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If God is the basis for morality, why is morality not arbitrary or changing?
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28 Replies
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God is holy, perfect, unchanging. God is love, but He is also just and must punish sin. Adam and Eve, our original parents, were created perfect, holy, and innocent. They enjoyed fellowship with God. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, sin and death entered the world and fellowship with God was broken.
All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We cannot save ourselves. God solved our problem in the Person of Jesus Christ, the infinite God-Man, who came into this world, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the dead on the third day. He offers salvation to us as a free gift. As image-bearers of God, we have free will. If we choose to receive His free gift of salvation by trusting Jesus Christ alone for salvation, we are born again, filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Fellowship with God is restored, and He gives us the power we need to follow Him. When we sin, if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If God is the basis for morality, morality cannot be arbitrary or unchanging.
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God doesn’t change his mind. One of the reasons is because He is sovereign. He controls the future, past and present. Every decision he makes is based on his character of goodness, righteousness and love, justice and mercy. He has established his morality based on these attributes. Therefore it is unchangeable.
To quote from the lesson: “The God of the Bible is eternally good in His self-existent character. He is the source, the standard, and the stipulator of what is good, and He does not change.”
God’s attributes are eternal and unchanging. He is holy. His laws and morality for us always perfect, good and unchanging.
Malachi 3:6—”I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
Numbers 23:19—“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”
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God’s Nature as the Source of Morality: In Christian theism, morality is rooted in God, who is good, just, loving, and holy. Moral principles are not arbitrary because they reflect God’s inherent character. Since God’s nature does not change (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17), the moral laws that reflect His nature are likewise unchanging. Therefore, moral truths are consistent and reliable over time rather than fluctuating or dependent on God’s whims.
God’s Goodness as Objective: Morality is not arbitrary because God is inherently good, and His commands are always aligned with His nature. God does not create moral laws randomly or capriciously; instead, they are grounded in His perfect wisdom and justice. Thus, moral standards like justice, love, and mercy are not subjective but objective, rooted in the eternal nature of God, making them stable and not subject to alteration.
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God is definite in all of His decisions, plans, and ways. Believing in that He declares it moral, right, and without change.
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If God is the basis for morality, and God does not change, then morality cannot change.