Dock Resource Kit
Sunday sermon, 1 June 2025
In the opening talk of our Romans Revisited series, we explored one of the most urgent and foundational questions of Christian discipleship: How do we know what’s right? In a culture of moral drift and ethical confusion, Paul’s letter to the Romans offers a deeply rooted, Spirit-filled vision of how Christians are to live — not conformed to the world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds. We looked at the limits of conscience, the pressures of culture, and the enduring authority of Scripture. Above all, we were reminded that Christian ethics begins not with self-expression, but with surrender — a life formed in allegiance to Jesus, guided by the Word, and lived out in community.
Key Points & Takeways
Conscience matters — but it’s not enough
Paul affirms the conscience as a moral guide, but also shows how easily it can be shaped or distorted by sin, desire, or culture. We need something more stable than instinct: we need God’s revealed truth.Christian ethics begins with surrender, not self-expression
In a world that often says, follow your heart, the gospel invites us to surrender our hearts — to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through Jesus.We are formed by five key reference points
Scripture, the Spirit, Conscience, Community, and Christ’s example provide a rich framework for ethical living. Not a checklist, but a way of being shaped into Christlikeness.Scripture remains our true north
In an age of digital noise and shifting values, Sola Scriptura still matters. Scripture is not just ancient — it’s alive, Spirit-inspired and Spirit-read, giving weight and stability to our lives.We’re called to a distinct and compelling holiness
Being faithful may mean standing out, but it’s also what makes the Church beautiful and believable — not a watered-down echo of culture, but a people shaped by mercy and truth.This series is a call to discipleship
We won’t all start from the same place, but we’re committed to walking this journey together — with grace, patience, and courage — to become more like Jesus in a complex world.
Dock Discussion Questions
Where do you most feel the tension between cultural values and Christian ethics in your everyday life?
How do you normally navigate that tension?Paul says we are to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12.2).
What does that look like practically for you? Are there any habits or voices that are shaping your thinking more than Scripture right now?Phil spoke about five reference points for Christian living: Scripture, Spirit, Conscience, Community, and Christ’s example.
Which of these do you lean on most naturally? Which one do you find hardest to listen to?The sermon described Christian ethics as rooted in “allegiance to Jesus.”
How does that shift the way you think about morality, choices, or behaviour? What might Jesus be calling you to realign with him this week?
Long-form, editted transcript
Romans Revisited, 1.
How Do We Know What’s Right?
The Big Question
It’s great to be with you this morning.
Today we’re kicking off a brand new teaching series. With a big question:
How do we know what’s right?
We live in a world full of conflicting consciences and shifting cultures. One moment, something is celebrated — the next, it’s offensive. And at times even asking the question “What’s right?” can feel controversial.
Earlier this year, we spent ten weeks in working through Romans — following the sweeping story of humanity through sin and salvation, judgement and mercy, and our transformed life in the Spirit.
But Romans is super-dense. It’s not just a story about salvation — it’s deep theology. Full of argument, doctrine, and hard material.
And to follow the flow, we skipped through some big topics. That’s why this summer, through June and July, we’re Revisiting Romans.
And we’re going to look at some of the thorny issues Paul addressed — questions about truth, sexuality, gender, power, predestination, God’s wrath and justice, and more.
And each week, we’ll aim to look at a particular doctrine — a key teaching that’s been part of the Christian tradition. Not to just give you information — but to help all of us reflect more deeply on what it means to live out our faith faithfully in a world that often pulls us in very different directions.
We’re not doing this because we want to stir up controversy. We’re doing this because Paul didn’t shy away from the hard stuff — and neither should we.
And we want to do it in a way that’s generous and grounded in Scripture. We want to speak with conviction — but also make space for us to wrestle a bit — to hold truth and love together.
Some weeks may be challenging. But my prayer is that they’ll also be clarifying. Not because we’ll necessarily all agree on everything — but because can agree that Jesus is Lord, and we want to follow him.
So we begin today with this foundational question — the starting point for Christian ethics: How do we know what’s right?
My hope is that today sets the tone for the whole series ahead.
Conscience isn’t Enough
Today we’re dipping into Romans 2, 6, and 12. Feel free to jot things down. We’ll upload notes and resources on the website — and I’d encourage you to explore them on your own or, better still, with others in your Docks.
Talks on a Sunday are ok — but the real work happens in conversation — where ideas are tested, stories are shared. And not just with people who think like you, but also with those who don’t.
One of the things Paul does so powerfully in Romans is speak to people coming from very different world views.
Some were Jews — raised on the Scriptures, shaped by God’s law, steeped in tradition.
Others were Gentiles — with no biblical background, no shared language of obedience or holiness.
But Paul’s clear: wherever you’re coming from, you’re not in the dark.
In chapter 2, Paul says this:
“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law... they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness.”
