Situational morality generally has a pretty bad reputation with Christians because it is often synonymous with moral relativism, but it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, situational morality plays an important role as an extension to absolute morality that is often misunderstood, and without it, can lead to absurd situations such as people wringing their hands over whether or not it is moral for a Christian to donate blood or a non-vital organ that a dying person may live.

First, it's important to realize that in the Bible, absolute morality is defined in explicit, atomic, non-contradictory principles. These are akin to the atomic elements in chemistry from which all compounds are derived. Such things range from "love God and your fellow man," to "don't murder," to "don't lie." Each of these serves as a guide for Christians about what to do in a particular situation, and the commandment to love God is the "North Star" of our entire moral code.

Where there is no prohibition, and the action is not dishonoring of God, we have freedom to pursue what we believe is the best path as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:23-31 and Romans 14. Here our intuition, knowledge of what the Bible says is moral and prayer work together to inform of us what is the appropriate course of action for us in a particular situation. For example, the sale of gun is permissible in general, and may be even righteous in one case, and sinful in another; righteous when sold to a good person who needs it for self-defense, and sinful if sold to a criminal. The morality of the action is dependent on the situation that surrounds the action because it is the situation which combines with the atomic, absolute moral principles to provide a guide for the right course of action.

One objection to this sort of thinking could be that it's a variation of every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes, but such a critique is partly off base. What separates this sort of situational morality from relativistic morality is that it is anchored firmly in a set of concrete principles that can be combined together to provide a reasonable estimation of what is right or wrong in a particular situation for a particular situation.

To borrow another biblical example, one man may decide to not drink alcohol because for him, it's a stumbling block to behaving morally, and another may decide to drink it because he knows that it won't be a stumbling block. In both cases, the decision is moral, even though the conclusion is completely opposite. The general question "should I drink" is situational, depending on variables such as whether or not one can do so responsibly, and whether or not it will cause someone else to stumble. To that end, the morality of the act of drinking alcohol is in no small part dependent on the consequences of the decision to drink or not drink alcohol.

Christians must ultimately remember that it is the spirit behind the action which is judged because we are not perfect. It all goes back to the two greatest commandments, love God with all of your strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Romans 13 puts it all into perspective:

⁹The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁰Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.