What is the categorical imperative?

 

 

The term categorical imperative is closely associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant. He sought to create a basis for morality that was both universal and unconditional. Further, Kant wanted his moral foundation to be entirely based in reason and resistant to selfishness. The main formulation of his “categorical imperative” was “Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.”

 

In other words, Kant’s categorical imperative says we should choose actions only if we are comfortable with the same action being mandatory for all other people. This means asking the question, “What if everyone always did what I’m about to do?” If that seems like a good thing, then Kant would say you ought to act accordingly. If not, then Kant would say you ought not act in that way. Under that principle, choosing to lie would be immoral because, if everyone always lied, society would collapse. If everyone always told the truth, society would flourish. Therefore, the categorical imperative would say, “One ought never to lie; one ought always to be truthful.”

 

Kant’s hope was to ground ethics in a single principle. This statement would be a singular moral foundation: the categorical imperative. Of course, Kant recognized the complications and nuances such an idea entailed. Among these difficulties are that situations are intensely contextual—details matter, so a broadly defined action is difficult to universally endorse or condemn. Likewise, Kant’s view creates an “always” or “never” binary when some actions are more easily understood using a “sometimes” approach. His own writings extensively explored these issues and their limitations, all of which are beyond the scope of a single article.

 

The categorical imperative is a form of deontological ethics: the view that ethical behavior is rooted in a “duty” to an external standard. Kant’s approach suggests that the only proper motivation for action is the fulfilling of the duty; otherwise, the act is grounded in an inappropriate impulse. The main problem within deontology is debate over what authority is used to determine a duty, resulting in competing loyalties and motivations.

 

Scripture provides a parallel to the categorical imperative in the form of what Jesus called “the greatest commandment.” In Matthew 22:37–38, Jesus cites Deuteronomy 6:5 and declares, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” In a sense, loving God is the most fundamental, universal, unconditional obligation of all creation. Every other ethical statement is an application of that principle (Matthew 22:40). A more practical version of this same idea was given by Christ in Matthew 7:12, known as the “Golden Rule.”

 

In the sense of suggesting all morality can be generalized in a single statement, the basic idea behind the categorical imperative is not unbiblical. Jesus implied that very concept. Likewise, the Bible indicates that motives matter independently of acts themselves (Matthew 6:1–2). However, Christ cements moral decision-making in an unchanging and perfect God (Matthew 5:48; Mark 3:35; John 14:15). Kant ties ethics to fallible human reason (see Isaiah 55:8–9; Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 14:12). Ultimately, we must ground moral decisions in God’s revealed Word (2 Timothy 3:16), natural evidence (Romans 1:18–20), and the influence of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; Galatians 5:22–25), rather than seeking “pure reason” as a basis for ethics.

How should Jesus’ saying “I will not leave you as orphans,” give us hope (John 14:18)?

 

As Jesus neared the end of His earthly ministry, He began to prepare His disciples for His departure. Christ’s closest followers had been with Him for three years. Their lives were so intertwined with His that the idea of the Lord leaving them would have been deeply troubling. Knowing they would feel His absence like a child might experience the loss of his parents, Jesus promised the disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18).

 

The Greek word orphanous means “fatherless children.” It derives from a root term meaning “to be alone, deprived.” In ancient biblical culture, orphans were among the most vulnerable people (along with widows and resident aliens). According to Israel’s social structure, the father or male head of the household was responsible for guarding and protecting the family members. Orphans were left with no one to care or provide for them, moving God to place them under His own divine protection (Deuteronomy 10:18; Jeremiah 49:11; Psalm 68:5; 146:9).

 

With the prospect of His going away, Jesus knew that His disciples were anxious about being alone and abandoned (John 14:1). The Lord had called the disciples to entrust their entire future to Him, and they had made the commitment. Now, Jesus wanted to reassure them that His leaving was not the absolute disaster they were envisioning.

 

First, the Lord explained that His departure would secure their heavenly destiny with the Father for all eternity (John 14:2–6). Jesus would depart by way of His death on the cross, the very act that would gain eternal life for all who believe in Him (John 1:12–13; 3:14–16; 11:25). Jesus was going on ahead to prepare a place for them (John 14:2–3). And the way to this future life in heaven was through Jesus Christ Himself (John 14:6; see also Acts 4:12).

