In a world full of moral ambiguity, the teachings of Jesus Christ offer clarity and direction. This episode focuses on the perfect morality exemplified by Christ, an unyielding standard against which human conduct is measured. Through scripture, we will see how the moral framework provided by Christ continues to reform lives and societies across the globe. Engage with us as we revisit foundational biblical insights inviting us back to simplicity and truth found within the pages of the New Testament.
00:09:37 Study of the Plum Line and Perfect Morality
00:12:26 Concluding Remarks and Invitation for Further Study
SPEAKER 02 :
Mankind of every nation and rank have praised the life of Christ and the Word of God, the moral code that stands the test of time. Let’s think about this today with our study from the International Gospel Hour. We’ll be back shortly.
SPEAKER 01 :
It’s time for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jay Webb, and welcome to our study today as we embrace God’s Word to help us meet the challenges of today. Let’s open our Bibles and open our heart for this time of Bible study with our speaker Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, a broadcast of the Churches of Christ. Here’s Jeff.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, thank you to our J-Web, and greetings to all of you. It’s always great having you for our broadcast here from the International Gospel Hour. And I want to mention something very quickly. All the material that we offer here from International Gospel Hour is free. We will never ask for your money as a listening audience on the air. We’re grateful for congregations of churches of Christ and interested Christians from around the world that support our broadcast, and for them we are eternally grateful to God. And it allows us to offer a number of free materials that you can access, that you can have in your study of the Word of God. These materials are biblically based. They are screened carefully to make certain that we get the absolute best possible. I want to get started with one. I’m going to defer to our J-Web. It is an online publication, but we think you’ll find great tools from GospelGazette.com. Here is our J-Web.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, Jeff. GospelGazette.com is another free online tool from International Gospel Hour. Our friends at GospelGazette.com have an awesome website, and among the options available is their current monthly issue, 25 years of archived material, free PDF copies to the Voice of Truth International publication, and a digital library with an enormous amount of material. Please check them out at GospelGazette.com. That’s GospelGazette.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
Friends, today consider with me perfect morality found in the example of Jesus Christ. And, you know, there’s no need to hide our heads in the sand with such a subject as this, because at the heart of every problem in our society today, there is a problem with the heart of mankind. The Bible heart has to do with the mind, the intellect, the emotions, and the will of mankind. Let’s hear what the scripture says regarding the heart. In Proverbs 23, 7, As one thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 4, 23, Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Matthew 12, 34, Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Jeremiah 17, verse 9, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. These and many other scriptures led our Lord Jesus Christ to say from Matthew 15, 19, and 20, For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man. Therefore, our speech and our actions or deeds determine when we are right or wrong morally. For wrong is always wrong and there is no right way to do a wrong thing. Morality relates to principles of right and wrong in behavior or manner of life or one’s lifestyle. Webster defines morality as a doctrine or system of morals, particularly moral principles or rules of conduct. So let us consider the system of morality that Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, gave to the human family. And since Jesus never sinned, He is, therefore, a perfect example to do so, 1 Peter 2, 21-25. The attributes or characteristics of the moral system of Christ is revealed exclusively in the Holy Scriptures. Man is unable to provide a code of conduct that meets all needs of all people of all nations for all time. Jeremiah 10.23 Nothing in the history of mankind has come remotely near the revealed moral code of Jesus Christ. It was the late John Locke who correctly said, To give a man full knowledge of true morality, I would send him to no other book than the New Testament, which is the last will and testament of our Lord. It likewise calls upon all to be like Christ and His Heavenly Father. The great Apostle Paul challenged us to imitate Christ, 1 Corinthians 11.1. His morality calls for godliness, holiness, and purity. Titus 2 verse 12, 1 Peter 1, 15 and 16, 1 John 3 verse 3, and Matthew 5 verse 8. As the offspring of God, made in His image and likeness, we have a common origin. We face similar problems and a common destiny in that we will all be judged by the same standard. Thus, His morality is universal and age-lasting. The moral code of Christ is based upon two great fundamentals. Love God and thy neighbor as thyself, with all thy heart and with all thy soul, with all thy strength and with all thy mind, Luke 10, 27. This morality views our bodies as essentially good because it is based upon grace, mercy, and another chance, all which come from God, but demands on our part self-restraint, temperance, and self-control. 