(Romans 2:14–15)
Paul begins to say: even if you’ve never read Scripture — you’ve not grown up in a community of faith — there’s still something in all of us that reaches for justice, for fairness, for truth.
In other words — conscience matters.
And that’s where most people in our culture begin today. A sense that when it comes to right and wrong:
“I know what’s right because I feel it.
I just know.”
And we shouldn’t dismiss that too quickly. Paul acknowledges, conscience matters.
In fact that’s part of being made in the image of God. But Paul also goes on to show us — conscience isn’t enough.
Because conscience can be trained — or twisted — it can change.
It can reflect truth, or echo fear.
You can be sincere, and be sincerely wrong.
And throughout Romans, Paul names the deep forces that shape — and at times distort — our conscience. He talks about the power of sin, the pull of desire, and the influence of law, and culture.
We’re not just dealing with what we feel.
We’re constantly absorbing what’s around us.
Being formed — by our families, our media, our culture, our experiences.
So Paul doesn’t say conscience is irrelevant.
He says it’s incomplete and inconsistent.
It can’t carry the weight of moral authority on its own. We need something bigger. Something more rooted. Something unchanging.
And what makes Christian ethics so radically different is that it doesn’t begin with self-expression — it doesn’t begin with
“I just know in my heart” — it begins with
“I surrender my heart” — my mind, my desires.
That’s why Paul goes on to say in Romans 12:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12.1)
Because the pattern of this world is strong — and often invisible.
And if we’re not being shaped intentionally by Jesus, we’ll be shaped passively by everything else.
I don’t know if anyone here ever did their Duke of Edinburgh Award?
But it’s like using a compass.
It only works if you know where north is.
And in a world where “north” keeps shifting — where culture and assumed values change fast — we need something fixed.
We need a true north. And the good news is that God has given it to us.
We don’t have to invent our own ethics.
We don’t have to guess, or go with our gut, or take a poll.
We’re invited to receive something revealed — something trustworthy and tested.
That doesn’t mean God gives us a rule for every situation.
Scripture isn’t a moral encyclopaedia.
But it does give us a coherent framework.
It tells a story.
It points to a person — to Jesus.
And reveals the kind of life that flows from knowing him.
So in a time of moral confusion, we can say:
“I don’t just want to follow my feelings — I want to follow Jesus.”
“I don’t want to be shaped by culture — I want to be transformed by God grace.”
“I don’t want to drift — I want to be faithfully anchored in something greater.”
“I can know what’s right.”
That’s not arrogance. That’s discipleship.
So before we tackle the big questions ahead — about sexuality, identity, power, and justice — we start here, recognising:
We need more than conscience.
We need more than culture.
We need to be formed — not by instinct or experience — but by God’s unchanging truth.
Framework for Christian Living
What does this actually look like in practice?
This is where Paul gives us such a rich foundation in Romans.
He doesn’t just give us a list of rules — he gives us a whole new way of thinking.
A way of living that flows from knowing Christ.
In Romans 6, Paul says this:
“Thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.” (Romans 6:17–18)
That phrase — “claimed your allegiance” — is key.
Christian living isn’t about behaviour management — it’s about allegiance.
A new way of life that flows from belonging to Jesus.
This is a relational vision of morality — not a legal one.
Not “Try harder.” Or “You must.” But, “You belong to Jesus now — and this is what it looks like to live in light of that.”
Many of you know, Charlotte and I have two two wonderful daughters — and if you’ve met them, it might surprise you to know that sometimes — just occasionally — they need a little instruction or correction.
Like most parents, we spend time teaching our children how to live well. Sometimes that means asking them — repeatedly — to tidy up after themselves. Sometimes it’s about correcting unkind words or helping them understand that punching your sister probably won’t solve the problem.
But the goal isn’t compliance.
We’re not raising robots.
We don’t want them to do the right thing just because we said so.
We want them to grow into young women who are kind, wise, thoughtful — who choose to live in alignment with our love, and the values we’re seeking to shape in them.
That’s exactly what Paul’s talking about. Christian living isn’t,
“Do the right thing because God says so.”
It’s, “You belong to Jesus now. He’s shown you mercy. And because of that — because of who he is — your whole life can begin to take on his shape. Not out of fear, or duty, but out of love.”
And throughout Romans, Paul introduces us to a framework of guiding principles — five reference points — that help us to live in alignment with our allegiance to Jesus, and discern what is right:
Scripture – the revealed Word of God, our primary authority and foundation.
Spirit – the ongoing voice of God, guiding and convicting
Conscience – a fallible but significant moral sense
Community – Christian community is where we learn, test, and live out our ethics with others
Christ – our ultimate example and teacher, who shows us how to live
Scripture, Spirit, Conscience, Community, Christ’s example.
This isn’t a checklist. It’s a way of being.
