An Introduction to Biblical Ethics (B&H Studies in Christian Ethics)

In Brief:An Introduction to Biblical Ethics is a good primer on protestant evangelical biblical ethics but does not sufficiently interact with contemporary narrative hermeneutics or virtue ethics.At Length:I had the pleasure of studying under Dr. Jones at Southeaster Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest in a few classes on ethics. What is presented in this book follows closely with the material he used in his classes, and I can see some of the cases he made in class repeated here almost verbatim. Unfortunately, many of the issues that I had with his class I also have with this book. Dr. Jones (David, not to be confused with Indiana) presents a good case for utilizing the Ten Commandments as the lens by which all biblical ethics are understood, but in doing so he does not sufficiently address contemporary narrative hermeneutics and thus leaves himself open for challenges to his semi-continuity approach to the Old Testament law. Moreover, Dr. Jones identifies "character" as being critical to biblical ethical understanding but conflates all biblical teaching on character into the basic commands of loving God and loving others, neglecting historical Christian theologies of virtue and character development. Finally, as hard as he tries to be precise, Dr. Jones muddies the waters a bit by utilizing the word "law" in at least three different ways as the book progresses, making some passages of this book difficult to understand and apply.Dr. Jones has done his future students an incredible service by taking his class notes and making them remarkably well notated and organized. The book is very well researched and his footnotes offer good commentary for further study. Following each chapter are Summary Points that concisely and clearly summarize the chapter contents. These summary points will be invaluable to his students and any others who take up this book as an introductory text. He also clearly delineates various ethical approaches throughout the book and offers concise arguments for and against various ethical positions, both secular and biblical. He is upfront about his protest reformed evangelical persuasions, such that anyone who makes it past the Introduction and is surprised by what follows is not reading very closely.Since the book is so easy to understand and keep as a resource, it is frustrating to see important areas of ethical reflection just be totally ignored. Dr. Jones intercepts many arguments against his semi-continuity approach to biblical ethics, but he does not address the role of narrative theology in biblical ethical formulation. He utilizes a relatively old-school method of hermeneutics, that is, a systematic approach that conflates entire books of the Bible without stopping to recognize historical or biblical context. He does not, for example, address the narrative ethical approach of Wenhams "Story as Torah" and "Psalms as Torah," two books that have gained traction as revealing a new narrative approach to biblical ethics. I don't believe that Jones and Wenham would disagree substantively on many important topics of ethical consideration, but I do believe that Jones does Wenham an injustice by relegating narrative and other portions of Scripture to the status of "unimportant" when dealing with questions of ethics.Why does this criticism matter so much when approach biblical ethics? For this simple reason: Jones' approach to biblical ethics is a wholly proof-text and systematic approach, and this approach invites students of ethics to do violence to Scripture by using individual texts out of their biblical narrative contexts. (Witness my review of Wayne Grudem's book  Politics - According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture  for examples of this kind of proof-text ethics.) By conflating biblical morality down to the Decalogue, Jones leaves out massive and important tracts of ethical teaching that are not merely "commentary on them [the Decalogue]," as Jones says all Scripture is on page 130.Where does Jones go wrong? I think the chief problem is in his approach to the law. Dr. Jones has assumed what he calls the historical Christian approach to the Old Testament law; that it is:a) Able to be easily divided up into three interpretive categories: moral, civil, and ceremonial;b) Partially fulfilled by Christ's sacrificial work and priestly office (the ceremonial law);c) Partially fulfilled by our simply not being Israel (the civil law).The problem with this approach is that b) and c) mean that a) is factually untrue: these cannot be merely "interpretive" categories (on page 77, Dr. Jones makes very clear that this is not an "ontological division of the law; rather, it is an interpretive rubric) but at the same time bear ontological weight. That is to say, we cannot say "this law is meaningful today and this is not" - an ontological statement - and call that merely an "interpretive rubric." Those are contradictory statements. The other defenses of this tri-fold division of the law offered on page 77 are, frankly, rather weak and do not sufficiently wrestle with the narrative, poetic, and didactic uses of the law throughout Scripture.Speaking of the law, one of the more frustrating elements of this book is the constantly changing definition of the law. On the one hand, Jones says "the moral law is present throughout Scripture." He goes on to say, though "it is most clearly summarized in the Decalogue." Here's the problem: he titles the chapter in which this is said as "The Giving of the Law." He cannot mean that the law is "throughout Scripture" when "the law" is given at one point in time on Mt. Sinai. Dr. Jones works very hard to clarify his various uses of the law, but then they get muddled by his chapter headings and sub-headings. A better title of this chapter would have been "The Giving of the Decalogue." This would allow for more clarity on what he means by law and why the Decalogue is important.Finally, An Introduction to Biblical Ethics downplays the role of the Holy Spirit in character formation and how elements of character like the fruit of the Spirit in Ephesians 5 are revealed in Biblical narratives. Despite his claim that "conduct, character, and goals" are the three parts of morality, he does not spend much time on character development or ethics of virtue, giving only pages 111-113 over to character and ethics. This is striking given the overwhelming emphasis in the New Testament on character formation and personal and corporate spiritual growth. Sanctification - growth in godly moral decision making - is a spiritual process, not merely a mathematical exercise in proof texts. I know that Dr. Jones believes this, but the book does not sufficient address spiritual formation in the Bible record or in the life of the believer. Ethics in the Christian life do not happen in a vacuum and are not decided merely through comparing various law-related Bible verses, and I fear that Christians reading this book outside of proper discipleship will find in it more support for a proof-texting approach to morality.On the whole, the book is a good primer on conservative protestant biblical ethics. It does have some serious gaps, however, and some hermeneutical approaches that might push young students of theology and ethics in the wrong direction. I recommend reading it in balance with Wenham's  Story as Torah: Reading Old Testament Narrative Ethically  to gain anther hermeneutical perspective on how law is revealed in Scripture.

