Biblical Ethics (book review)

Like every book from Oswald Chambers, be prepared for Biblical Ethics to hit you right between the eyes! In my lifetime the term ethics has had so many qualifiers added to it: situational ethics … biomedical ethics … wartime ethics. As though ethics becomes something changeable if you are in a difficult situation.

But in clear, unequivocal language, Oswald Chambers brings all ethics back to the Bible.

Keying in most frequently on the teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, Chambers helps us get to the true intention behind the ethical requirements of God’s Law. For any who would say, “But it’s too hard to figure out what Jesus actually meant,” Chambers replies,

“When we come across something we don’t like, we say we don’t understand it; it is too plain not to be understood.”

This is not light reading, but it is valuable reading. Serious disciples of Christ will be well-rewarded by reading and studying the wisdom in Biblical Ethics. If you would like to read more thoughts from Oswald Chambers, check out my weekly installment Thursdays With Oswald.

Thursdays With Oswald—Obstinacy Or Determination?

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Obstinacy Or Determination?

     It is easy to be determined, and the curious thing is that the more small-minded a man is the more easily he makes up his mind. If he cannot see the various sides of a question, he decides by the ox-like quality of obstinacy. Obstinacy simply means “I will not allow any discernment in this matter; I refuse to be enlightened.” We wrongly call this strong-mindedness. Strength of mind is the whole man active, not discernment merely from an individual standpoint. The determination in a disciple is a comprehending one, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,” says Paul.

From Facing Reality

     The difference between an obstinate man and a strong-minded man lies just here: an obstinate man refuses to use his intelligence when a matter is in dispute, while a strong-minded man makes his decision after having deliberately looked at it from all standpoints, and when opposed, he is willing to give reasons for his decision.

From Baffled To Fight Better

“The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is, that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.” —Henry Ward Beecher

So in hanging onto (and defending) what I believe, am I being obstinate or justly determined? 

Hmmm? What do you think?

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