Choose Better: Five Biblical Models for Making Ethical Decisions, by T. David Gordon. P&R, 2024, xvii + 123 pages, paper.

T. David Gordon, PCA minister and retired professor at Grove City College, has provided a very helpful new book on Christian ethics. Not only is the content useful, but Gordon also writes in a concise, clear, and engaging way that will make this book of interest to a broad range of readers.

Gordon provides an initial definition of “ethics” at the beginning of his Preface: “the study of how to live and how to live well” (ix). Shortly thereafter, he gives another definition: ethics “constitutes the disciplined reflection on human choice-making” (xi) (all italics in quotations are his). The latter definition is key for the book, since, as the title indicates, Gordon focuses on human choice. How do we make good decisions? For Gordon, this is not just a question of making right rather than wrong decisions, although some situations call for this. Ethics is also about making better rather than worse decisions in the many circumstances of life when there are no single right or wrong choices. Gordon proposes five “models” that should guide moral decision-making. He believes Scripture advocates all five and that different Christian traditions emphasize (and neglect) different ones. Since all are biblical, they are complementary rather than competitive. Utilizing one should strengthen use of the others, while neglecting some will impoverish and distort how we utilize others. The five models are like a mechanic’s tools. He will do his best work when he uses many tools rather than a single one.

Gordon first considers the imitation model. The basic idea is that God has made and called human beings to be like him, in a way appropriate to our creaturely status. God created us in his own image, and Scripture repeatedly exhorts us to imitate him: for example, to be holy as he is holy and to love others as he has loved us (Lev. 19:2, John 15:12). This model encourages us, when faced with a moral choice, to ask, “Does this decision allow me (or us) to emulate God or to cultivate human traits that reflect his image” (11)? Gordon suggests that this imitation model has close links to the virtue tradition of ethics, for imitating God is not just a matter of doing what God does but also of becoming like him. This model also encourages us to ponder the communicable attributes of God and to consider how our choices can reflect them. Gordon notes that many prominent Christian thinkers have regarded the imitation theme as the fundamental biblical model, and he agrees with this judgment. According to Gordon, however, a potential limitation of the model is that it does not tend to provide ready, quick answers to moral problems but requires long and sustained study.

The book’s second entry is the law model. This understands God to have rightful and wise authority over his creatures. Accordingly, God gives commands throughout Scripture which he expects his people to keep. This model thus prompts us to ask, when faced with a moral decision, “Has God, in Holy Scripture, commanded or prohibited this behavior” (31)? Gordon notes, and is surely correct, that this model has played a dominant role in the ethics of churches descending from the Protestant Reformation, as illustrated by the prominent use of the Decalogue in the Heidelberg Catechism and Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms. While Gordon affirms this model’s vital importance, he also devotes extended discussion to challenges it poses. In particular, many biblical commands do not oblige all people. God directed some commands toward a specific person, for example, and some commands binding under one biblical covenant do not bind people living under another covenant. While some readers may think Gordon devotes disproportionate space to this model’s limitations, this discussion is quite helpful and is obviously directed at Reformed communities prone to emphasize the law model to the detriment of others.

Third is the wisdom model. Scripture includes wisdom literature and often exhorts readers to be wise. For Gordon, wisdom entails understanding the true nature of reality and perceiving how things work. This model encourages us to ask, when making moral choices, “What is the likely outcome of this decision” (53)? Recognizing that God created the world with wisdom, this model urges us to pay attention to natural as well as special revelation. It also enables us to recognize that what works for one person in a certain situation may not work for another in different circumstances. The wisdom model thereby helps us to live charitably with each other when we make different decisions in matters on which Scripture does not bind our consciences. But this model too has limitations to keep in mind. It provides counsel and perspective but often not clear imperatives. It describes how the world tends to operate, not how it always operates.

The fourth model is the communion model. It focuses on the biblical idea that God made us for fellowship with himself and that we alone of God’s creatures have the privilege of direct communication with him. This model sets the following question before our ethical decision-making: “How might this decision enhance or inhibit my (or our) communion with God” (77)? The Bible commends this model to us in many ways. It urges us to pray without ceasing, the Psalms are filled with praise, thanksgiving, request, and lament that express intimacy with God, and the pattern of God speaking to us and we responding back to him pervades the Scriptures. Gordon notes, however, that this model’s special challenge is the danger of subjectivity. We are often not very good judges of our own souls or of what conduces to our spiritual benefit.

Finally, Gordon presents the warfare model. This draws on the numerous biblical texts describing life as a great battle pitting God and his people against Satan and his host. God often portrays himself as a mighty warrior and the Old Testament depicts warriors such as David as types of Christ. Scripture also enlists Christians in the fight, exhorting them to put on the armor of God and wage war against the passions of the flesh. This model instructs Christians to ask about their moral choices: “In the often invisible, yet real warfare between the forces of good and evil, will this decision likely serve the forces of good or the forces of evil” (101)? This model encourages Christians to be vigilant, obedient to Christ their commanding officer, and always prepared. It requires us to think strategically, although in doing so it demands that we incorporate insights from the other models.

There is a real sense in which Choose Better sells itself. All five models indisputably appear throughout Scripture, so we Christians committed to biblical authority ought to acknowledge the propriety of Gordon’s call to incorporate them into our moral thought. One benefit of heeding this call is that it ensures the holistic character of ethics. Far too often contemporary writers treat “ethics” as if it focuses only on big, life-crisis, cultural-war issues. This can leave the impression that ethics has little to do with the 99.9% of life when such issues are not before us. Gordon’s book never leaves that impression. Utilizing the five models also helpfully connects us to the broad moral-theological tradition of the Christian church. As Gordon recognizes, great theologians throughout church history have incorporated these themes into their ethical writings.

If I were to interrogate the author, I might ask him two questions, one general and one specific. In general, I wonder why he focuses so intently on decision and choice throughout the volume. While decision-making obviously is a crucial part of ethics, Gordon himself suggests that ethics is deeper and richer than this. For example, he acknowledges the importance of virtue (especially through his imitation model) and of spirituality (especially through his communion model), both of which transcend decision-making, it seems to me. Does Gordon’s focus on choice, therefore, suggest a narrower view of ethics than he himself holds?

My specific question concerns his discussion of Satan’s activity under the warfare model. Since Scripture warns us to be on guard against Satan’s devices, Gordon appropriately considers this topic. He speaks of how Satan deceives us, diverts our attention, and employs our corrupt desires. But Gordon doesn’t explain how Satan does this. Satan spoken audibly to Adam and Christ when tempting them, but he does not do that to us. Does Satan have access to our innermost thoughts and feelings? Can he actually put ideas in our minds or stir up vices latent within us? If not, what exactly is Satan’s role in our spiritual struggle against the world’s lies and the passions of our sinful nature?

Reformed churches should be grateful for this excellent new contribution to Christian ethics. I recommend it highly for pastors, elders, deacons, and thoughtful laypeople.

David VanDrunen is a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and serves as the Robert B. Strimple professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminster Seminary California, Escondido, California. Ordained Servant Online, November, 2024.