A way of becoming people who are slowly, daily, learning how to live and love more like Jesus. That’s what it means to be a disciple. And it will mean that we will be different.
In East London in 2025 we’re surrounded by all kinds of ideas about how to live. About sex, money, freedom, justice, identity. And many of those ideas sound good. They’re often well-intentioned, full of passion or compassion. But not all of them are true.
And aligning ourselves with Jesus means being set apart — that’s what it means to be holy — is a way of life that won’t just blend in, and may not always sit comfortably with the culture around us.
A few years ago, The Spectator published a pretty punchy article critiquing what the author called “with a twist of Christianity.” He accused parts of the modern Church of simply baptising the values of the culture — embracing celebrity, fashion, self-expression, and a vague message of self-love, with just enough Bible thrown in to sound spiritual.
He ended the article by saying:
“I am not religious, so it is not my place to dictate to Christians what they should and should not believe. Still, if someone has a faith worth following, I feel that their beliefs should make me feel uncomfortable for not doing so. If they share 90 percent of my lifestyle and values, then there is nothing especially inspiring about them. Instead of making me want to become more like them, it looks very much as if they want to become more like me.”
As we wrestle with what it means to follow Jesus today, I want to encourage us not to be “with-a-twist-of-Christianity” kind of people.
We’re not called to live like everyone else, with a bit of faith sprinkled on top. We’re called to be different.
To be holy — formed by grace.
Yes, we will stand out.
But we’ll also be rooted — deeply.
And, I believe, because of that our lives will be profoundly compelling.
Unlike “with-a-twist-of-Christianity,”
there’s something deeply attractive about a life shaped by mercy, truth, and the transforming love of Jesus.
Sola Scriptura Still Matters
So, we’re all given this framework of — Scripture, Spirit, Conscience, Community, and Christ’s example — to help us discern what’s right.
But I want to zoom back in on Scripture.
Because Scripture has always been foundational for the Church — shaping belief, behaviour, and worship.
But throughout history, there have been moments when the Church drifted. Times when other voices grew louder. When tradition, power, or public opinion began to take the lead.
And whenever that happens, there’s a need to return — to come back to what God has already said.
That was the heart of what we now call the Reformation.
In the 16th century, Reformers like Martin Luther challenged a Church institution that had drifted — elevating popes, councils, rituals, and rules above Scripture. Luther’s bold rallying cry was summed up in the Latin phrase Sola Scriptura — Scripture alone.
Luther insisted that the Church must submit to the Word of God — not place anything else above it. And that every Christian should be able to read, wrestle with, and be shaped by Scripture for themselves.
This was a radical idea made possible by the invention of the printing press — at the time a revolutionary new technology.
Suddenly, Scripture wasn’t locked away in churches — it was in people’s hands and homes, able to be widely distributed and read in the language of ordinary people.
This explosion of access didn’t just inform people — it helped reform and renew the Church. It forced its leaders to rethink, refocus, and return to what God had already said.
Today, we are living through another tech revolution.
The tools have changed — access is even greater — but the question remains: Who is shaping us? Are we being formed by the Word of God, or something else?
And just as in the 16th century, the Church today is being forced to ask itself hard questions again. About authority. About formation. About how we respond to the voice of God as it is revealed Scripture, not just what is trending.
That’s why Sola Scriptura still matters.
This doesn’t mean we read Scripture in isolation — we value tradition, reason, experience — but it does mean that everything else is tested by Scripture, not the other way around.
And the reason Scripture holds that authority is because of where it comes from — and how it continues to speak.
In 2 Timothy 3, Paul writes that “all Scripture is God-breathed.” It’s not just human insight — it is divinely inspired.
The formation of Scripture was Spirit-led — inspired by the Holy Spirit, carried along by God’s breath through his prophets, poets, and apostles.
And now, today, the same Spirit who inspired the writing also illuminates the reading. Scripture was Spirit-led in its writing, and it must be Spirit-read in its hearing. Inspired, then illuminated — so that it can form and transform us.
That’s how Scripture becomes not just something ancient, but something alive. Not just words on a page — but truth that shapes our lives.
It’s a bit like the keel on a boat — the deep, unseen weight that keeps it upright. You don’t always notice it, but it’s what stops you from capsizing when the wind changes.
And in a culture of fast opinions, moral confusion, and algorithmic pressure — we need that keel more than ever. Without it, we falter and drift.
The keel of Scripture provides weight, depth, and balance. Without it, we’re just tossed around by whatever wave hits us.
And that’s exactly what many of us are experiencing. We’re living in a time of ethical drift — where what’s seen as right, good, and true can shift dramatically within a generation, even within a decade, maybe faster.
Think about how quick attitudes have changed to social media, to personal privacy, to single-sex spaces, or to the use of drugs — whether for appearance, performance, or pleasure. Who knows what we’ll be thinking tomorrow?
