The Church of God revealed in Scripture stands distinct from the denominational concepts of this present world. Rather than a church of systems, institutions, and dogmatic discipline, it is revealed as God’s truth that produced a people peculiarly (1 Pet 2:9) his own. Through preaching (kerygma) and teaching (didache) of this revealed truth, God raised up a people called out (ecclesia) from the world to be the body of Christ, the Church.

It is the intent of this small volume to acquaint the reader with the religious beliefs that helped to shape and mold the Church of God. Purchased and established by Christ (Acts 20:28), the Church was inaugurated on the Day of Pentecost as the Holy Ghost filled the 120 believers gathered in the Upper Room (Acts 2:4). From this representative community God gave the pattern for this faithful remnant—a pattern presented in Scripture as the Holy Spirit inspired (2 Pet 1:21) the writing of that Word that endures forever (1 Pet 1:25).

While the Word stands sure across the ages, our treatment and interpretation of that Word has not always been reliable or trustworthy. We are affected by the cultural winds of evangelicalism, fundamentalism, and/or liberalism. History reveals that the church was confronted by infidelity from without and heresies from within. While outward persecution served to establish the young church more firmly, heresy within created an apostasy that produced the Dark Ages. Apostasy literally means “desertion of the faith.” Because of periods of severe persecution it became expedient for some to desert the faith once delivered unto the saints. Rather than Holy Spirit rule, it became easier for human authority, ritualism, forms, and creeds to control the religious community, thus quenching the truth that sets us free.

In the midst of such critical conditions, however, God preserved a sacred remnant who remained faithful in their quest for and obedience to the truth. Thus, from the darkness there emerged the reforms that called God’s people back to biblical truth. Martin Luther in Germany and the Wesleys in England became representatives of reformers who dared to stand for truth in its finest theological and practical interpretation. The faithfulness of such persons past and present serves as a spiritual catalyst, causing us to reflect upon the pattern of the Church of God revealed in Scripture.

Out of such a quest for scriptural truth God moved in the year 1880 upon the heart of Daniel Sidney Warner and others, calling Christendom to holiness and oneness. Being led by the Holy Spirit into an understanding of scriptural holiness, D. S. Warner saw this as the key to Christian unity. He believed that the experience of holiness must eventuate in the unity of God’s people. It was a unity in Christ that went beyond sectarian spirits and denominational doctrine. Therefore, he declared himself free from all humanly instituted religion and began to fellowship all persons who had experienced the lordship of Christ.

Out of the moving of the Spirit among persons of all faiths, other Christians in many parts of the nation were being led into a similar understanding of true unity. With a spirit of humility they sought only to follow Christ rather than humanly organized religious orders of their day. Being committed to this truth and drawn together by the Holy Spirit as a voluntary fellowship of believers, this movement has continued to grow over the past century. Recognizing only the lordship of Christ, they have sincerely sought God’s plan for the Church. They have avoided creedalism and doctrinal disciplines, seeking only to have the Bible as their rule of faith. While acknowledging that this allows for diversity within the fellowship, it also makes possible a unity that is divinely originated rather than humanly instituted. The beauty of God’s Church is the unity that comes from a common experience of holiness, producing lives obedient to Christ, the head of the Church.

To help acquaint you with the Bible, we have endeavored to accentuate those doctrines most evident in the Church of God as revealed in Scripture. Such theological truth is vital to the life of each Christian and to every church. What we believe as doctrine does make a difference. While some religious bodies may periodically revise their theological positions, there are truths in Scripture that are forever settled and that the Holy Spirit reveals to those who seek to know God’s will.

As a movement of God’s people we desire to know those truths and to make them known to others. Having committed ourselves to truth, we must pursue it all the days of our lives rather than yield to the temptation of tradition. It is out prayer that this brief introduction compiled from writings of Church of God authors will help you to understand God’s Word as the Holy Spirit reveals to you the Church and her teachings.

In no way is this to be interpreted as a definitive statement of the doctrines of the Church of God. We are not a denomination. It is not intended to satisfy the theologian or placate the absolutist. However, we do hope that it will give helpful guidance to basic Christian beliefs, thus enabling the student of the Bible to experience a living theology that is applicable to a meaningful Christian life in this present hour as we are led to unity by the Spirit of Truth.

