Best-selling author and professor Wayne Grudem distills over forty years of teaching experience into a single volume aimed at helping readers apply a biblical worldview to difficult ethical issues, including wealth and poverty, marriage and divorce, birth control, abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, business practices, environmental stewardship, telling the truth, knowing God’s will, understanding Old Testament laws, and more.
Abbreviations
Illustrations
Preface
Part 1: Introduction
1. Introduction to Christian Ethics
2. The Ultimate Basis for Ethics: The Moral Character of God
3. Our Source of Ethical Standards: The Bible
4. The Goal of Ethics: Living for the Glory of God
5. The Joys and Blessings of Obedience to God and the Harmful Consequences of Sin
6. How to Know God’s Will: Factors to Consider in Making Ethical Decisions
7. Christians Will Never Have to Choose the “Lesser Sin”
8. How Should Christians Use the Old Testament for Ethical Guidance?
Part 2: Protecting God's Honor
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
9. No Other Gods
10. No Carved Images
11. Purity of Speech
12. Lying and Telling the Truth
13. The Sabbath Commandment
Part 3: Protecting Human Authority
“Honor your father and your mother.”
14. Authority of Parents
15. Equality and Leadership in Marriage
16. Civil Government
17. Other Authorities
Part 4: Protecting Human Life
“You shall not murder.”
18. Capital Punishment
19. War
20. Self-Defense
21. Abortion
22. Euthanasia
23. Suicide
24. Aging and Death
25. Racial Discrimination
26. Health
27. Alcohol and Drugs
Part 5: Protecting Marriage
“You shall not commit adultery.”
28. Marriage
29. Birth Control
30. Infertility, Reproductive Technology, and Adoption
31. Pornography
32. Divorce and Remarriage
33. Homosexuality and Transgenderism
Part 6: Protecting Property
“You shall not steal.”
34. Property: The Goodness and Necessity of Private Ownership of Property
35. Work, Rest, Vacations, and Retirement
36. Increasing Prosperity: Is More Prosperity a Good Thing?
37. Poverty and Wealth
38. Personal Financial Stewardship
39. Borrowing, Lending, and the Question of Debt
40. Business Ethics
41. Stewardship of the Environment
Part 7: Protecting Purity of Heart
“You shall not covet.”
42. Purity of Heart
Appendix A: Should We Move Beyond the New Testament to a Better Ethic? An Analysis of William J. Webb's Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis
Appendix B: Scripture Versions Cited
Glossary
Name Index
Hymn Index
Scripture Index
Subject Index