
The Lord Is My Shepherd – Part 5
October 3, 2021
Story Time
The Incredibles
You can’t talk about the shepherd without talking about .
Aesop’s Fables
Do not give up for foes.
John 10:10–14
How do sheep and get entangled with hirelings and wolves?
What’s in your ear?
2 Timothy 4:3–4
Job 34:3
A moral system has three criteria:
Principle# 1: A an effective moral system is
- Com·pre·hen·sive /ˌkämprəˈhensiv/ adjective – complete; including all or nearly all elements or aspects of something (Oxford Languages)
- The Bible looks at all the things that affect our lives.
- If you want to thrive, especially in a world with other people in it, you have to submit to a moral system that addresses every domain of your life.
- A comprehensive moral system invites us to submit to things we don’t personally prefer for the sake of the good.
- The government weighs in on things that many of us consider to be or under the sovereignty of the individual.
- While we are naturally inclined to focus on our private interests, the state must draw us away from our self-centeredness to sacrifice for the common good.
- If human government can intervene in your world, certainly God’s government can.
- The government of God draws us away from our self-centeredness to sacrifice for the good)
Principle # 2: An effective moral system is .
- Here’s what the criterion of universality measures: Do you value the good or do you just value what’s good for ?
- A universal moral system is .
- tran·scend·ent/ˌtran(t)ˈsend(ə)nt/adjective – beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience. Oxford Languages
- You know a moral system is transcendent when it goes beyond your personal preferences and pet causes.
- A transcendent moral system is one whose authority, blessings and boundaries extend to everyone without partiality.
Principle # 3: An effective moral system is .
In Sum
God’s sheep have an ear for His voice because they have a heart for His
They value his over their opinion.
John 10:1–5
John 10:14
John 10:16
© Joshua D. Smith, Ph.D., 2021