THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

JOHN M. FRAME

p.o. box 817 • phillipsburg • new jersey 08865-0817

© 2008 by John M. Frame

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—except for brief quotations for the purpose of review or comment, without the prior permission of the publisher, P&R Publishing Company, P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865-0817.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Italics in Scripture quotations indicate emphasis added.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Frame, John M., 1939–

The doctrine of the Christian life / John M. Frame.

p. cm.—(A theology of lordship)

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.

ISBN 978-0-87552-796-3 (cloth)

1. Ethics in the Bible. 2. Christian ethics—Biblical teaching. 3. Christian ethics. I. Title.

BS680.E84F73 2008

241—dc22

2008005337

To Johnny

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 22:37–40)

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:29–31)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:8–10)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31)

A THEOLOGY OF LORDSHIP

a series by john m. frame

Contents

Analytical Outline

Preface

Abbreviations

PART ONE: INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS

1. Introduction

2. An Ethical Glossary

3. Ethics and Divine Lordship

PART TWO: NON-CHRISTIAN ETHICS

4. Lordship and Non-Christian Ethics

5. Ethics and the World’s Religions

6. The Existential Tradition

7. The Teleological Tradition

8. The Deontological Tradition

PART THREE: CHRISTIAN ETHICAL METHODOLOGY

Section One: The Normative Perspective

9. The Organism of Revelation

10. Attributes of Scripture

11. The Sufficiency of Scripture

12. Law in Biblical Ethics

13. Applying the Law

Section Two: The Situational Perspective

14. Situation and Norm

15. Our Ethical Situation...