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They know that it is through Gods grace and love that we may have eternal life. That love and grace does not come without a price. The price is a life that is lived for God. It carries with it certain ethical and moral responsibilities to the community and all mankind. Those moral and ethical responsibilities are the backbone for society. In Christianity, Christ is central in atoning for the sins of mankind. He is the Son of God and gave his life so that we may live. The Christian operates on the basis of love and it is this love that determines social policy. Love creates and preserves the community. It is that community that gives us values. Our morals and values are what direct our natural impulses. God created man and gave him free will. He bestowed unto man the ability to take into consideration the motives as well as the consequences of his actions. Man has the ability to reason as apposed to acting from natural instincts or compulsions. Reasoning is a gift from God and must be used to make sound moral decisions. Reason cannot be used alone it must be used in conjunction with faith in God and his will. In all of life there is probably no area that perception plays a larger impact than in the realm of faith. How we see the world, our place in it, and our God dramatically affects how we feel, and how we think. This then determines how we behave, what we believe and who we become. The value of mankind is determined by his ability to define ethical behavior and adhere to moral traditions. Man acts on the basis of his relationship with God. In the area of values and ethics we, the Christian people, contribute monumentally to humanity. As Christians we are aware of the idea of our responsibility to society and the world. We serve as the collective conscience of the community. Historically Christians have always been very giving of both their self and money to those in need. When some one is in distress physical or otherwise we have an obligation as Christians to help them. The Bible mandates this positive behavior. People accept the authority of the Bible because it is a historical record of God’s self-disclosure. Leviticus 19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself ”. Many people would say, “I am a good person, I don’t hurt anyone”. That is not the Christian understanding of a “good person”. Being a good person requires one to take an active stance, not to content oneself with merely avoiding evil. You are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Christianity teaches that you are responsible to the world. You are a caretaker and if there is a problem you have to do something about it. The humane values of the bible are the basis for this idea of social welfare. Gal 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ”. We as Christians do these things because it is God’s will. Righteousness comes from obedience to the will of God. The Old Testament speaks of morality as being legalistic. God’s will is the Law. The law is God’s set of instructions for life. It spells out what God’s expectations and we are obligated to follow them. The Covenant Code, The Ten Commandments, The Holiness Code, and The Deuteronomic Code cover all the bases for man to lead a good life. Unlike man God is forever constant. Because God granted man free will man can be good and bad. It is entirely up to the individual to make choices to follow God and the laws of the land or choose sin. God does however tells us we are to follow no others above him. So if mans law is against the will of God you are doing “good” by opposing it. By following the laws of God and of man we set the example for the community. We are being true to God and his will. God sees us as an entire community not just as individuals. He sees the community as a corporation thus his judgment falls upon the whole nation. Matt 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. The church is the foundation that brings the community together as a people. It is a temple of God. The church serves three basic purposes the first is to provide a house of worship. The second is to act as a teacher of the scripture. It should help bring to light God’s purpose in the world. It must instruct its follower in the ways of morality and teach God’s law. The third function is to prompt the believers into action. It is to make the believers think about what is moral and how to act. The church incorporates us into the community, which makes us united as a part of Christ. It provides us with insight and renews our faith. These are the things communities are made up of. All people must acknowledge they are sinners. God will forgive us of those sins but we must acknowledge them first. To do this we must confess, repent and commit to God. With this we have to be sincere, if we are not God will know. Once you have done these things only then can you be cleansed and have a relationship with the Lord. Once that relation ship with the Lord is established the relationship in the community will grow. There is a collective responsibility between the individual and the community. People must concern themselves with the mission of the community to which they belong. That mission is to serve God. Moreover, this personal responsibility has to be respected and fostered. In its social teaching, the church insists that authority must be based on freedom and the sense of duty and responsibility of each person. It is clear that Christianity has contributed to humanity a moral vision, a blueprint for the ideal world. For 2000 years the Christian people have stood for fundamental values that comprise this vision of a perfect world. We have presented to the world and for a large extent lived by it. Despite being subjected to persecutions, we as a people, maintained a level of humanity and caring that usually far exceeded the surrounding civilizations. It is the Christians job to go out in to the community and present the gospel. This being said, the moral responsibilities and values set fourth by Christians are a building block for the community and the world. Once these things are established it becomes a giant circle. The people have direct impact upon the community and that community is what bonds the people. Moral responsibility and community are in many ways one in the same, they work together to unite, and activate the citizens of faith so that they can positively impact the political process, influence public policy and define the heritage of Christian values, principals, and morals. Bibliography: Word Count: 1243
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