Written by Nicholas K. Meriwether |
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
According to Scripture, God designs us in such a way that moral knowledge is natural. In Romans 2:14-16, Paul says the moral law is “written on our hearts,” that is, through the conscience, described by Calvin as “a certain knowledge of the law by nature,”[2] so that all are without excuse.

Natural law is that apprehension of the conscience which distinguishes sufficiently between just and unjust, and which deprives men of the excuse of ignorance, while it proves them guilty by their own testimony.—John Calvin, Institutes, Bk. II, Chap. 2, xxii.
In Part 2 of this series, we looked at the content of natural law, which is the Ten Commandments (aka the Decalogue) and the basic design of human nature. One might think that we learn the Ten Commandments by reading the Bible. But if the Bible were the only source of moral knowledge, only a very small percentage of the human race would know right from wrong. And as we will see, the Bible itself doesn’t claim that people know right from wrong only by reading it. But how do we explain how we know the Decalogue? In Part 3, we turn to how we know right from wrong.
To add to the difficulty, doing the right thing often occurs in a bewildering context in which justice doesn’t seem to prevail (Jer. 12:1; Hab. 1:13). Many suffer and die for doing the right things. So we can’t base moral knowledge upon who lives a long and contented life, or a short, difficult one.
Not only do we often fail to see justice prevail, we may find ourselves in circumstances in which being moral is dangerous. Austrian author Stefan Zweig describes a harrowing situation in post-WWI Salzburg during a period of rampant inflation, where in order to survive, one had to be immoral.
A man who respected the food rationing system starved; only one who disregarded it brazenly could eat his fill. A man schooled in bribery got ahead; he who speculated, profited. If a man sold appropriately to the buying price, he was robbed, and if he calculated carefully, he was cheated. Standards and values disappeared during this melting and evaporation of money; there was but one virtue: to be clever, shrewd, unscrupulous, and to mount the racing horse rather than be trampled by it.[1]
The situation Zweig describes challenges those who believe moral knowledge derives from our environment. Saying we obtain moral knowledge from the society or culture we live in has disturbing implications—not just in periods of civilizational collapse as in post-war Austria, but also in contexts in which being immoral is ingrained in the culture we inhabit, such as a street gang, the Mafia, or a corrupt society (Gen. 19).  Moral knowledge must have a more stable basis than what we experience most of the time.
Moral Knowledge
So we can’t simply assume people know, we must at least explain how they know, and especially, why they so often violate what they know, which complicates the question even more.
Yet it is here that natural law by itself is inadequate. We see this most clearly in Aristotle’s wrestling with moral responsibility in the Nichomachean Ethics. He does in fact claim that every human being is responsible for any wrong he commits, unless his action is forced by something outside himself (a blast of wind), or he’s ignorant of the circumstances (1110b25). Yet his explanation of how it is that people can be held responsible is through an indirect argument: If we say that vice isn’t our fault, then neither is virtue, yet this seems preposterous. He concludes:
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Written by Dennis E. Johnson |
Thursday, September 19, 2024
While Hebrews urges us to fix our hearts and hopes on Jesus, who sits at God’s right hand in heaven (Heb. 12:1–2), our preacher is vividly aware of the faith-threatening challenges that confront his hearers on this sin-sick earth. The original congregation had endured the loss of social acceptance, property, physical safety, and freedom (Heb. 10:32–34; 13:3, 11–14). In the face of ongoing pressure to return to tangible and familiar old covenant rites, they needed encouragement to endure in their trust in Christ (Heb. 10:35–12:13). The trials of Israel in the wilderness, between exodus from slavery and entrance into God’s rest, soberly foreshadowed the trajectory of the new covenant church from slavery to sin and our final entrance into God’s rest (Heb. 3–4).

