What is the proper role of ethics in the Christian life?

In 1876, German Lutheran theologian Christoph Ernst Luthardt eloquently illustrated the relationship between theology and ethics. He wrote, “God first loved us is the summary of Christian doctrine. We love Him is the summary of Christian morality.”1 The wedding of theology and ethics was later embraced by generations of theologians and ethicists, such as Protestant titans Herman Bavinck and Carl F. H. Henry, who rightly understood the primacy of both theology and ethics in the Christian life. Bu...