Moral law refers to a set of principles or rules that govern human behavior and are based on notions of right and wrong. These principles are typically concerned with the ethical and moral aspects of human actions and decisions. Moral law guides how individuals should treat one another, make choices, and conduct themselves justly and virtuously.
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Features of absolute moral law
Universal application: Moral laws are often considered to apply to all individuals, regardless of their cultural, social, or personal backgrounds. They are intended to be universally valid and not contingent on specific circumstances.
Objective standard: Moral law is often seen as having an objective or external standard, meaning it exists independently of individual beliefs or opinions. It is not a matter of personal preference.
Prescriptive nature: Moral law prescribes how individuals should behave and make choices. It guides what actions are morally obligatory, permissible, or forbidden.
Conscience and moral reasoning: Moral law encourages individuals to reflect on their actions and consider the ethical implications of their decisions.
Accountability: Moral law implies a sense of moral responsibility, suggesting that individuals are responsible for their actions and may face consequences for failing to adhere to moral principles.
Ethical values: Moral law is closely related to ethical values and virtues, such as honesty, fairness, compassion, and justice. It promotes virtuous behavior and condemns actions that are seen as morally reprehensible.
Examples of moral laws include principles like “Do not kill,” “Tell the truth,” “Respect the rights of others,” and “Help those in need.” These principles are intended to guide individuals in making ethical choices and acting in ways that contribute to their well-being and that of others.
Moral law is a central concept in ethics and moral philosophy and is the foundation for moral reasoning and ethical decision-making.
The absolute moral law is objective and universal. Therefore, individual opinions or society’s laws and beliefs do not change it.
The argument is as follows: if an absolute moral law independent of humans exists, there must be a lawgiver. In Christianity, God is the lawgiver and has revealed His holy and just law in our hearts and His Word.
Absolute moral law in Christianity
The Christian moral law, often called Christian ethics or Christian morality, encompasses principles derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ and the broader biblical teachings found in the Old and New Testaments.
The Great Commandment and Ten Commandments are seen as objective moral laws given by God. We also include other verses below to complete Christian ethics.
Matt 22:34-40
But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Exodus 20:1-17
God spoke all these words, saying, “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
2 Peter 1:5-9
Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge; and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control perseverance; and in perseverance godliness; and in godliness brotherly affection; and in brotherly affection, love. For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to not be idle or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins.
Ephesians 4:32
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do well.
Seek justice.
Relieve the oppressed.
Defend the fatherless.
Plead for the widow.
Exodus 22:21-23
“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.
“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin that a man does is outside the body,” but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
Philippians 2:3-4
doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
Mark 10:45
For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
James 1:22
But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.
Romans 12:2
Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
1 Peter 1:15-16
but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
This article is part of our guide to presuppositionalism.