over sin, Satan, and the grave, and is alive forevermore. Christ chose apostles and trained them to teach the meaning of His death and resurrection, to build the church, and to write the New Testament Scriptures. We are to remember the words of these eyewitnesses to Christ's resurrection. The content of God's special revelation concerning salvation, given to specially gifted spokesmen and supremely revealed in Christ, is found in "the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of ... the apostles of the Lord and Savior." "The Holy Scriptures is able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

These truths provide the foundation upon which we stand. God formed our inward parts; He knitted us together in our mothers' wombs; He knew us before we were; He established the days we would live on this earth. It should give you great peace to know that you were in God's heart before you ever came to be. Back to our question once again: where does our sense of right and wrong come from? God, our Father, injected and infused His moral code in our hearts; we were given a conscience. And while our conscience can, unfortunately, be corrupted, it cannot be erased. It can be suppressed, marred, warped, and distorted, but it cannot be destroyed.

God has revealed Himself to us through general and special revelation. Those who do not know Christ have no excuse. Those who claim to know Christ also are without excuse. Finding our way, understanding our divine trajectory, and realizing our created potential all begin with the knowledge that God exists, that He cares for us, that He has provided a way for us to know Him through His Son, and that He established plans for us before we were born. We are not a mistake, a happenstance, a coincidence, or a product of fate. We are God's very own. He knows us because He created us according to His design and wants us to live in accordance with that design. When we choose to live in accordance with that design, we will find meaning and significance. When we choose to live apart from that design, we will reap meaninglessness and insignificance.

One of my favorite authors is J. I. Packer, a Bible teacher and world-class theologian. In my book A Rattling of Sabers, I quote Packer regarding God's design and what it means to be created in God's image. His remarks add depth to our discussion of humans' innate sense of right and wrong:

When God made man, He communicated to him qualities corresponding to His moral attributes. This is what the Bible means when it tells us that God made man (meaning both men and women) in His own image—namely, that God made man (and woman) a free spiritual being, a responsible moral agent with powers of choice and action, able to commune with Him and respond to Him, and by nature good, truthful, holy, upright: in a word, godly. The moral qualities which belonged to the divine image were lost at the Fall; God's image in man has been universally defaced, for all mankind has in one way or another lapsed into ungodliness. But the Bible tells us that now, in fulfillment of His plan of redemption, God is at work in Christian believers to repair His ruined image by communicating these qualities to them afresh. This is what Scripture means when it says that Christians are being renewed in the image of Christ and of God.

Packer offers a vivid description of the severe consequences if we violate God's natural order:

We are familiar with the thought that our bodies are like machines, needing the right routine of food, rest, and exercise if they are to run efficiently, and liable, if filled up with the wrong fuel—alcohol, drugs, poison—to lose their power of healthy functioning and ultimately to "seize up" entirely in physical death. What we are perhaps slower to grasp is that God wishes us to think of our souls in a similar way. As rational persons, we were made to bear God's moral image—that is, our souls were made to "run" on the practice of worship, law-keeping, truthfulness, honesty, discipline, self-control, and service to God and others. If we abandon these practices, not only do we incur guilt before God; we also progressively destroy our souls. Conscience atrophies, the sense of shame dries up, one's capacity for truthfulness, loyalty, and honesty is eaten away, one's character disintegrates. One not only becomes desperately miserable; one is steadily being de-humanized.

Our foundation, our North Star that orients us, embodies the following truths:

• God exists and is active in our lives.

• We were in the heart of God before we ever came to be.

• We were created for a purpose and to facilitate God's purposes.

• God is generally revealed in the things He has created.

• God is specially revealed in His Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible.

• Humans bear the image of God, and within that image is our conscience.

• God's moral nature and code is embedded in all beings.

• The image of God and our sense of morality are marred by sin.

• The solution for this dilemma is the person and work of Christ.

• We are to live in accordance with His design.

• He desires that we reach our full potential in and through Him.

• Our human destiny is eternal life with Him or eternal separation from Him.

Cardinal Points

Every orienting compass has four cardinal points: north, south, east, and west. If we are to find our way on our journey, we must keep before us the correct orientation.

North Cardinal Point: Jesus Christ

Abiding, remaining, and continuing in Christ is crucial. In John 15, we are told about the importance of abiding, remaining, and continuing in Christ:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

In the verses that follow, God admonishes us to love others as He loves us, even if it means laying down our lives for them. He chose us and appointed us to go and bear lasting fruit. Doing so may not garner the adulation and appreciation of the beneficiaries of such unconditional love. But if the world hates us, we should keep in mind that it hated Him first. When we came to Christ, we released our passport to this world and received a passport to His Kingdom, of which we are now citizens. We no longer belong to this world, for God has chosen us out of this world. The fact that we don't embrace the ways of this world will not be appreciated by those who live by its dictates; if they persecuted Christ, they will persecute us as well. We who claim His name and are not afraid to acknowledge our allegiance to Him will be scorned by those who deny Him. In fact, because of the way we live, the beliefs we hold, the kingdom values we embrace, the biblical worldview we adhere to, and the motives that drive us, we will remind the world how far it has slipped from His standards. But we are not to lose hope, for His truth will prevail. We've been given a counselor, the Spirit of truth, who will empower us and guide us on the journey. The power of the lives we live will be a testament to Him.

East Cardinal Point: The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is vital to our journey. Many of us are unaware of His critical role in our formation. He provides energy, inspiration, strength, clarity, intercession, spiritual gifts, spiritual fruit, and empowerment.

The third person of the Trinity was active and present at creation. In the Old Testament He is revealed as the origin of supernatural abilities, the giver of artistic skill, the source of power and strength, the inspiration of prophesy, the equipper of God's messengers, and the cleanser of the heart for holy living.

In salvation He regenerates the believer, dwelling within and sanctifying him. He inspired the writing of scripture. His present ministry to us includes declaring the truth about Christ. He endows us with the power for Gospel proclamation, pouring out God's love in our hearts, interceding for us, imparting spiritual gifts for ministry, enabling the fruit of holy living, and strengthening our inner beings.