1. God, Who is all-good, reveals an objective standard for right and wrong in the Bible. Since it is God-determined, it is objective, non-negotiable, and universal.
(Psalm 100:5; James 1:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Jude 3)

2. The Bible calls God-approved thoughts, actions, and behaviors good, righteous, and beautiful
(e.g., Matthew 26:10; Galatians 6:9-10).

3. The Bible calls God-forbidden thoughts, actions, and behaviors evil, unrighteous, and ungodly
(e.g., Matthew 15:15-20; Jude 1:4, 15, 18).

4. The Bible often describes sin in different ways: sins of omission and sins of commission, intentional and unintentional sins, etc. This is not to excuse any sin, but rather to illustrate the corrupting power of sin and its ability to overpower our lives through the slightest chinks in our armor.
(Leviticus 4:2, 22, 27; James 4:17; 1 John 3:4; 5:17)

5. The human heart often leads people astray from God’s objective standard of right and wrong, in preference for a personal, subjective standard for right and wrong. These standards are often reinforced by society under the guise of freedom.
(Proverbs 14:12; Jeremiah 17:9; 2 Peter 2:17-19)

6. While doing what is right is good, it cannot, by itself, earn one a ticket to heaven. The stain of sin is so deep and acrid that it can only be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
(Romans 3:10, 23; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-10)

7. All claims to allegiance to God and to Jesus Christ must be supported by both the consistent renunciation of sin and wrongdoing, as well as consistent acts of righteousness.
(John 14:15; 15:14; James 1:26-27; 2:14-26)     

     We live in a world filled with competing conceptions of right and wrong. Cultural mores, taboo customs, superstitions, personal preferences, and a host of other variables causes people to develop infinite standards by which they measure behavior. So much confusion regularly leads to frustration, conflict, cognitive dissonance, and societal disarray (Romans 1:18-32). Is there an objective and trustworthy guide to save us from the problems arising from the personal or societal creation of moral and ethical standards?

     Yes! There is a solution for our dilemma! The Bible is God’s perfect revelation to humankind and provides the ultimate standard for understanding the nature of right and wrong. In its pages, He opens up His mind to all people everywhere and shares His superior thoughts and ways to humanity (1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Isaiah 55:8-9). God is perfect in all His ways, sees the end from the beginning, and gives us a blueprint for our lives in the pages of Scripture.

     In the Holy Bible, God provides a clear definition of what is right and wrong in understandable terms which transcend cultural customs and imperfect manmade systems of morality. Not only that, but the Bible explains to us the nature of God’s gift of free will to humanity, as well as mankind’s fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. In choosing rebellion, mankind created a nearly-unbridgeable chasm between himself and God. Jesus Christ came as the only way to cross that terrible abyss (John 14:6).

     Since the fall, Satan has ever endeavored to encourage wrongdoing and also corrupt righteous activities (Ephesians 6:10-18). We fight a daily war in which we must deny ungodliness and wrongdoing, and choose righteousness and welldoing. The only way we can win this war is by trusting the perfect revelation of God and following His prescribed way.

     This is but a brief overview of what is right and wrong and God’s objective standard for us to follow. To learn more, please request our free Bible Correspondence Course by clicking here.