 

The disciples must have wondered how on earth they would continue to serve the Lord and fulfill His mission in the world without Jesus present with them. To address this concern, Jesus made His first mention of the Holy Spirit: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you” (John 14:16–17, NLT).

 

The Holy Spirit was with the disciples already, but once Jesus departed, the Holy Spirit would dwell within them. The original Greek words for “with you” literally mean “beside you.” After Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, the Spirit that had been beside them would be inside them.

 

When Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you,” He was promising to send the gift of the Holy Spirit, who would arrive at Pentecost (Acts 2:1–5). A little later, Jesus reaffirmed that His leaving was a good and necessary thing: “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7, ESV). After Jesus’ resurrection, we see that the Holy Spirit makes Christ’s triumph available to the people of God.

 

Jesus lives in us—those who are the children of God—through the person and power of the Holy Spirit. We are not orphans because the Holy Spirit within us identifies us as God’s children. Paul said to the believers in Rome, “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16, NLT).

 

Moreover, this indwelling of the Holy Spirit is without end. The Helper, Advocate, Counselor, and Comforter (all names for the Holy Spirit) will be with us and in us forever. Jesus said, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).

 

As members of God’s family, we have this hope: our Father will not leave us as orphans! The Lord will never abandon us (Philippians 1:3–6; Hebrews 13:5). Nor will He leave us unprotected to face the struggles and evils in this world. He sends us a Helper to fill and equip us. God’s Holy Spirit dwells in us as the constant, reassuring presence of Jesus from the moment of our salvation, throughout our whole lives, and for all eternity.

Will there be a second chance for salvation after death?

 While the idea of a second chance for salvation is appealing, the Bible is clear that death is the end of all chances. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that we die, and then face judgment. So, as long as a person is alive, he has a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. chance to accept Christ and be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31). Once a person dies, there are no more chances. The idea of purgatory, a place where people go after death to pay for their sins, has no biblical basis, but is rather a tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.

To understand what happens to nonbelievers after they die, we go to Revelation 20:11-15 which describes the Great White Throne judgment. Here takes place the opening of the books and “the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” The books contain all the thoughts and deeds of those being judged, and we know from Romans 3:20 that “by the works of the Law is no flesh justified.” Therefore, all who are judged by their works and thoughts are condemned to hell. Believers in Christ, on the other hand, are not judged by the books of works, but their names are found written in another book—the “Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27). These are the ones who have believed on the Lord Jesus, and they alone will be allowed to enter heaven.

The key to understanding this is the Lamb’s Book of Life. Anyone whose name is written in this book was “saved before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4) by God’s sovereign saving grace to be part of His Son’s bride, the church of Jesus Christ. These people need no “second chance” at salvation because their salvation has been secured by Christ. He chose us, He saved us, and He will keep us saved. Nothing can separate us from Christ (Romans 8:39). Those for whom He died will be saved because Jesus will see to it. He declared “all that the Father has given me will come to me” (John 6:37), and “I give to them eternal life, and they shall never ever perish, and not anyone shall pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:28). For believers, there is no need for a second chance because the first chance is sufficient.

What about those who do not believe? Wouldn’t they repent and believe if they were given a second chance? The answer is no, they would not because their hearts are not changed simply because they die. Their hearts and minds “are at enmity” against God and won’t accept Him even when they see Him face to face. This is evidenced clearly in the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. If ever someone should have repented when given a second chance to see clearly the truth, it was the rich man. But although he was in torment in hell, he only asked that Abraham send Lazarus back to earth to warn his brothers so they didn’t have to suffer the same fate. There was no repentance in his heart, only regret for where he found himself. Abraham’s answer says it all: “And he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded, even though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). Here we see that the witness of the Scriptures is sufficient for salvation for those who believe it, and no other revelation will bring about salvation to those who do not. No second, third, or fourth chances would be enough to turn the heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

Philippians 2:10-11 declares “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” One day, everyone will bow before Jesus and recognize that He is the Lord and Savior. At that point, though, it will be too late for salvation. After death, all that remains for the unbeliever is judgment (Revelation 20:14-15). That is why we must trust in Him in this life.

