2f key moral principles

Question 1

what are kmp based off

Answer 1

God’s laws regarding behaviour.
Christians attempt to obey certain rules laid down by God and recorded in the OT law and in the NT teachings of Jesus.

Question 2

how was Jesus challenged by Jewish leaders and 1st and 2nd commandments

Answer 2

over the OT law and why his followers didnt adhere to it more closely.
was once asked by a Pharisee devoted to the study of the law
‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’
Jesus replied, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
this is the greatest and first commandment. and the second is like it: you shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ on these commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
‘

Question 3

love of neighbour - first commandment connection to OT

Answer 3

when he commanded his followers to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’, Jesus was echoing the OT Book of Deuteronomy ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might’.

Question 4

love of neighbour- second commandment connection to OT

Answer 4

when he commanded his followers to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’, he was echoing the OT Book of Leviticus.
Leviticus goes on to give a reason for this commandment: the Israelites are welcome foreigners as fellow citizens and to ‘love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.’

Question 5

love of neighbour- Good Samaritan

Answer 5

two commandments are repeated in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
When asked by a lawyer: ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus replies: ‘What is written in the law?’. The lawyer answers that the law commands people to love God and to love their neighbour as themselves. ‘That’s right’, says Jesus, ‘Do this and you will live’. The lawyer then asks, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replies by telling the story of a man who is attacked and robbed on the road to Jericho from Jerusalem. Two Jewish religious leaders pass him by without offering assistance, but a Samaritan (and the Jews considered Samaritans to be their enemies) stops, binds his wounds, and takes care of him. He then commands the lawyer: ‘Go and do likewise’.

Question 6

love of neighbour- who is ones neighbour? Sermon on the Mount

Answer 6

clear for Jesus that one’s neighbour is not simply the person who happens to live next door, but everyone whom we happen to meet on life’s journey. in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers that they had heard the old saying ‘love your neighbour and hate your enemy’. But Jesus replied ‘I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew).

Question 7

love of neighbour- how does this link to god

Answer 7

to love God with heart, soul, and mind, is to recognise that everyone is part of his creation. they deserve respect, and their needs and desires must be as highly regarded as one’s own.

Question 8

love of neighbour- ahavah OT

Answer 8

Hebrew for love- refers to all kinds of love. God’s love originates from his ow character. His love is genuine and eternal. it is an action and something he chooses to do. for example, God chose the Israelites because of his love. We should show our love for God by the way we love each other.

Question 9

love of neighbour- agape NT

Answer 9

greek for love- biggest kind of love; the kind God has for all his creations. followers looked to Jesus’ life and teachings to redefine the concept of love. Love of God is expressed through the concept of love. Love for God is expressed through love for people.
one’s neighbour is everyone whom we happen to meet. Jesus modelled this through his crucifixion.

Question 10

love of neighbour- Leviticus q

Answer 10

‘you shall love the alien as yourself’
(a discussion of the laws Israelite live by following their liberation from Egypt)
the Hebrew word for love is ahem which, in this passage, refers to a sibling or friendship kind of love.
-love is greater than nationalism

Question 11

love of neighbour- Luke q

Answer 11

‘You shall love the lord your God- and your neighbour as yourself’
(following this passage on love is the parable of the good samaritan
the greek word for love is agape- a self-giving love
- love is both spiritual and practical

Question 12

gods love as a model-intro

Answer 12

the basic model for Christian behaviour is the love shown for human beings by God himself: in both the old and New Testament, God is presented as a god of love.

Question 13

gods love as a model- OT Exodus

Answer 13

famous passage where God reveals himself to Moses and, in words attributed to God himself, described his own character proclaiming he is:
-Merciful
-gracious
-slow to anger
-abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness
-keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation
-forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin
-yet by no mans clearing the guilty
-visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children, and upon the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation

Question 14

gods love as a model- NT teaching

Answer 14

NT teaches that God’s steadfast love and faithfulness was revealed in the life, and particularly the death, of Jesus. Since God has so loved human beings, human beings must so love God.
In his Epistle, John insists that it is impossible to love God without also loving other people. those who say that they love God, and hate their brothers and sisters, are liars. If they do not love their brothers and sisters whom they have seen, how can they love God, whom they have not seen? true love of God includes a love of humanity.

Question 15

gods love as a model- Exodus

Answer 15

‘a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger…’
(the giving of the covenant to Moses on Mt Sinai.
Hebrew word for steadfast love is chesed which can be translated as kindness and is required as a part of a covenant or social contract.
- God has a loving character- even when people sin.

Question 16

gods love as a model- John

Answer 16

‘those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also’
(this is part of a letter which makes the case that God’s love is known through the sending of Jesus to the world.
this writer defined love as going beyond merely speaking but engaging in action.
-Loving God includes loving people.