1 Peter 1 verses 1-4, Colossians 3 verses 1-10, and Romans 8 verses 1, 5, and 13. This morality also insists that I think not just of myself, but how my conduct might affect others. It causes mankind to glorify God in all we do and proclaims a final day of judgment when all wrongs will be righted and all that has been sown in this life shall be reaped. Galatians 6 and verse 7, 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 10, and the ultimate reward that will be given, James 1 and verse 12. The moral code of Jesus Christ has stood the test of time. Men of every nation and rank have praised its grandeur, and no other code has equaled its power to reform and elevate mankind and nations. And it is as relevant today as when first given because it came from heaven and not from men. Its heavenly origin presupposes an author of unlimited knowledge, totally just, right and good. Therefore, with the psalmist David and the spiritual song, we can sing or we note. How precious is the book divine by inspiration given. Bright as a lamp its precepts shine to guide my soul to heaven. Holy book divine, precious treasure mine. Lamp to my feet and a light to my way to guide me safely home. What an awesome word, the word of God. Dear friends, may we help you in your study. to see the moral code, if you will, to see the example of Christ, the teaching of the Bible therein. You know, it was Paul in 1 Corinthians 14, 37, who acknowledged that the things that he would write unto them are the commandments of the Lord. So we have the Scripture, 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. You know, friends, sometimes, every time, we just need to go back to the Bible. We have a very special study. It’s an online study. We think you will gain much from it. And our J-Web has the details of how we can send you that information. Let’s defer for just a moment to our J-Web. We’ll be back for a little more of our broadcast.
SPEAKER 01 :
Let’s go back to the Bible, shall we? On International Gospel Hour, we always desire to go back to the Bible for our studies, and now we are delighted to offer a special video series through our friends at World Video Bible School. It’s called Back to the Bible with our friend Rob Whitaker. a simple yet thorough study that deals with authority in religion, the church, and your salvation. It’s free, friends. Call us at 855-444-6988. Tell us your email address, say, back to the Bible, and we will send the link to you. It’s that easy. You can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the contact tab, leave us your email, type back to the Bible in the message box, and we will send the link right away. We look forward to hearing from you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Dear friends, I am indebted to the late Coleman K. Allred for the study today, Perfect Morality Found in the Example of Jesus Christ. This is from a no longer publication titled The Plum Line, and I’m turning the clock back nearly 30 years. I’m grateful to use a variety of materials here on International Gospel Hour and found that study today to be very intriguing and challenging. Yes, friends, perfect morality is found in the example of Christ, and we can walk the best moral code possible today. and to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ as we study the Bible, which is the perfect moral code. It teaches us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by that word of God, Romans 10, verse 17. As we believe in Christ, John 8, verse 24, we believe in Jesus Christ and what He taught concerning repentance in Luke 13, verse 3. and confession in Matthew 10, 32, and baptism in Mark 16 and verse 16. And we are therefore added to the church, Acts 2 and verse 47, the church that he promised to build and that he did build, Matthew 16 and verse 18, the church that he purchased with his own blood. To God be the glory. And so we want to share with you these Bible studies that are available online, and also Bible studies that are available by mail. Maybe you would prefer a Bible course by mail, a Bible correspondence course that we will mail to you courtesy of our friends at the Mount Leo Church of Christ in McMinnville, Tennessee. If you’d like to give it a try, please feel free to do so. And all you have to do is, it’s very simple, call us at 855-444-6988 and leave us your name and address and just say Home Study. That’s all you have to do. 855-444-6988. And leave us your name and address and just say, Home Study. And if you don’t mind, tell us where you’re listening to our broadcast from. We’d love to know that as well. One more time, if you’d like this Bible study by mail, 855-444-6988. Leave us your name and address and just say, Home Study. And let us know the station or platform of which you’re listening to our broadcast as well. and we’ll get that out to you as soon as possible. We are so grateful to study the Word of God with you via the International Gospel Hour radio broadcast, and we would love to share with you further material to help you in your studies of the Word of God. So let us hear from you, and we’ll continue these studies together at another time. Thank you always for joining me here on the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening today to God Be the Glory and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. Feel free to listen to our other programs at our website at internationalgospelhour.com and join us next time.
