slides for sermon

1. Does the
End Justify
the
Means?

2. Godly Ends Must Be Reached By Godly
Methods
• Most today would accept this because of
the end that he was seeking.
Saul unlawfully offered
sacrifice at Gilgal
(1 Sam. 13:10-12).
• God didn’t think much of the end
justifying the means.
The Lord was very
displeased with Saul
(1 Sam. 13:13-14).
• God would have none of his rationalization
(Deut. 3:23-26).
Saul committed sin as
Moses did
(Num. 20:8-12).

3. Godly Ends Must Be Reached By Godly
Methods: Practical Application
• God doesn’t need our help to determine
what is the best way of doing good.
What appears good isn’t
always good
(John 6:15, 26-27, 38, 66).
• We must never soft peddle controversial
issues to draw a crowd or keep peace.
Never compromise truth
for the sake of growth &
peace (James 4:17).
• There are goals that we must reach for, but
we mustn’t go about it in the wrong way.
A local church must be
careful how it builds
(1 Cor. 3:10-13).

4. Unauthorized Methods Outweigh Good
Motives
• God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites
and spare none.
Seen in Saul’s dealing
with the Amalekites
(1 Sam. 15:3).
• Saul disobeyed, said he didn’t, blamed
others, and tried to rationalize his actions.
Saul disobeyed God and
tried to justify doing so
(1 Sam 15:7-9,13,20-21).
• God was not pleased with Saul using an
unauthorized method to reach a good end.
God rejected Saul
because he didn’t obey
(1 Sam. 15:22-24).

5. Unauthorized Methods Outweigh Good
Motives: Practical Application
• Such did a great job at killing insects but
the problem was it would kill people too.
The use of the chemical
DDT to control insects.
• Such is murder and the side effects far
outweigh any good that is said to be done.
Legalizing abortion to
help a disadvantaged
motherchild.
• Such totally disregards God’s will in regard
to His pattern of local church work.
Middle-man organizations
doing work for local
churches of Christ.

6. This Concept Suggests That It Is Right to Do
Wrong
• God’s word never changes and it doesn’t
have a shelf life (Jn.17:17; Jude 3).
Truth is not something
that changes with time.
• To say anything different regarding God’s
truth is to slander the gospel (Rom. 3:8).
Right is always right and
wrong is always wrong.
• When it comes to the teaching of Christ, it
is never right to do wrong (2 John 9).
Such is true because the
Bible says so.

7. Does the
End Justify
the
Means?