Arlo F. Newell

Editor in Chief emeritus

Warner Press, Inc

Anderson, Indiana

June, 1983

Chapter 1

God: His Self-Revelation

“In the beginning God” opens to us the sacred Scriptures and focuses attention upon our Creator and Lord. Such a beginning leaves no room for debate; the inspired writers accept the existence of God. However, within each person is a rational intuitiveness that desires to know God more completely. “Bare belief in a higher power is intuitive—is simply one of those innate truths, fundamental facts, or drives, or urges. This intuitive idea is not the conclusion but the beginning of the process.” [Earl Martin, Toward Understanding God (Anderson, Ind: Gospel Trumpet Company, 1942), 27.]

Regardless of one’s religious or nonreligious background, there is a quest to know God. In response to this quest and God’s grace, the Lord has chosen to reveal himself to us in the Bible. Here alone in Scripture do we find God adequately revealed in acts of creation and through his Son, Jesus Christ. While not being able to fully comprehend all of God’s nature, we do see in Scripture these attributes that enable us to know our Maker:

1. Self-existence. “The Father has life in himself” (John 5:26). “For with thee is the fountain of life” (Ps 36:9). He is underived and inexhaustible.

2. Eternity. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting thou art God” (Ps 90:2). “The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity” (Isa 57:15).

3. Spirituality. “God is Spirit” (John 4:24).

4. Unity. There is one true and living God. “There is no other god besides me” (Isa 45:21).

5. Immutability. “I the Lord do not change” (Mal 3:6). “The Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

6. Omnipresence. He is everywhere present. “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jer 23:24). He is “not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:27–28).

7. Omniscience. He is all-knowing. “Who has made these things known from of old” (Acts 15:18). “And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Heb 4:13).

8. Omnipotence. He has unlimited and universal power. “His eternal power and deity” (Rom 1:20). “With God all things are possible” (Matt 19:26).

9. Wisdom. “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might” (Dan 2:20). “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom 11:33).

10. Holiness and truth. “I am holy” (1 Pet 1:16). “Thou who art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on wrong” (Hab 1:13). “God, who never lies” (Titus 1:2).

11. Justice. God demands righteousness of all his intelligent creatures, and he deals righteously with them. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of thy throne” (Ps 89:14). “But in every nation any one who fears him, and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:35).

12. Goodness. He is benevolent, loving, merciful, and gracious. “The riches of his kindness” (Rom 2:4). “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). “His steadfast love endures forever” (Ps 136). “The God of all grace” (1 Pet 5:10).

13. Faithfulness. “The Lord is faithful” (2 Thess 3:3). “Sarah … considered him faithful who had promised” (Heb 11:11). [F. G. Smith, What the Bible Teaches, condensed by Kenneth E. Jones (Anderson, Ind: Warner Press, Inc, 1955), 11-12.]

However, the grace of God chose to reveal this divine love. Grace emphasizes the fact that God is for us, even when we are against him and ourselves. This concern for us is not determined by our response, but by God’s redemptive love as expressed in Christ. Knowing what was in humanity, God demonstrated divine grace as he revealed himself in Jesus Christ and as he died for the world’s redemption. This amazing grace of God brought to us the living Word and revealed his unlimited love. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14). “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Having exemplified such grace through the expression of the living Word, one recognizes that it is the grace of God that makes possible our salvation and continued growth in Christ.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:8–9).

“For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world” (Titus 2:11–12). “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18).

God was not obligated to redeem us, but out of the graciousness of his very being he chose to reveal himself through the Bible as the Word instructs us in true righteousness. Humanity, therefore, is without excuse if we fail to respond to this grace extended. It is freely given to all, to be joyfully and humbly accepted as we believe in God as revealed through Scripture.

The Inspired Word

Properly understood, the Bible should be called the Word of God. Containing sixty-six books, thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament, it comprises for all the world God’s revelation of himself and his people, the Church. Transmitted first by oral tradition, it was then written on papyrus scrolls, with manuscripts being preserved across the centuries. While not possessing any of the original manuscripts or first editions, the people of God have preserved sufficient documents to communicate to us the Christian faith.

Without question, the Bible is of divine origin, produced by persons from all walks of life as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit; therefore, it is rightly referred to as the Word of God. Both the Old and New Testaments are recognized for their divine inspiration. The term scriptures as used in 2 Timothy 3:16 refers to the Old Testament writings possessed at the time of Paul. These Old Testament writings pointed toward the coming of Christ, the Messiah, the living embodiment of the Word. In this context the inspired Word, though recorded by persons like ourselves, becomes the expression of God’s will. “Inspiration is that influence of the Spirit of God upon the minds of the Scripture writers which made their writings the record of a progressive divine revelation, sufficient when taken together and interpreted by the same Spirit who inspired them, to lead every honest inquirer to Christ and salvation.” [H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology, vol. 1 (Kansas City, Mo: Beacon Hill Press, 1940), 168.]

