How Can I Know What Is Right or Wrong?

Question of the week: How do I know what is right or wrong on issues that the Bible does not explicitly address?

My answer: We know it because of the moral law God has written on the heart of every human being (Romans 2:12–16). We all possess a conscience. However, our consciences become seared when we sin, which makes us less able to discern right from wrong. The moral instructions in the Bible, as we put them into practice, help repair and enhance the effectiveness of our consciences.   

The Bible doesn’t address all the rights and wrongs that we will encounter in our lives on Earth. However, it does offer sufficient examples of what is morally right and what is morally wrong to permit us to develop fundamental principles to discern right and wrong on issues the Bible doesn’t address. Those principles are summed up and declared in the Greatest Commandment (“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” —Luke 10:25), the golden rule of Scripture, and in the Ten Commandments. Other important tools in helping us to develop those fundamental moral principles are regular times in Bible reading and Bible study, regular times in prayer to God, confessing our sins to God and one another, and spending time in intimate fellowship with spiritually growing mature Christians who are committed to hold us accountable in developing progressively more Christlike character.