Question 17

regard for the truth- intro

Answer 17

Christians have always considered themselves to be the guardians of truth. by ‘truth’ they mean the ultimate meaning and value of existence. they believe the Bible communicates the truth about the nature of God, the Person of Jesus, the history of salvation.

Question 18

regard for truth- OT

Answer 18

(Samuel)
Israelites are commanded to ‘fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you.’ the ‘great things’ he has done for Israelites to free them from captivity in Egypt and lead them through 40 years in the wilderness to the promised land of Canaan. in recognition of this, Israelites are called ‘to serve him faithfully’.

Question 19

regard for truth- NT

Answer 19

nt account of God’s saving grace is even more dramatic. through the death and resurrection of Jesus, he has freed human beings from captivity to sin and death and led them to a promised eternal life.
in recognition of this, Christians are called to put away their old, corrupt self and to clothe themselves with ‘the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness’ (Ephesians)

Question 20

regard for truth- NT Paul

Answer 20

advised christians to ‘speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are all members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your answer, and do not make room for the devil.’ (Ephesians)
Paul says, it is alright for Christians to feel angry, but their anger must be directed against sin, and it must not be allowed to fester in the heart but than opens up the door for the devil.

Question 21

regard for truth- Samuel

Answer 21

‘serve him faithfully with all your heart’
(Israels lack of trust in God and desire for a human king to guide them through the political threats facing them.
Israelites are reminded of the reasons they have to be grateful to God.
- it is more important to serve god than humans

Question 22

regard for truth- Ephesians

Answer 22

‘putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours’
(this section of Ephesians contains practical wisdom for Christians).
this passage may have been inspired by Zechariah 8:16.
lying not only hurts others, but also ourselves since we are all a part of the body of Christ.

Question 23

conscience- intro

Answer 23

Bible teaches that human beings, because they are made in the image of God, have an innate sense of right and wrong. they are able to view live situations in a moral or ethical light and to judge that some actions are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. this ability is called conscience, as Paul writes in his first letter to Timothy
‘the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heard, a good conscience, and sincere faith.’

Question 24

conscience- what is it informed by

Answer 24

christians believe their conscience is informed by both the Bible and the work of the Holy Spirit. when they violate the standards that they believe are expected of them, they experience guilt. they are then to confess their sin and experience God’s forgiveness. if conscience is repeatedly ignored, ones sensitivity to moral issues becomes desensitised, and one goes along with things one knows to be wrong.

Question 25

conscience- sensitivity

Answer 25

ones conscience can also become overly sensitive condemning the believer for normal human failures, and leading to false guilt. the Christians goal is to develop a mature conscience based on biblical teaching as illuminated by the HS

Question 26

conscience- Corinthians

Answer 26

‘we have behaved in the world with frankness and godly sincerity’
(Paul is defending himself from being criticised as sophisticated; rather, he has acted in good conscience)
conscience means an innate and universal awareness of right and wrong actions.
- the way to a good conscience is to recognise God as the source of goodness.

Question 27

conscience- Timothy

Answer 27

‘Love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith’
(Paul is concerned with endless discussion of some religious teachers)
notice the word conscience is related in this passage to purity and faith.
-the true goal of religious teaching is not right thinking but a right life.

Question 28

forgiveness- teaching of Jesus

Answer 28

forgiveness is a prominent theme in the teaching of Jesus. In his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew), he told his followers that if they do not forgive, they themselves will not be forgiven. it is this side that lies behind the petition in the Lord’s Prayer, ‘And forgive us out debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors’.
On another occasion, Peter asked, how often should I forgive? as many as seven times?
Jesus answered, not seven times but seventy-seven. the answer suggests forgiveness is not easy.

Question 29

forgiveness- Paul

Answer 29

Paul echoes Jesus’ teaching. for him, the model for Christian forgiveness is the forgiveness freely granted to sinners by God. Forgiveness is therefore a conscious choice that Christians must make through a decision of the will motivated by obedience to God. they believe that forgiveness sets them free from all feelings of anger and hurt that previously constrained them.

Question 30

forgiveness- Matthew

Answer 30

‘if you forgive others their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you’.
(This passage follows the Lords prayer where Jesus teachers us that we are to request forgiveness as we forgive others.)
the only part of the Lords prayer that receives extra attention in this chapter is the theme of forgiveness
- we cut ourselves off from God if we do not forgive others.

Question 31

forgiveness- Colossians

Answer 31

‘…just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.’
(The theme of Colossians is the new life of the Christian believer)
one is to put on forgiveness (and other qualities) as they do clothing
-Christians are to emulate the forgiveness Jesus showed on the cross.