One cannot help but be amazed at the Word of God; it is simple and yet reliable, fully trustworthy, and authoritative. Isaiah wrote, “Fools shall not err therein” (35:8). While containing profound truths about all of life, it is so simple that the most unlearned person may recognize and experience God’s grace.

The Word of God is forever settled; therefore, it is absolute in its authority and final in its judgments. More than mere human thought, the Word of God is the result of God and humanity working together. Peter wrote, “Men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet 1:21). God gave to these inspired writers an understanding of the sin of the human race and of God’s solution to our sin. In dealing with the source of our predicament, Scripture helps us to see beyond where we are to where we can be by God’s grace. God is still revealing himself to us today. And while we may have come to an understanding of some truth, we must continue to be receptive to new truth as the Holy Spirit leads us into a deeper knowledge of God’s grace.

Questions for Study, Chapter 1

1. How did God choose to reveal himself? Titus 2:11

2. In what manner did the inspired writers explain their belief in the existence of God as Creator?

Genesis 1:1

Exodus 3:14

3. List seven of the attributes of God given in this chapter.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11. Define grace in your own words. (See Ephesians 2:8–9; 2 Peter 3:18.)

12. To what was Paul referring when he spoke of “scriptures” in 2 Timothy 3:16?

13. Explain the term inspiration as understood in this chapter

14. How many books are in the Old Testament?

15. The New Testament?

16. Now please name all the books of the Bible as you share them with a friend.

Memorize

Before the mountains were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.

—Psalm 90:2

Chapter 2

Sin: The Human Problem

As Creator, God made us in his own image (Gen 1:27). He gave of himself that we might be moral beings who exercise the freedom of the will and use the intelligence entrusted to us as spiritual beings. In this original state humanity was like God, living in holiness and purity, exercising the power of choice in determining personal conduct.

Being so richly endowed, people possessed the possibility of choosing to do right or wrong. God wanted his creation to respond in loving obedience rather than because of legal order. When confronted by a choice between good and evil, sin entered into God’s moral universe. Exercising free moral choice, our foreparents willfully chose to disobey God’s command (Gen 3:1–7), and thus came the consequent suffering of universal sinfulness. The Pauline writings emphasize for us the fact of universal sin because of this disobedience. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22).

Paul knew that only as people recognize their sinfulness will they be able to fully understand the plan of salvation revealed in God’s Word. Therefore, it was necessary that both Jews and Greeks (Rom 3:9), as well as all others, be made aware of their sinfulness. “There is no distinction; since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:22–23). Sin in its primary sense is lack of conformity to law. It is the opposite of holiness. The term sin is used in two senses: (1) of conduct and (2) of character. In the first, which is the primary use, it is commonly expressed in the New Testament by the Greek term anomia, which means contrary to law or without law. Sin in this sense has to do only with conduct, not in the narrow sense of mere human action, but in the broader sense as including thoughts, motives, and volitions. In this sense it is often called actual transgression to distinguish it from sinfulness of character, which is frequently termed original sin or natural depravity. In this latter or secondary sense it has to do with what one is rather than with what one does. Another Greek term, harmartia, is ordinarily used in the New Testament to describe this unholiness of character. Examples of the use of this Greek word are as follows: “When the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Rom 7:9). “So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me” (v 17). Here sin, hamartia, is evidently used to designate a derangement or depravity of the nature. In one place, 1 John 3:4, hamartia, sin, is used as a synonym of anomia and is said to be anomia, or a transgression of the law.

Sin in conduct may be by commission—doing what should not be done; or by omission—failing to do what should be done. Two standards may be distinguished for judging as to what is sinful: (1) sin in the abstract or absolute sense, and (2) sin in the concrete or imputed sense. In the first view acts are judged in relation to principles of right apart from the actor’s knowledge or motives in performing them. For example, according to this view, to speak falsely is regarded as sin even though the speaker is ignorant of the fact that he or she speaks falsely and intends to speak only the truth.

