The christian faith is not moralism.

The Christian faith is not moralism. Yet, we can (wrongly and dangerously!) pervert the Christian faith into this, in our homes and our churches. Our lists of "do's" and "don't's" can become the sum and substance of our understanding of the Christian faith, and in this self-esteem saturated culture, this ends up redounding to the glory of the "self," not the glory of God. So, we need (all of us, Christian parents and children alike) to understand glorious theological truths --

who God is in his eternal fullness as the triune God,
who God is as Creator of all that is,
who we are as created in his image,
what sin is and has done to us,
why Christ came, who Christ is,
what he accomplished,
how we receive the benefits of his work on the cross,
what God provides for us to grow as his people,
what these communities of faith called "churches" are and what they contribute,
and what hope we have for life now and forever

-- to provide the substance for what the Christian faith is, the faith that then is to be lived out in ways that reflect the character of God and his claims on our lives.

Only when moral teachings flow out of a correct understanding of the character and purposes of God and a relationship with him by faith in Christ can we see how our lives are meant to be transformed by God's work within us, reflecting his character and redounding to his glory above all else.

Bruce Ware, "Big Truths for Young Hearts"