General revelation encompasses moral law (which is the same as natural law, for my purpose here) and nature. Moral law can be perceived by reason and conscience, but are they clear enough? Special revelation is Scripture. We need it to guide us more specifically and clearly.

Let’s begin.

I.. Introduction

A. Quick definition:

What is moral law? It is “a moral order divinely implanted in humankind and accessible to all persons through human reason” (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed. p. 814).

B. General revelation

It is called general (or universal) because it is available to everyone generally, not just to a few who get special revelation. General revelation comes through observing nature (e.g. death is unpleasant, so don’t murder); through seeing God directing history (we have developed new sources of food and technology); and through an inner sense of God’s existence and his law that “he has placed inside every person” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 7E). We could add human improvement in educational methods and child-rearing and family life. We have learned it is not good for the baby in the womb if the mother smokes and drinks alcohol; doing so is against the law, if not a civil law, then the moral law for sure.

C. Special revelation

It is Scripture itself generally but culminates in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is much clearer than general revelation. It includes moral commands, both in the OT and NT. It is founded on God’s character, who is infinitely good and righteous and wise. It can be considered the law of doing good and avoiding evil, the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have them do to you), and the moral commands of the Ten Commandments (i.e. honor your father and mother; don’t murder; don’t commit adultery; don’t steal; don’t covet).

D. Moral law and eternal law

From a theological standpoint, especially among Catholics, eternal law, which resides with God and his will, gets impressed upon humans, who potentially participate in their divinely appointed end or goal (“end” in this context means “goal,” as in “end zone” in football). Humans can either obey or disobey moral law.

E. Perceiving moral law by general revelation

People can deduce what moral law is by using reason and conscience;

However, Protestants, generally speaking, are skeptical of human reason being able to figure out moral law. Human reason and conscience are too badly damaged and warped. Some go so far as to say only Scripture can guide humankind, not logic and reason apart from Scripture.

But these same theologians also seem to concede that the main location in humankind to be impressed with moral law is the conscience. It is enough to give an awareness of all that God commands.

Now let’s look at test cases, classical Athens, the Old Testament, and the New Testament.

II.. Educated Pagan Society of Athens

A.. Brief intro.

It is difficult to imagine a more sophisticated and wiser pagan society than fifth-century Athens, B.C. In this section we will look at my favorite play, Antigone, by Sophocles, to prove that despite their wisdom, they failed in reading the full import of moral law.

B. Context of the play

Antigone’s brother Polynices attacked the city of Thebes and was killed, along with his brother Eteocles who, defending the city, fought against him–both brothers dead on the same day. Their uncle, Creon, takes the vacant throne of Thebes and orders that no one is to bury Polynices, but leave his body out in the open. To bury him brings the death penalty, says his recent decree. Eteocles is buried because he defended Thebes.

C. Antigone’s response

Antigone says no to the order. Not even the gods of heaven deny the jurisdictions of the underworld gods. She ritually sprinkles dirt on the body  and is caught and hauled into Creon’s throne room. Creon asks why she disobeyed his recent decree. She says human or civil law fluctuates so much that it may contradict natural justice. Moral law (or natural law) has to be put first and obeyed when it breaks with human decrees of kings. Creon investigates and finds her guilty and sentences her to die.

D. Moral law or natural justice

It is deep and reflects the wisdom of the ancients:

She replies that natural justice is unwritten and unshakable, everlasting, from the first of time. Human laws are temporary and unstable and varies from one culture and historical period to the next.

It wasn’t Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation—not to me. Nor did that Justice, dwelling with the gods beneath the earth, ordain such laws for men. Nor did I think your edict had such force that you, a mere mortal, could override the gods, the great unwritten, unshakable traditions. They are alive, not just today or yesterday: they live forever, from the first of time, and no one knows when they first saw the light.

Though this excerpt come from pagan Athens, it reveals that natural or moral law is numinous and just seems to occupy the universe. It is unwritten. Antigone uses her conscience and reason and tradition and religion to figure out that burying her brother is honorable and decent.

E. Paul’s reflections on ancient Athens

Yet for all their wisdom, the Athenians could not bridge the gap between their gods and the true God. This failure signifies a darkened mind. On his tour of Athens, he noticed the statues of the gods and says:

²² Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. (Acts 17:22-23)

Then he says that ancient, wise persons became foolish about God.

