Based on recent conversations on this board, morality seems to have taken a front seat to love in the process of Christian sanctification. It is true that Jesus tells people to go and sin no more many times in the NT, but is that a challenge to go out and become moral? Of course morality is important, but even the pagans are moral people - even the Pharisees were moral. Christ did not say they will know we are Christian by our moral code and the ability to live up to it. He said that they will know us by our love.
For some strange reason, people here do not like to hear about love, however, they fail to realize that love is the solution to sin - if you are loving others and God, you are not focused on yourself and therefore, tempted to to fulfill your own desires above others. If you are practicing love you are fulfilling God's Will for your life. If you choose to love, you are living out all the Be Attitudes. Love also takes care of morality without tapping into our Pride. If we are loving perfectly, we are not sinning. In fact, we may not be about to be perfectly moral (following an external standard), but we can learn to love perfectly (love God and other because we have experienced His love for our true self - we are truly known by Him).
So why the false dichotomy? Why are we so concerned about our tendency to misuse creation (sin, fail to follow our moral code)? While we fail to implement the solution (love)?
For some strange reason, people here do not like to hear about love, however, they fail to realize that love is the solution to sin - if you are loving others and God, you are not focused on yourself and therefore, tempted to to fulfill your own desires above others. If you are practicing love you are fulfilling God's Will for your life. If you choose to love, you are living out all the Be Attitudes. Love also takes care of morality without tapping into our Pride. If we are loving perfectly, we are not sinning. In fact, we may not be about to be perfectly moral (following an external standard), but we can learn to love perfectly (love God and other because we have experienced His love for our true self - we are truly known by Him).
So why the false dichotomy? Why are we so concerned about our tendency to misuse creation (sin, fail to follow our moral code)? While we fail to implement the solution (love)?