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C. S. Lewis

Committed Christian and

Thoughtful Evangelist

Mere Christianity: Book Three

Christian Behavior: Social Morality

Social Morality

v  Golden Rule sums everything up (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you).

v  Envisions a Christian society with Christians

in every field as leaders.

v  All Christians must integrate their beliefs with their actions, their faith and their works.

Social Morality

v  Christianity will become like a director, pointing us to our work and a “source of energy” for our new life.

v  Charity is an essential part of Christian morality. The frightening parable of sheep and the goats ends with the instruction “What you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me.”

Social Morality

v  Everything appears to turn on our charity.

v  Charity appears to be the linchpin on which our salvation hinges.

v  How much to give?

v  The only “safe rule” is that if we are giving only that which we can spare, it’s probably not enough.

Sexual Morality

v  Chastity is the most unpopular of all Christian virtues.

v  The old rule remains: either complete faithfulness in marriage or celibacy.

Sexual Morality

v  The heart of Christian morality, however, is not found here.

v  Sins of the spirit (hatred, jealousy, meanness) are far worse than sins of the flesh.

v  Or, is that right?

v  Baptists: sin is sin is sin.

Christian Marriage

v  Founded upon the idea that a man and woman shall become one flesh.

v  This pairing is not meant to be merely physical, but a complete pairing (including the spirit).

v  Marriage ought to be for life.

v  While divorce may be permissible, all Christians accept that this is not simply a “readjustment of partners.”

Christian Marriage

v  Looks to the great virtue of justice (promise keeping).

v  Love is not simply an emotion, nor should it be. v  Commitment doesn’t come

out of love; rather, love follows from commitment.

Forgiveness

v  Perhaps even more unpopular than chastity. v  We have the terrible duty of forgiving our

enemies . v  Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have

sinned against us. Luke 11:4. v  We will not be forgiven unless forgiveness

is in us.

Forgiveness

v  Try to understand what loving your neighbor as yourself really means.

v  The essence of forgive-ness: we are like that person than different.

v We should start with something easy.

The Great Sin

v  Pride was the sin of Satan, the sin of Adam, and according to Augustine, the root of all sin.

v  Pride or self-conceit is

the Great Sin. v  The corresponding

virtue is humility.

The Great Sin

v  There is a difference between self-respect and vanity.

v  One can properly take pride in one’s children.

v  Black, diabolical pride doesn’t care what others think of us.

The Great Sin

v  Our concern should be with what God thinks of us.

v  The real problem with pride is that it interferes with our knowing God.

The Great Sin

v  Jesus taught, “I am meek and humble.” v  Pride is a ravaging spiritual cancer.

v  Pride hides itself in the obsession for material things (newer car, bigger house).

v  Pride hides itself best in spiritual

superiority and righteous indignation.

Charity

v  In the Christian sense, charity means love.

v  Not merely an emotion; rather, an act of the will.

v  Great secret: Don’t worry about whether you like your neighbor. Act as if you did.

Charity

v  When we act as if we loved someone, we will soon find that we do.

v  The worldly person treats those he likes kindly; the

Christian treats everyone kindly, and finds he likes more people.

v  Within us, good and evil grow at a geometric

progression. Our conduct grows “at compound interest.”

Hope

v  Looking forward to eternity in heaven is not escapism. As Christians, we are meant to do so.

v  Recognizes that “this world is not our home.”

v  Aim at Heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.

Hope

v  We have trouble looking to heaven because (1) we are too attached to this world; (2) we don’t recognize the desire for heaven when we feel it.

v  If we have a desire this

world cannot satisfy that is because we were made for another world.

Hope

v  This world and its rich pleasures are meant to arouse our heavenly desire.

v  The joys of this life suggest our real joy, but they are not a substitute for our life with the Father.

Faith

v  One aspect: belief, or accepting the Christian doctrines as true.

v  Faith is the practice of holding onto reasonably accepted things, even in changing moods.

Faith

v  In order to be true Christians, we must train the habit of faith.

v  2nd aspect of Faith: Despite our weakness, if we try, God will give us everything we need to please Him.

Faith

Aspects of Faith: v  Acceptance;

v  Trust;

v  Reflection in the Believer’s Life.

Faith

v  Once we have truly tried to live a Christian life, and failed, we learn that we are bankrupt and all good comes from God.

v  God does not want conduct so much as He wants people of a certain character.

Faith

v  We must fail before we can turn our lives over to God.

v  That does not absolve us from action.

v  Belief and action are two blades of the scissors: without one, the other is meaningless.

Questions?