We should begin with how morals are different from religious practices and where they originate.
Morals are the sense of right and wrong humans have by nature. We use them to make our decisions and know what we ought to do in a situation.
Religious practices based on what someone believes can be rooted in morals. However, spiritual practices are not necessary when it comes to deciding whether something is inherently good or bad. Christians and nonbelievers alike make good and bad decisions, so this is not a matter of nonbelievers rejecting morals or Christians not being religious.
Now, where do we get our morals? We live in a world created by a God who loves us and who put that same love into the hearts of the people he has created. Good acts and kindness are rooted in love. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” We can sense right and wrong and do acts in love because God gave us these abilities. What God says to be right and wrong is steadfast, and without his direction humans would not have a foundation.
It is possible to be good without believing in God, but we could not have morals if God did not exist.
C.S. Lewis in his book “Mere Christianity” says, “It is after you have realized that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that Power – it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk.” Once someone understands that God is the power behind morality, then they can begin to understand how we can only do good because of him.
Ephesians 2:8-10 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
No one has earned their morals, grace or God’s love. It is available for everyone, not just those who have already accepted Christ. Christianity, however, give good actions their impact and meaning.