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. (Rom. 1:21-22)

F. Theological failure and moral failure

Paul connects wrongheaded theology (idolatry) and the idolaters’ moral life (homosexuality, in this case).

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. (Rom. 1:24-27)

G. Summary

This is not to say that all and only idolaters commit unnatural sexual acts, but in Athens the connection was certainly true.

Natural or moral law, and with it general revelation, failed because reason and conscience short-circuited.

We need special revelation.

Let’s begin with the OT.

III. Old Testament

A. Brief intro.

We look at the Torah, which was received from God himself. In Leviticus 18 the author, traditionally Moses, list sexual prohibitions. I do not quote from the mighty Ten Commandments, because I gave a quick summation, above, and which you can read at Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:7-21.

B. Leviticus 18 and moral law

No sex or intimate relationships with the following relatives and then men with men:

1.. Close relatives (this prohibition introduces the more detailed ones, below)

2. Mother

3. Father’s wife (stepmother)

4. Sister, whether full or half-sister (Abraham and Sarah were husband and wife before law was given, in Gen. 20:12)

5.. Grandchild, whether son’s daughter or daughter’s daughter

6.. Step-sister (born to father’s wife from another marriage)

7.. Paternal aunt

8. Maternal aunt

9. Paternal aunt by marriage (paternal uncle’s wife)

10. Daughter-in-law

11. Sister-in-law

12. A woman and her daughter

13. Step-granddaughter, either a man’s wife’s son or by by the man’s wife’s daughter, which is a wickedness or shameful deed cunningly devised (says BTSB on Lev. 18:17)

14. Sister-in-law while your wife is still living (before the law Jacob married Rachel and Leah, and it was quarrelsome, says Gen. 29:16-30)

15. A woman during her monthly period

16. Neighbor’s wife

17.. With a man (detestable, which refers to a repugnant practice, either from foreigners looking at Hebrews or repugnant to God himself, says BTSB on v. 22)

18. A man with an animal (perversion or “mixed” or “confused,” says BTSB on Lev. 18:23). We’ll discuss this prohibition further in Lev. 20.

19. A woman with an animal (perversion)

20.. No sex between men (and by extension women with women).

C. Summary verses

Here is the summary verses that explain why the prohibitions:

²⁴ “‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. ²⁵ Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, ²⁷ for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. ²⁸ And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. (Lev. 18:24-28)

Those verses teach that the inhabitants of the land who lived there before and were still living there practiced those strange sexual relationships. It was for that reason that God was going to drive them out (v. 24). In v. 25, the land itself was about to vomit them out. It was as if the land was sick of all the defilement. If the Israelites engage in the unlawful sexual practices, the land would vomit them out, too. And it did when the Assyrians exiled the northern kingdom, and the Babylonians exiled the southern kingdom. God’s just and correct judgment.

It is about protecting the Holy Land. And we could add: protecting morality and normalcy,

D. Divine commands are clear

And so special revelation through Scripture is much clearer than general revelation that we have to figure out through our reason and conscience. What happens when reason goes dark and conscience is confused? Bad deeds become good and good deeds become bad–at least from an unenlightened point of view.

IV. New Testament

A. Brief intro.

It is about the gospel of Christ and the law of Christ. But what about moral law? The NT is filled with commands, though hyper-grace teachers seem to deny or overlook them.

B. Example of moral law

This is only a partial list.

In the church at Corinth, Paul rebuked the church for permitting a man to sleep with his father’s wife, probably his stepmother (see no. 3 in the long list, above).

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. ² And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? (1 Cor. 5:1-2)

Roman law strictly outlawed incest like this. Why would Christian tolerate it? Paul’s solution was to excommunicate the man, so that he would come under the attack of Satan. His body may be killed, but his spirit would be saved. He may have repented (2 Cor. 7:8-13). In this moral law and Roman law matched up. Let’s not be total skeptics about civil law, when it conforms to moral law, guiding society.

It would be a grave mistake to conclude that the New Covenant Scriptures do not import moral law from the Old Covenant Scriptures in the New. Moral law is absolutely retained in the New.