It was a good intro to the 10 commandments as an overall guideline to Biblical ethics. I agree with many of the points, but I feel a few of the stances taken were a bit of a reach beyond what is spoken in the Bible. Overall a good read.

An Introduction to Biblical Ethics is a good introduction to Christian Ethics, however it is more an overview of the Ten Commandments than it is a book on a broader overview of Christian ethics. Well worth reading. The teaching on the Cristian Sabbath seemed to me to be the weakest of the commandments as covered.

It’s the perfect book to introduce to Biblical Ethics. Discusses what the ethics is, compare the Biblical Ethics to non Biblical Ethics always with scientific approach. I have read other ethics books and it was great to see them here compared.The book, then deeps into the Biblical Ethics and details each one of them, always with references for all statements.In the end, this book improved my knowledge about ethics, God and the Bible. Really recommend it.

This proved to be a very thorough read on the subject. Although it does not go into great detail on specific aspects of the moral law, it does provide a helpful framework for understanding how God's law is both reflective of his character, and puts belief into practice. The book was most helpful in learning how to apply the law in general, dealing with motive, character, and conduct, which is essential for sanctification and discipleship. It would have been nice to have a few more specific examples of applied ethics included in the content, but overall a very edifying read.

This is one of the finest books I have ever read regarding practical theology. Dr. Jones is an excellent lecturer and his books are almost as good as being in the class. This is a must read for all believers.

A limited scope, but a helpful overview of some biblical principles. More New Testament ideas could have been more thoroughly explored, yet done well overall. Somewhat legalistic in the approach from an evangelical perspective.

David Jones has provided a superior introduction to ethics specifically derived from scripture. The "systems" of other Christian thinkers are fairly presented with their benefits and limitations bringing the reader to Biblical text as the true foundation of ethical Christian life. Jones' exposition is most readable and he accompanies his text with footnotes that add refinement of thought.For those interested in the topic, this text is a bookshelf winner.