Arbitrary Or Absolute?

Apart from faith in the Creator/Owner of the universe, there is no rational basis for moral/spiritual laws. Some atheists claim that the survival of the species is the rational basis for morality. But on what rational ground is the survival of "rearranged pond-scum" (assuming that is what the species is) so important? Still, some atheists object, and say that in the Christian worldview God just arbitrarily decides and tells us what is good. But is God's standard really arbitrary? Or is it absolute?

Well for one thing, a person has only two options. One can either submit to God's standard of what is good; or go by another. So how can one say that God's standard is arbitrary, and their's is not? But since God is the Creator and Owner of the universe, He is the Absolute Standard/Decider of what is good. And there is a difference between arbitrary rules on the one hand, and the Absolute Standard on the other. 

John the apostle, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, informs us that God is love (1 John 4:8). The triune God is the eternal First Cause or Source of love. And by "love" I mean more than some fluttery and elusive emotion. Jesus described His love in this way: "I have come that they (who trust in Me) may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). As the Scriptures also say, "All things were made through Him (Jesus), and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:3-4). 

God who is love is characterized by light and life. He is the eternal First Cause of life. Jesus called Himself the life (John 14:6). He is love. And His love generates and creates life. Jesus also called Himself the light of the world, and said that whoever trusts in Him, whoever follows Him, will not walk in darkness. (John 8:12). Light is often used in the Scriptures to symbolize truth, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Darkness represents the absence of those things. 

Biblically, the verb "to love" means to have a conscious (and that means personal) determination for the good of another person. God has always existed from eternity past as three distinct Persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He has always been love, life, and light; infinite in wisdom, purity, and blessedness. Love has always existed from eternity past in the Persons of the Trinity. 

As C.S. Lewis wrote, "the living, dynamic activity of love has been going on in God forever and has created everything else" (Mere Christianity; book four, chapter four, paragraph five). And so God who is love created the universe. He owns the universe. From the astronomical to the microscopic; all matter, all space, all time belongs to God who is love. 

And He created humanity in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27) for the purpose of love. Jesus Christ taught us that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your being. And He said that the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself". Jesus said that these two commandments summarize all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40). Every one of God's commandments stem from His righteous love. 

Nothing that He commands is arbitrary. Every word that He speaks is purposeful. Every judgement that He pronounces; every action that He takes is for a reason. The Ten Commandments, (Exodus 20:1-17) the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5-7) the Last Supper Discourse, (John 13-17) every word that our holy God speaks, and everything that He does, flows forth from His righteous love. 

In the Scriptures we learn about the fruits of the Spirit as opposed to the fruits of the flesh Galatians (5:16-26). The fruits of the flesh are counter to the love of God. And the fruits of the Spirit are in harmony with the love of God. These are not arbitrary rules that God "made up" to afflict our souls. The commands of God emanate from His love for us. His desire for us is love; and that means life, light, joy, peace, and everything that is good.

However, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Sin is diametrically opposed to everything that God is. It alienates us from the light and life of our Heavenly Father. It separates us from God who is love. God does not want us to be estranged from Him. He wants us to have everlasting life, light, and love. He wants us to abide forever in His blessings of joy, and peace. 

That is why God the Son took on human form and received unto Himself the wages of our sin. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ is reconciled to God. We are saved from the coming judgment. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).