What does it mean that ‘the earth is the Lord’s’ (Exodus 9:29)?

 When Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites as slaves in Egypt, his actions were an attempt to subvert God’s plans in the earth. Pharaoh, who thought he himself was God, did not fear Yahweh or comprehend that He is the one and only God of all the earth and all peoples of the world. In the seventh plague, God sent a hailstorm upon the land. When Pharaoh pleaded with Moses to ask God to stop the plague, Moses said, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD’s” (Exodus 9:29).

With His power to start and then stop violent plagues involving weather, the God of Israel showed Pharaoh that He is the God of the elements and the entire world and all the people in the world, even the people of Egypt. The plague’s gravity is stressed as “the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now” (Exodus 9:18). The storm affected all the land of Egypt. Every plant, beast, and human who did not heed God’s word of warning and seek shelter was struck down and killed by lightning and hail. Yet the people of Israel who were in nearby Goshen experienced no hail and suffered no ill effects from the storm (verse 26). Yahweh wanted Pharaoh to know that He—and not Pharaoh—is the one true God who controls the land.

The earth is the Lord’s speaks of God’s sovereignty as ruler, creator, and owner of all the world: “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him” (Psalm 24:1, NLT). God’s sovereignty means that He has the ultimate power, authority, wisdom to do whatever He chooses within His creation—the earth, the heavens, and everything in them. God made the point to Pharaoh, just before the plague of hail, that He was sovereign over Egypt and its king: “By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up  for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:15–16).

 When God renewed His covenant with the Israelites and allowed them to enter the Promised Land, He required them “to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees” (Deuteronomy 10:12–13). Along with these demands, God appealed to Israel to recognize His absolute dominion as Lord over heaven and earth: “To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it” (Deuteronomy 10:14).

To God belongs not just heaven, but the highest heaven. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that is in it. A God such as this might seem to be above caring for our needs. Yet the Lord told Israel that He chose her because He loved her above all other nations (Deuteronomy 10:15, NLT). Of all the world’s peoples, Israel was the Lord’s treasured possession (Deuteronomy 7:6–11). Believers in Jesus Christ are also recipients of God’s great love (John 3:16; 13:1; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:4; 5:2; 1 John 4:10, 11; Revelation 1:5).

In a practical teaching to the Corinthian church about food offered to idols, the apostle Paul quoted Psalm 24:1, saying, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (1 Corinthians 10:26). Jews often spoke this verse in mealtime prayers. Paul used it here to say that the Lord is the only real God over all things, and, thus, idols are irrelevant. In Paul’s mind, all food ultimately belongs to God. To Timothy he also taught that “everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4).

Whether the food had previously been offered to an idol didn’t matter because the food was not the problem—the problem centered on weak Christians whose consciences were scarred by past sins. Mature believers should refrain from eating meat sacrificed to idols primarily out of concern for others—weaker brothers and sisters in the church. Christians are always to act in a spirit of love and self-control, keeping the good of others in mind and God’s glory at the forefront of their priorities.

The Bible says that the earth is the Lord’s. The whole world belongs to God (Exodus 19:5). He is the possessor of heaven and earth: “The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it” (Psalm 89:11; see also Genesis 14:19, 22). In Isaiah, God’s sovereignty is pictured this way: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). We acknowledge the greatness, power, authority, wisdom, majesty, splendor, and sovereignty of our Lord when we appreciate that everything in heaven and earth belongs to Him (1 Chronicles 29:11).

What is the key to living a victorious Christian life?

 

The victorious Christian life is the life that is lived, by faith, in a moment-by-moment surrender to God. The victorious Christian life is rooted and grounded in faith. The whole of Hebrews 11 tells the stories of men and women who, by faith, were victorious in some way. Our God is always victorious, no matter the foe. Even the cross of Christ was not a defeat for the Lord, but a victory: “Now the prince of this world will be driven out,” Jesus said in the final week of His earthly ministry. At His trial before the high priest, Jesus testified, “You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). That’s the victory believers share in.

