The Vice of Values

I've really begun to enjoy life since I gave up my Christian values. For many years my life was built around those principles which I believed embodied the essence of the Christian life. I thought it was a noble cause to boldly defend those values. I lamented the fact that our country has abandoned its Judeo-Christian ethics. But discovering how to walk in grace has totally reshaped my perspective. I now recognize that no value system, Christian or otherwise, can express the essence of Christianity. The end result of a life built on Christian values is only a caricature of New Testament Christianity. It is not God's purpose that our life be built around a system of values. It is His desire that our life be built on the person of His Son. Value systems may influence behavior, but God is not interested in systems of living. He is interested in relationships. An intimate relationship with Him will produce a godly lifestyle. However focusing on behavior will never create intimacy with God.

Two Trees In The Garden Of Eden

The basis of a lifestyle built around a system of right and wrong originates with the dawn of man. God's purpose in creating man was that He might enjoy mankind, expressing His loving nature to him and through him. He lovingly placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and gave them reign over the garden and all that was in it. One aspect of freedom is choice. Where there is no choice there is no real freedom. Consequently, two trees were placed in the garden from which man could choose to live. The choice made by Adam and Eve would not only determine their own destiny, but the destiny of all future generations.

Genesis 2:9 describes the trees in the garden:

"And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

It is not coincidental that these two trees were in the center of the garden. The tree that Adam and Eve would eat from was to determine the standard which would be central in controlling their actions each day.

The Tree Of Life

The tree of life is a picture of the Lord Jesus. A basic principle of biblical interpretation is that the Old Testament is understood in light of New Testament revelation. The New Testament affirms repeatedly that Jesus is Life. The reason a person possesses eternal life when he is a Christian is because Christ lives within him. To receive Him is to receive Life! Jesus said that he came so that we might have life (John 10:10). As we abide in Him, His life flows out of us like rivers of living water. It isn't a flow of Divine Life that we struggle to produce. His life just naturally flows out of the Christian who is abiding in Him. God intended that Adam and Eve should live by His life all their days. As long as He was the only source they had in this world, questions of right and wrong would have never arisen. Eating from the second tree is where the trouble for mankind began.

The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil

God placed a multitude of trees in the garden. There was only one tree from which Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The prohibition was for their own good. Remember that God created this tree and gave them a choice because without the choice there could be no freedom. God wanted man to choose Him. That choice would provide eternal life. But Adam and Eve were told that in the day they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die. So the choice was clear — life or death. They could either continue to live in total dependence on God or choose independence from Him. Satan came along and convinced Eve that God was withholding something good from them and she ate from the forbidden tree. Adam did the same and suddenly their eyes were opened. For the first time they became conscious of good and evil. From that day forward every deed of their life would be evaluated by a value system built around the concept of right and wrong. However that was not God's original plan. His desire was that they simply allow Him to be the source and authority of their life.

Back To The 1990's

Now let's jump back into the twentieth century. As a result of Adam's sin, his descendants today still live by the choice he made. Building one's life around a value system defined by right and wrong is prevalent in every culture, from the most primitive to the most advanced. Every society defines right and wrong according to its own standards and people's lives are judged on the basis of conformity to those standards. Yet God's purpose for man today hasn't changed from His design in the garden of Eden. He still wants our lifestyle to find its source in His life, not in laws dictating right and wrong.

When a person becomes a Christian, he possesses the divine life of Jesus Christ. His life is ours. As we abide in Christ, His life flows out of us producing a righteous lifestyle. If we aren't abiding in Him, actions become irrelevant. Before I understood that Christ is my life, my whole lifestyle was characterized by an obsession with right and wrong. Yet if one is not abiding in Christ, every action is wrong. To abide in Him is to walk in faith while to fail to abide in Christ is to walk after the flesh. Any time a Christian does things on his own, it is sin regardless of how his actions may appear. This is exactly what Paul meant when he said that "whatever is not of faith is sin." Sins are not the root of the problem when we fail to abide in Christ. They are the symptoms. The real issue is that we are living out of our own sufficiency. It's living independently of Him that is real problem.

Contemporary Christians are involved in endless debates over questions of right and wrong. Is it wrong for a Christian to drink wine? How about a daiquiri? Can a Christian listen to rock group Guns n Roses? How about country singer Garth Brooks? Should a Christian attend R-rated movies? How about PG movies with bad language? The list is never ending. When we realize that the heart of the matter is that our lifestyle should be an expression of the life of Christ within us, we come to realize that we have been asking all the wrong questions!

We must recognize that even good behavior which isn't an expression of Christ within us is a sin. Remember that the tree was of good and evil. Christians are quick to acknowledge that the deeds of human goodness demonstrated by one who isn't a Christian means nothing to God. Romans 8:8 says that "those who are in the flesh cannot please God." Why? Because they are living out of their own resources, not by faith in Christ. The Bible teaches that "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 6:6). God isn't impressed by human goodness. Human goodness is nothing more than self righteousness. Even if one is a Christian, when he lives from his own resources, his good deeds are nothing more than self righteous behavior. Do you see the problem? His fruit comes from the wrong tree.

Ask The Right Question

The definitive question in the life of the believer is not, "Would it be wrong for me to do this?" The appropriate question is, "Am I trusting in Christ at this moment, trusting Him as my very Life Source?"

(This is an excerpt from my book, Grace Walk, published in 1995. The book has been printed in 12 languages. You can get a copy here: http://gracewalkresources.com/item.asp?cID=0&PID=33 )