Character

Biblical ethics centers on character — the formation of a person's inner dispositions toward God and neighbor — rather than merely on external rule-keeping. The OT vision of the righteous person integrates heart, will, and action: the blessed man of Psalm 1 delights in God's law inwardly; the Proverbs describe character virtues (wisdom, diligence, integrity) and vices (foolishness, sloth, pride) as patterns shaping the whole of life. The prophets repeatedly insist that outward ritual without inner transformation is worthless before God (Isa. 1:10–17; Mic. 6:8).

Jesus deepens the OT emphasis: the Sermon on the Mount targets the heart behind actions — anger underlies murder, lust underlies adultery, self-promotion underlies piety (Matt. 5:21–48). Pauline ethics similarly aims at transformation of the whole person: putting off the old self and putting on the new, created in God's likeness in righteousness and holiness of truth (Eph. 4:22–24). The goal of Christian formation is conformity to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18), a process the NT calls sanctification, worked out by the Spirit from within.