And while in the midst of all this we’re told we’re free to follow our own truth — we’re not quite as free as we think.
Because behind all the apparent choice, we are being shaped by powerful forces we don’t always notice.
Powerful algorithms are constantly learning what makes us pause, what we react to, what outrages us, what comforts us. Algorithms designed to feed us more of what will keep us watching, what will hijack our attention — and, ultimately, what will monetise it.
So on the one hand, we’re told, “Everything’s relative — just do you — whatever feels good, just try not to offend anyone else.”
And on the other, we’re constantly being nudged, prodded, and formed by invisible systems that are anything but neutral.
That’s why Sola Scriptura still matters.
Because without it, we’re vulnerable — to confusion, to manipulation, to drift. But with it, we’re anchored. We have something unchanging. Something tested. Something trustworthy.
And I’ll be honest — I haven’t always found Scripture easy. There are passages I’ve wrestled with. Moments when I’ve wished it said something different.
But again and again, I’ve found Scripture doesn’t just confront me — it holds me, it heals me, it humbles me. It calls me back to mercy. And it leads me to Jesus.
So as we step into this series, I’d love if we could begin by agreeing that:
We are all people shaped by mercy.
And we are a people rooted in Scripture.
This is our keel.
Not because we’ve got all the answers — but because God has spoken, and His Word is good.
Setting the Tone for the Series
I hope this sets the tone for the series ahead.
Next week: sexuality and the body.
Then gender and leadership.
Power, politics, predestination, inclusion, unity.
And in a room like this — at SPS, here in East London — we bring a rich diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and convictions. That’s a strength. We’re not all starting from the same place — and that’s okay.
Naturally some of us lean toward justice and compassion. Others toward truth and order.
These aren’t at odds — Scripture holds them together beautifully.
Part of our discipleship is learning to do the same.
Over the weeks ahead, you might feel challenged — or even relieved, like something’s being named that you’ve long held. You might find some moments difficult. That’s okay. Because we’re committed to walking this journey together — with grace, with patience, and with openness to grow.
We won’t always see everything the same way. But we can still honour one another, pray for one another — and at times, even hold onto and celebrate our differences — as we become more like Jesus, together.
One of the gifts of Scripture is that it pushes against all our defaults and breaks us out of neat categories. That’s especially important in a world where everything is quickly polarised as left or right.
Tim Keller once described the early church as a community that defied political categories — he identified five defining moral traits in these first Jesus-follwers:
They were multi-racial and multi-ethnic
Deeply committed to the poor and marginalised
Non-retaliatory, known for their forgiveness
Radically pro-life, opposing abortion and infanticide
Revolutionary in their sexual ethics
Interesting, for us today, the first two sound liberal, the last two sound conservative, and the third — forgiveness — doesn’t really belong to any political party.
In today’s polarised world, we can feel pressure to downplay either the first two or the last two — depending on who’s listening. But as Keller warned, if we drop any of them, we turn Christianity into a political programme. And we weaken our witness.
Because the Church isn’t meant to mirror the categories of the world. We’re meant to be gathered in our diversity, shaped by the mind of Christ — renewed, transformed, and held together in him.
Not shaped by ideology or reactive to culture.
But rooted in Scripture, led by the Spirit, and conformed to Christ.
That’s the kind of church we want to be.
A Call to Discipleship
So, how do we know what’s right?
By not conforming to the pattern of the world, but by being transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we can discern what is good, pleasing, and perfect in the eyes of God.
As we close today, I want to return to that image from Romans 12 — of offering our bodies as a living sacrifice.
It’s a powerful image — and a costly one.
Because we only offer a sacrifice when we trust the One we’re offering it to.
Paul isn’t talking about momentary decisions or private beliefs.
He’s talking about whole-life surrender.
Worship that’s embodied.
Obedience that’s rooted in love.
Let’s pause for a moment — right now — to ask the Holy Spirit:
Where do I need His truth?
Where do I need His grace?
Where is He inviting me to change?
Where have I relied on instinct — rather than listening for His voice?
Where is mercy calling me not just to receive grace, but to live differently because of it?
This isn’t about guilt.
It’s not about ticking boxes or trying to be “good Christians.”
It’s about allegiance.
It’s about love.
It’s about formation.
Final prayer
So, Jesus, as we step into this series together, we ask for your help.
Jesus, don’t want to do this alone.
We want to become more like you — not by winning arguments, but by walking in love and truth.
Shape us.
Shape us through Scripture.
Shape us by your grace.
Shape us through your love, God — poured out in Jesus.
Make us a church that listens well, asks good questions, and extends grace.
Give us courage to speak with conviction, and humility to keep growing.
May our Docks — our conversations — be places of trust and transformation.
Help us not to conform to the pattern of this world.
But transform us, by the renewing of our minds.
So that we might offer our lives back to you — in love, in trust, and in worship.
Amen.