The Only Mediator
The theology of the book of Hebrews is distinct in that it draws together so many of the greatest truths revealed in God’s word to address the deepest of human needs. Hebrews introduces us to the only mediator who can reconcile sinful human beings to the infinitely holy God. Specifically, Hebrews displays the superiority of Jesus’s priestly ministry and his once-for-all sacrifice of himself, which cleanses our consciences and opens access to the presence of God. Hebrews orients us to the flow of God’s agenda for history, alerting us to how his covenantal bond with his people structures the outworking of his redemptive plan. As Hebrews unveils the connection between redemptive accomplishment and revelatory completion, this book shows us how to interpret the Old Testament as believers living in “these last days” in which God has spoken, climactically, in his Son. To Christians experiencing misgivings in the face of social rejection, financial loss, and physical threat, Hebrews offers the remedy of robust theology, calling them to “consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession” (Heb. 3:1) and to look to Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of faith” (Heb. 12:2).
The Letter That Is a Sermon
In our New Testament, Hebrews is grouped among other “general epistles” (James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1–3 John, and Jude). In fact, it is neither “general” nor, precisely, an “epistle.” It is addressed to a specific congregation whose history and present situation the author knows well and to whom he hopes to return (Heb. 6:9–12; 10:32–36; 13:23). Unlike an epistle, it opens not with the names of author and audience nor with preliminary blessing and prayer but with an elegant prologue that draws us into the theme: the superiority of the Son in whom God has spoken in “these last days” (Heb. 1:1–4). (Admittedly, Hebrews concludes as apostolic epistles often do, with assorted exhortations, prayer requests, travel plans, and benedictions [Heb. 13].)
The author calls Hebrews a “word of exhortation” (Heb. 13:22)—the term used by a synagogue leader when, after Scriptures were read, he invited Paul to present a discourse (a sermon) (Acts 13:15). Paul’s “word of exhortation” explained Old Testament texts and issued an exhortation to trust in Jesus (Acts 13:15–40). Although Acts includes digests of the apostles’ evangelistic sermons to the unbelieving audiences, Hebrews is the only post-Pentecost sermon to a Christian congregation in the New Testament.
Consistent with its character as “exhortation,” Hebrews interweaves indicative and imperative throughout. Repeatedly, robust doctrinal truth issues in heart-searching application: Since the Son is better than angels (Heb. 1:4–14), we must pay attention to the message of salvation spoken in the Son, which is even greater than the law spoken through angels (Heb. 2:1–4). Since the Son is better than Moses (Heb. 3:1–6), we must hear and heed his voice (Heb. 3:7–4:13). Since Jesus’s priesthood is superior to Aaron’s (Heb. 7) and his sacrifice cleanses more thoroughly and permanently than animals’ blood (Heb. 9:13–10:18), we must draw near to God’s throne of grace in confidence and reverent worship (Heb. 4:14–16; 10:19–39). Paul’s epistles typically “frontload” doctrinal instruction (for example, Rom. 1–11, Eph. 1–3), after which he draws ethical implications from gospel truths (Rom. 12–15, Eph. 4–6). Hebrews, one the other hand, applies each aspect of Jesus’s superiority—in revelation, in reconciliation, as the champion who leads us into God’s rest—with step-by-step in exhortations, all along the way.
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In the movie Gaslight, the lights were flickering, and she knew it. But her husband attempted to tell her that her senses could not be trusted. We must help the “victims” understand that what they see, hear, touch, and smell can be trusted because that is how God designed them to experience the world.

In July 2021 I wrote an article on gaslighting that made the following three points:

Definition of gaslighting: “Gaslighting,” biblically speaking, is the deception by self-lovers who use eloquent and persuasive speech to destroy the emotional and spiritual stability of their victims. The self-lover wants to control and often hide their own sinful behavior.
Value of the term: Biblical counselors may choose to use the term as a subheading of the biblical term deception to highlight the particularly wicked form that this deception takes.
Impact on a person’s life: Gaslit sufferers assume that events and actions are their fault, refuse to make decisions, exhibit unwillingness to trust their senses, lie to avoid conflict, and look for a trustworthy person to tell them what to do.

In the months since that article came out, I have continued to study and think about the subject. I concluded that my article focused almost exclusively on what I now term “active gaslighting.” I also believe that passive gaslighting is also possible. I will write another article explaining this difference. However, I believe that successful gaslighting, whether done actively or passively, tends to produce similar result. This article presents an initial explanation of how to help.
Before I get started, I believe every person must be cared for as an individual. Even if commonalities exist between counselees, commonality is not sameness. The Bible encourages us to listen (Prov. 18:13; James 1:19) and respond to the situation accordingly. People are dynamic and that demands an ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
It is also important to remember that my list below is only attempting to address the gaslighting itself. The needs of the active gaslit victim may include issues not relevant to the passive victim and vise-a-versa. In addition, there may be other life factors that require counsel.
Acknowledge That Life Is Hard
Victims may seem confusing, immature, even childish to those who have never experienced treatment like this. Children who were biblically raised (cf. Eph 6:4; Deut 6:5-9, etc.) and taught biblical courage must listen to their counselee’s experience. The constant bombardment of deception, manipulation, and cruelty should lead us to compassion.
Feeling compassion is not enough. We must communicate it. We must find words to express our compassion for them and for their experience. Paul often wrote about other’s suffering. The Psalms express grief as does Job and Lamentations. Building a relationship where honesty and ministry can flourish requires a little “climbing in the casket.”
This is especially true of active gaslighting victims because the perpetrators are like Romans 16:18 says, For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.
Even when the gaslighting was unintentional (i.e., passive) it does not change the reality that the person experiences many of the same symptoms. It is hard to live in a world where nothing seems clear or makes sense.
Remember That Gaslit Victims Struggle with Reality
When either counseling or supervising someone counseling these persons, we must constantly remind ourselves that they struggle with reality. There are different rules. When someone tried to tell me that I did not see something I really saw (I watched him run for a touchdown), something I read (a story about hurting people), or something I heard I did not find their comments confusing – I found them irritating. Those were my rules.
Victims play with different rules. They have learned that our world is broken and confusing. They have learned that trust is dangerous. Gaslit victims confuse what the rest of us would take for granted.
Persevering is an important concept. Gaslit people might make it hard to counsel. They might question your understanding of the Bible, they might question your application, and they might look to others for confirmation. It is not because they are rebellious, it is part of how they function. Rather than be angry at them, recognize that they need more help than the average person.
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