Considering The Doctrine of the Christian Life, Part 3

John Frame has, I think, done the Church a great service in writing The Doctrine of the Christian Life. It is the material from his course on Christian Ethics. The 3rd section of the book is Christian Ethical Methodology. As expected, he breaks this into 3 parts: normative, situational and existential.

“In general, a Christian ethical decision is the application of God’s revelation (normative) to a problem (situational) by a person (existential).”

The normative aspect of Christian Ethics is revelation. God exercises His lordship by communicating His character and will to us. Unlike non-Christian views of deontological ethics, we have a recognizable standard. Frame affirms both general and special revelation as part of that standard. Both can be misinterpreted by sinners such as us.

We don’t just have a Law given to us. God expects us to imitate Him. He is the ultimate norm for us. There is an aspect of “What Would Jesus Do” that is accurate.

But the overall focus is the authority of Scripture. He spends time on inspiration and the attributes of Scripture. He has an important chapter on the sufficiency of Scripture. This is often misunderstood. The Westminster Confession formulates the sufficiency of Scripture “concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life.” It does not limit this to explicit statements (a problem I often run into in theological discussion), but also includes “any good and necessary consequence.” In other words, doing theology is not merely quoting Scripture but THINKING through the consequences of what Scripture says. As a result, the divine words we have are sufficient for our needs.

“The sufficiency of Scripture does not rule out the use of natural revelation (“the light of nature”) and human reasoning (“Christian prudence”) in our decisions, even when those decisions concern the worship and government of the church.”

In this chapter he includes a discussion of “the strong and the weak.” This is a helpful discussion on the subject. In subsequent chapters he examines the relationship between law and gospel. He evaluates the traditional understanding of this distinction affirming parts and showing that some parts are not as consistent with Scripture. Similarly, he tackles the relationship between law and love which is another ditch many fall into. Other areas of importance to understanding and applying the Law are included like the relationship between the Old and New Covenants.

The section on the Situational Perspective includes material on natural law, our ethical situation as redeemed people in a fallen world. We have to live like we are surrounded by sinners, and are always in danger of committing treason. One part of this is how the Fall has affected us genetically. This is a common “excuse” for behaviors the Scriptures declare as sin. It is important that we have understand that “born this way” doesn’t mean that all we are is good. Genetics does not equal good or righteous.

In addition to “natural” history, but we occupy a particular place in redemptive history. That particular place is part of our situation in which we must make ethical decisions. Our commission from God also forms part of our situational context.

When he moves into the Existential Perspective which is about who we are in the decision making process. It is not just about who we are, but who we are supposed to be as well. Truly Christian ethics are not just about actions but about character. As a result he writes much about the image of God. There are also discussions about motives and virtue. We are called to act out of faith in Christ, hope in God’s promises, love for God and man etc. There is also a discussion of common grace.

Frame brings regeneration and sanctification into the discussion we well. We are fundamentally changed in regeneration, and that change continues in sanctification. As a result, your ethical viewpoints and decisions will change over time.

Often, many of these subjects are neglected in ethics. Frame brings them into the discussion for just cause. He wants to provide a solid foundation for our ethical thinking when we finally get to what the Scriptures say. As a result, this is not a simplistic approach to Christian ethics. It is one that demands much from us, driving us back to Christ for help even in the decision making.