I’m reading Rolland Alland’s The Spontaneous Expansion of The Church, and I have come across a section (Chapter 5, The Christian Standard of Morals) that I feel is not handled well by him. He says:

Neither in the Gospel nor in any other part of the new Testament is any code of law laid down. That standard which we so often call the Christian standard of morals, simply does not exist in the New Testament. There is in the New Testament no no standard of morals in the sense of a standard external and capable of legal expression, so that we can say that a man who reaches this standard is a Christian, and that a man who fails to reach this standard is not a Christian…”

First of all, we know that Christ says that not one jot nor tittle of the Law will pass away till all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:18). There is a moral standard in the New Testament! St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6 that those who practice sin such as homosexuality and even covetousness will not enter the kingdom. According to these two passages of Scripture, there is a standard to which we can rightfully judge. ALTHOUGH, we must infuse Christological philosophy when dealing with those whom we expect to be obedient to these laws. So it is not that the New Testament does not lay down a standard of morality, it is that the New Testament lays down a new system of morality. Sanctification takes time. But if while taking advantage of this time the sinner begins spreading his sin around the Church, then the sinner must be dealt with either ecclesiastically or even judicially.

The two extremes of either allowing people to sin their tails off or coming down on them before they ever receive a chance to transform must be avoided. Christ is both gracious and righteous. And His Law is everlasting.