The victorious Christian life is a life lived in triumph over “everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). It is the conquering of fear, knowing God’s peace (John 14:27; 16:33). It is perseverance through “trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” (Romans 8:35), showing us to be “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (verse 37). The victorious Christian life naturally leads to a defeat of death itself (1 Corinthians 15:54–55) and a glorious reward in heaven (Revelation 21:7).

“The righteous will live by faith” (Romans 1:17), and it’s impossible to overemphasize the importance of faith in living the victorious Christian life: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4–5).

Part of living the victorious Christian life is properly dealing with temptation. First Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” In the context of this verse, Paul is speaking to a church surrounded by idolatry and temptation. There were social, financial, and political pressures to return to their old ways and participate in pagan practices. God in His faithfulness told them, and us, that there is no temptation anywhere at any time that will take Him by surprise, and He will always make a way to escape it and thus endure. When a Christian faces a temptation, God will always give a clear way of avoiding the sin, but it is still the choice of the individual to take the way out or not. Avoiding temptation requires moment-by-moment submission to God.

In John 15, Jesus tells a parable that gives a key to the victorious Christian life. Jesus Christ is the vine, the source of life and health and wholeness, and we are the branches, utterly dependent on the vine. The word used over and over throughout the passage is most often translated as “abide” or “remain.” The original Greek word really means “stay where you are.” Where is the Christian? The Christian is in Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

The victorious Christian life is a journey of faith, not just for eternal salvation, but of daily decisions building up into lifestyle that reflects Christ (Galatians 2:20). Faith is the calm assurance that what we do not yet see is far more real, more substantial, more trustworthy than what we do see (Hebrews 11:1). The life of faith chooses to believe God in all things (Romans 4:3). “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:1–4, ESV).

The victorious Christian life is lived with eyes set on the things of heaven, not of this world. Jesus is our model in this: “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2–3). The eternal life of the believer is set securely in Christ. We, too, are at God’s right hand, by faith. The victorious Christian is one who lives in that reality.

Is Jesus the only way to Heaven?

Yes, Jesus is the only way to heaven. Such an exclusive statement may confuse, surprise, or even offend, but it is true nonetheless. The Bible teaches that there is no other way to salvation than through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He is not a way, as in one of many; He is the way, as in the one and only. No one, regardless of reputation, achievement, special knowledge, or personal holiness, can come to God the Father except through Jesus.

Jesus is the only way to heaven for several reasons. Jesus was “chosen by God” to be the Savior (1 Peter 2:4). Jesus is the only One to have come down from heaven and returned there (John 3:13). He is the only person to have lived a perfect human life (Hebrews 4:15). He is the only sacrifice for sin (1 John 2:2; Hebrews 10:26). He alone fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). He is the only man to have conquered death forever (Hebrews 2:14–15). He is the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the only man whom God has “exalted . . . to the highest place” (Philippians 2:9).

Jesus spoke of Himself as the only way to heaven in several places besides John 14:6. He presented Himself as the object of faith in Matthew 7:21–27. He said His words are life (John 6:63). He promised that those who believe in Him will have eternal life (John 3:14–15). He is the gate of the sheep (John 10:7); the bread of life (John 6:35); and the resurrection (John 11:25). No one else can rightly claim those titles.

The apostles’ preaching focused on the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Peter, speaking to the Sanhedrin, clearly proclaimed Jesus as the only way to heaven: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Paul, speaking to the synagogue in Antioch, singled out Jesus as the Savior: “I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin” (Acts 13:38–39). John, writing to the church at large, specifies the name of Christ as the basis of our forgiveness: “I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name” (1 John 2:12). No one but Jesus can forgive sin.

Eternal life in heaven is made possible only through Christ. Jesus prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). To receive God’s free gift of salvation, we must look to Jesus and Jesus alone. We must trust in Jesus’ death on the cross as our payment for sin and in His resurrection. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22).

At one point in Jesus’ ministry, many of the crowd were turning their backs on Him and leaving in hopes of finding another savior. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67, ESV). Peter’s reply is exactly right: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68–69, ESV). May we all share Peter’s faith that eternal life resides only in Jesus Christ.