C. New Testament commands

Here are examples, in verbs of imperative or command.

• Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near (Matt. 4:17).
• But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. (Matt. 5:22).
• But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:28).
•  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matt. 5:39).
• But I tell you: Love your enemies (Matt. 5:44).
• Be completely humble and gentle (Eph. 4:2).
• Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3).
• Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor (Eph. 4:25).
• Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths (Eph. 4:29).
• Be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1).
• Wives, submit to you husbands (Eph. 5:22).
• Husbands, love your wives (Eph. 5:25).
• Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).
• But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Pet. 115-16, quoting Lev. 11:44, 45).

Those are mere samples. we could have quoted many commands in the Sermon on the Mount alone.

D. Summary

No one should believe that grace lets us off the hook. We are bound by those commands. Recall what Jesus said at the end of Matthew’s Gospel:

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matt. 28:19-20)

We are to teach disciples in all nations, after we turn them into disciples and baptize them, to obey everything he commanded, including the entire Sermon on the Mount.

V. Application

A.. Social safety and God’s love

God has rules in place to keep us safe, and the God who puts guardrails on the road of life loves us and does not want to see us injure ourselves, by crashing through them and going down the embankment. When we do, he is merciful. He gets a tow truck and pulls us out. He may fix our car miraculously, or he may require us to pay the cost by a long process of making things right, if we damage others.

The God who protects us with guardrails is the God who loves us.

B. Thought experiment

What would happen to the sexually transmitted infection / diseases if everyone on the planet were to remain virgins before marriage and stay faithful within it? God’s commands say to do this, and so does moral law The STIs would virtually disappear in a generation.

C. The blessing of moral law

It is a great blessing that humans have a sense of moral law because otherwise there would be no moral restraint. All humans can have a general sense of right and wrong, so believer and unbeliever alike can create civil law and community standards and ethical behavior, overturning bad laws (e.g. ones permitting slavery as the eternal norm) and developing better ones (e.g. promoting legal equality regardless of racial background). Justice or a sense of fairness in dealing with other humans can be perceived or logically deduced from moral law.

D. Roots of moral law

Some skeptical members of society don’t believe in the divine aspect of moral law. They assert that they can discover it by reason and trial and error alone, without God impressing it on them. They know murder is wrong because experiencing it in your family is horrible and devastating. Inference: don’t commit murder. But experience is a cruel teacher–there’s a dead man laying on the ground. So it’s best to listen to special or biblical revelation, which confirms many aspects of moral or natural law, that is, when it is sourced in eternal law..

E. Moral law is essential

Moral law is essential for society to function well. Without it, there would be chaos and a dog-eat-dog world, one of tooth and claw.

Moral law is essential for peace and harmony in the human’s conscience, in daily living and in society. Moral law ultimately comes from the moral Lawgiver, the divine Legislator. It is his gift to humanity.

F. Personal knowledge of God

Come to know him personally, and your behavior will improve.

We are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8) and our sins are forgiven by the blood of Christ upon our repentance (1 John 1:9). And then by his sustaining grace we can have the power not to commit those unlawful practices.

Here are some great verses on which to meditate, as we learn to say no to ungodliness and those sexual practices listed in Lev. 18:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14)

That passage teaches us that with grace he appeared and offered salvation to everyone and gave himself to us. For what purpose? The purpose is to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that belong to him all by himself–not belonging to the world or the flesh or the devil. And then we are eager to do what is good. By the power of his grace, salvation, redemption and purification we won’t commit those unlawful sexual acts. So grace does not excuse sin, but empowers us to avoid it.

G. Prayer of salvation

Now pray this prayer:

Heavenly Father,

In the name of Jesus, I repent of my sins. I surrender my life to Jesus. I place my faith and trust in him. I believe that he is the Son of God. I believe in my heart that God raised him from the dead. I declare him Lord of my life. Cause me to be born again by your Holy Spirit. Fill me with your Spirit to overflowing. Wash and cleanse me from all my sins.

Thank you, Father, for saving me and filling me with your Spirit. 

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

If you prayed the prayer sincerely, find a local Spirit-filled, Bible believing church and get baptized. And then remain in the Christian community so you can grow.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited