Revival Fires Baptist College

Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

I. Philippians 4:5, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”

A. Moderation is a word that has no english word equivalent.

1.Nothing that fully expresses it.

B. Moderation means:

1.Potency

2.Gentleness

3.Forbearance

4.Mildness

5.Fairness

6.Sweet reasonableness.

7.Kindness

C. Deals with my ethical treatment of other people in every situation.

II. Appears 6 times in the New Testament.

A. Appears 4 times as an adjective.

1.1 Timothy 3:3, “Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but

patient, not a brawler, not covetous;”

a. Used to speak of the qualifications of a leader.

2.Titus 3:2, “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing

all meekness unto all men.”

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

a. God said if I am going to be a leader, one qualification I need is to

have moderation.

b. I must have forebearance.

i. Not just what I can do.

ii. Not just the law

iii. The matter of fairness.

3.James 3:17, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable,

gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without

partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

a. Wisdom is the ability to see things through the eyes of God.

b. The ability to see it like God sees it.

c. If I see it like God sees it, I will deal with it clearly, and if I do, I will

deal with it properly.

d. People mistreat the people of God and find a way to justify it because

the end justifies the means.

i. The outcome of the equation justifies how I got there.

ii. If I mistreat everyone and abuse them to get that product and

run 20 people off that aren’t good soul winners because they

aren’t a soul winner, that is not ethical.

iii. You got the right product.

iv. The end does not justify the means.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

v. I don’t just need to get the right product, I need to be ethical in

getting there.

vi. I need to be ethical in my trip.

vii. You not only need to have the right answer, but the right

equation.

viii. God does not only want me to get the right product, He wants

me to get the product they way that He designated.

a) He wants me to get it ethically.

b) He wants me to exercise the proper equation in

getting what I do.

4.1 Peter 2:18, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to

the good and gentle, but also to the froward.”

a. Speaking of what is ethical for the employee and employer

relationship.

b. I am to everything I do as unto the Lord.

c. My attitude toward my employer would be the same as if I was doing

it to the Lord Jesus.

d. You say, “They are not doing me right.”

e. We are not talking about their right, we are talking about yours

f. My ethics are not to be determined by what someone else does.

i. I don’t decide what I do based on what you do.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

ii. I am to act on principle, not react.

iii. I am to take Biblical action in every case and pray so that God

is honored.

iv. I am not supposed to be ethical just because of you, although it

does affect my relationship with you.

v. I am supposed to be ethical for God.

vi. You can do the right thing and rob God of His glory when you

are not ethical in your approach.

vii. My ethics put grace into what I do.

g. If I have an employer who is not ethical, I must still be ethical.

i. 8 hours work for 8 hours pay when the pay is not that good.

ii. I must be ethical on my job.

h. Many times people are not ethical in their finances.

i. Is God and others viewing you as ethical.

j. It is ethical to do what you are supposed to do every month.

i. Not letting things slide just because you can get by with it.

B. Appears 2 times in its verb form

1.Acts 24:4, “Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray

thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words.”

a. Asking him to patiently hear what he has to say.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

b. Paul is requesting the clemency of the judge, requesting the judge to

be patient and hear him out.

c. The word is so rich in its meaning that there is no way to define it in a

few words.

2.2 Corinthians 10:1, “Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and

gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent

am bold toward you:”

a. Talking about the gentleness of Christ, the moderation of Christ.

III. Gentleness and meekness are closely related.

A. Both have nothing to do with being weak.

B. Not being wishy, washy, has to do with my stand toward other people.

C. Meekness is strength under control.

D. Gentleness is strength under control.

E. A gentle horse is not weak, it is under control.

F. In many cases our strength is out of control.

G. What could be good and is good in and of itself becomes damaging to other people.

H. Two times that this word is used is in qualifications to leaders.

1.God is concerned about his leaders, those who represent Himself to the

people, practicing moderation.

2.Being gentle.

IV. Clemency

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

A. Combines the idea of fairness and fineness with anticipation

B. Everybody deserves a full patient hearing.

C. When there is a problem or a dispute, I need to patiently hear.

D. A lot of times, if you just listened to them and had enough respect for them you

would help people.

E. Don’t change, give them a hearing.

F. When you believe something, allow the other person to say their piece.

G. I want to understand the situation.

H. When people talk, don’t just keep on talking.

I. You can get along with people that you don’t agree about everything if there is a

mutual respect.

J. I may not believe what they believe but I have enough respect not to treat them like

they are idiots because they disagree with me.

1.I must not just do all the talking.

2.Unethical treatment often causes many of our problems.

K. I can be kind even if people do not apply what I say.

1.I can keep preaching what I believe and change them over time.

2.If you run them off, they probably won’t change.

3.They probably won’t change their direction not only physically, but they

will probably make them bitter about your beliefs.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

4.You can preach your standards and not develop a problem with people

because you preach kindly and ethically without the expense of truth.

5.Not compromise, kindness

6.Jesus never stopped on what he believed, but He was kind and ethical.

a. He was trying to help them get where they needed to be.

V. Moderation

A. To be moderate does not mean I must be a compromiser, a soft-touch, not to take a

stand.

B. It simply means that I must have strength enough to take a stand and be gentle in my

taking of my stand.

C. Leaders are in a position to be able to take advantage of the situation.

1.You are in a position so that you could do things that could be unethical.

2.You could lose people, but there is no one that can stop you from doing it.

D. Indicates a willingness to yield.

1.Don’t be a strong-headed person who can’t change.

a. Someone who exerts all of the authority you have.

b. Someone who expects to get everything you can out of a situation.

2.Moderation is a quality that rectifies the injustice of justice.

a. There are things that are legal, but wouldn’t be ethical.

b. There are things that the law says it is just.

c. It is possible to be legal and to be unfair.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

d. It is possible to deal within the compounds of what would be law, and

be totally unfair.

e. Always trying to do what is right and fair treatment instead of using

the law to their benefit.

3.Moderation is in contrast to the person who stands up for his last legal

rights.

a. The person who doesn’t have any moderation will milk out to make

sure that he gets all of his rights.

b. When there is a loophole in the wall and take what he can take.

4.Most people don’t want to do anything that they are not legally compelled to

do.

a. They want to make everyone else do everything they can compel them

to do.

b. They don’t have any ethics.

c. They are trying to use situations to their benefit.

5.A person who has ethics is not going to turn everything to their benefit, they

are going to think about someone else.

a. An ethical person considers everyone, not just themselves.

b. An ethical person will refrain from doing everything they could do by

law because it would not be fair to do so.

6.God has the legal right to judge all of us.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

a. The grace of God enables Him to be moderate with us.

b. He is gentle, kind, and more than fair with us.

c. If we are going to be a good Christian, we must pick up some of that.

i. Not if we are going to be saved.

ii. If we are going to be a good Christian.

iii. It was the manner of life that had others call them Christians by

their conduct.

d. He sets His rights aside to be more than fair with them.

7.Don’t use your position for an unethical use.

8.Preachers are guilty of harsh preaching instead of trying to help people.

E. Best illustration of someone practicing moderation was David’s treatment of Saul.

1.Saul turned into a rascal.

2.Saul was always threatened by David.

3.He sought to take David’s life.

4.David was loyal throughout the entire thing.

F. We get the idea that as long as someone else does right, we must do right.

1.That is me:

a. Stooping to the level to my enemies.

b. Allowing my enemies to dictate what I am instead of Bible principles

dictating what I am.

c. Conforming to them.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

2.If we are not careful, we will conform to what we don’t like.

G. Just because God has put me in the position to kill someone does not mean that God

has delivered him into my hand.

1.Just because I could do someone in does not mean that I should do them in

and that God is for it.

2.David respected the office of Saul and never retaliated against Saul

3.Even though Saul was instigating the problem, he never allowed Saul to pull

him down and operate like him.

H. Treatment of Barnabas to Saul.

1.Barnabas gave Saul a chance.

2.Took him to the Apostles and said, “This man got saved.”

3.Barnabas had a tremendous impact on Paul and one of the reasons was he

was willing to give him a chance.

4.They would have missed the will of God in influencing him during the early

years of his life if Barnabas had not been willing to take him under his

wings.

5.God wants us to give people room to change.

I. Moderation leaves a person in innocence until they are proven guilty.

J. Moderation will give someone another chance.

K. Moderation won’t demand all that it can demand.

L. It will yield some of its rights to be:

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

1.Just

2.Fair

3.Kind

4.Gentle

M. Philippians 4:5 is saying that we should make visible the fairness intended by the law

when we could be unfair and legal.

1.The general law is intended to be fair.

2.There are deficiencies.

3.Our willingness to yield rather than our demanding all of our rights.

N. Don’t cause a ruckus just to get your rights.

1.If I be what I am supposed to be and do what I am supposed to do, God will

bless me.

O. It is the Christ-likeness that I can have so that people can see Christ in us.

1.If I demand all of my rights, I will use every loophole and deficiency in the

law to my benefit, and am self-seeking, I am not doing a very good job

representing God.

2.I am really not a Christian, though I may be saved.

P. Moderation is the difference between a sweet separatist Christian and a Pharisee.

Q. I can have my standards and convictions and still be kind to people.

1.Some positions cannot be done when they don’t have standards.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

2.I will not use the truth that I am right and they are wrong to be unkind to

them.

R. You are not going to intimidate people into the will of God.

1.Intimidation is satanic and has nothing to do with the will of God.

2.Some truths are intimidating, but God is not an intimidator, He is a lover.

3.That is not the will of God.

4.That is not a good representation of the ministry of Christ.

5.It is not fair for me to use the pulpit to be unkind in an effort to intimidate

people into what is right.

S. Don’t lose your fire, get some love on your zeal.

1.Get some common sense.

2.Get to the place where you care about people rather than caring about

principle.

3.If you care about people and care about truth you will preach the truth

ethically.

4.You won’t be unethically to get a job done.

T. If you try to be the Holy Spirit, you will end up being the unholy spirit.

1.We try to reap the results and don’t give God the opportunity to work on the

hearts.

2.We try to make it happen ourselves.

3.If you take too much upon yourself, you will be unethical to get it done.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

4. You cannot separate the people from the principle.

a. God is in the people business.

b. We must not change the principle for anyone.

c. I am not reversing, I am not compromising or reversing it.

d. I can be kind and not be like a bull in a china shop breaking everything

to pieces trying to prove my point.

e. I must treat people kindly.

U. Poor judgment can get you in big trouble.

1.1 Chronicles 19:1-5, “Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of

the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. And David

said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father

shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him

concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the

children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. But the princes of the

children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour

thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come

unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?

Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their

garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away. Then

there went certain, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at

Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.”

a. Hanun took bad advice.

i. A lot of times we will end up trying to please people.

ii. We will have someone who’s a Pharisee, there position is right,

but their disposition is wrong.

iii. They will try to influence you that you are not a

fundamentalist, taking a stand doing what you are supposed to

do.

iv. He took bad advice from people who had a bad spirit about

them.

v. Get much of your advice from older people.

a) Someone who has experience having gone through

some things.

b) Peer advice will give you wrong advice because

they have the same weaknesses you have at that age.

vi. Any preacher who won’t take a stand ought to get out of the

ministry.

vii. Any preacher who won’t love people ought to get out of the

ministry too.

b. They were suspicious without warrant.

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Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

i. Be careful about people who don’t trust anyone and are always

second guessing everybody.

ii. You judge people by who you are.

iii. There was no suspicious activity going on.

a) He had not done anything to warrant this kind of

treatment.

c. He mistreated his father’s friend David.

i. God blesses those who don’t forsake their father’s friends.

ii. Why was he suspicious when he and his father got along so

well?

iii. He was rude based on the fact that he could be.

a) He could be rude to them, so he was.

b) A lot people feel that if they can get by with it, they

can do whatever they want to.

c) God will not honor that.

2.1 Chronicles 19:6-7, “And when the children of Ammon saw that they had

made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a

thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of

Mesopotamia, and out of Syriamaachah, and out of Zobah. So they hired

thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people;

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Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

who came and pitched before Medeba. And the children of Ammon

gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.”

a. They were already doing wrong.

b. They decided to fight, rather than repent.

i. They decided to hire help to go to war, rather than making the

initiative, asking forgiveness and making things right.

ii. If you don’t have moderation, you will rather fight than get

right.

iii. They won’t say I’m sorry.

iv. They will hire someone to help them eliminate someone they

did wrong and should apologize to so they don’t have to

apologize.

v. That is unethical.

c. Be careful about being suspicious about everyone and judging their

motives.

i. Since you are not God, you don’t know their motives.

ii. They may have one.

iii. You will judge it, miscalculate, and make mistakes.

iv. Let God take care of it after they play it out, rather than me

misjudging their motives and placing God on their side and me

on the wrong side of the issue.

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Christian Ethics

Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

v. Make sure God is for you.

vi. God is not going to line up with an unethical person.

VI. God wants us to get to the place where we exercise moderation.

A. I don’t exert all of my rights.

B. I don’t take advantage of the injustice of justice.

C. I am looking for true justice instead of legal justice.

D. I am looking for fairness and kindness, not what I can do and get by with.

E. Don’t milk every situation!

VII. Moderation is a word we must be acquainted with if we are going to be ethical.

A. I must practice moderation.

VIII. Questions

A. Paul spoke the truth in love.

1.It is vital that we speak the truth in love.

2.Moderation not only boils down to me being legal, but I am just, fair, kind,

gentle, and Christ-like.

3.It relates to people primarily.

4.I don’t have to abandon the truth to be loving.

5.I don’t have to abandon love to tell the truth.

6.God is love and is the truth.

7.There is no conflict between love and truth.

8.I can have both.

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Professor: Dr. Dennis Corle

Moderation

9.I can exercise love while I tell the truth.

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