According to the second view, which is the sense in which sin is commonly used of conduct in the New Testament, only those acts are sinful that are prompted by wrong motives. In this view sin is imputed as guilt to one only according to knowledge or intentions. That which is right in itself is imputed as sin to one who esteems it to be evil when he or she performs it. Such is the teaching of the Apostle Paul in regard to the eating of meats and the observing of days. “It is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean” (Rom 14:14). Likewise, if for lack of knowledge one does with a good motive that which is in itself a violation of principles of right, it is not imputed to that person as sin, because of the good motive in doing it. In this sense sin is a violation of the greatest commandment on which all others hang. Imputed sin in conduct, then, is a rebellious attitude of heart toward God.

Therefore, sin is imputed to its perpetrator as such only when that person feels a sense of moral obligation and voluntarily chooses that which he or she believes to be wrong. It is not required that the person shall have performed an outward sinful act or spoken an evil word. He or she may sin in thought. “Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28). Sin is committed in the volition to do what is esteemed to be wrong. Temptation is not sin. When Eve considered the words of the serpent and felt the desire for the forbidden fruit, she had not yet committed sin. She incurred no guilt until of her own free will she decided to do what God had forbidden. God was responsible for the primitive probation. Satan tempted Eve. But neither the fact of probation nor the temptation were determinative of the woman’s conduct. She determined that herself. Therefore, God is not the author of sin (James 1:13), but humanity is wholly responsible for it. [Russell R. Byrum, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Anderson, Ind: Gospel Trumpet Co., 1950), 323-324.]

The Bible reveals that sin alienates one from God. It is referred to as death, spiritual and physical. New Testament writers compare it to darkness in which there is no light at all. The person in sin is like a sheep lost without a shepherd.

Questions for Study, Chapter 2

1. What do we mean when we speak of the “fall” of Adam and Eve? Genesis 3:1–7

2. The universal nature of sin is explained in 1 Corinthians 15:22; please write this in your own words.

3. Are only the Jewish people guilty of rejecting Christ? (See Romans 3:9, 23.)

4. The term sin is used in two senses:

A

B

5. What are the Greek terms applied to these:

A

B

6. How does one determine the sinfulness of a deed? (See Romans 14.) Please list the principles in this chapter.

7. Is it a sin for one to be tempted? James 1:12–14

8. Jesus did not destroy the law but amplified its meaning, acknowledging that it is possible to sin by thought as well as deed. Discover this reference in the Sermon on the Mount. (See Matthew 5.)

Memorize

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

—Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death.

—Romans 6:23

Chapter 3

Salvation: God’s Plan

Because of our alienation from God our only hope is in the atonement of Christ. Symbolized in the Old Testament through the sacrificial offerings for sin, the atonement found fulfillment in the New Testament. While the atonement is rooted in the nature of God, it was his grace that made provision for our complete redemption through the death of Christ.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph 1:7). “The Son of man came ... to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28). “Who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:6). “And the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51). Then he adds, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (v 53). Here salvation is available only to those who receive it through Christ’s death.

“Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Rom 5:9). “In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:14). “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet 1:18–19). “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). “To him who loves us, and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Rev 1:5). “Thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God” (5:9). “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14). [Charles E. Brown, We Preach Christ (Anderson, Ind: Gospel Trumpet Co, 1957), 79.]

Upon this scriptural basis we behold God’s plan for our salvation. However, our free moral choice must be considered in accepting or rejecting “so great salvation.” The call of Christ to redemption is given freely to everyone. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28) is universally extended but the decision is with the individual person.

1. Conviction produced by the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as a spiritual awakening. Through the Word of God the Holy Spirit speaks to us individually, awakening us to our need for salvation (Heb 4:12).

Having recognized the need for salvation, individuals who are aware of this guilt weighing upon their soul must desire to be saved (Acts 16:30). There must be a willingness to meet the conditions of the Bible.

Godly sorrow reveals the desire of the unsaved to be forgiven. It is the inward awareness that without God’s forgiveness we are eternally lost. It is a deep sense of regret for the wrongs committed. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death” (2 Cor 7:10).

When one desires to be saved, it is determined by the individual’s willingness to repent. Repentance is a sense of personal guilt, of grief for sins committed, hatred toward sin, and a determined turning away from it. Foremost in our understanding of repentance is that of forsaking sin. (See Acts 3:19; Isaiah 55:7; Psalm 51:17.)

Most difficult for some is the act of confession. Without this openness with God and ourselves there can be no real peace. “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Prov 28:13). First John 1:9 informs us that the confession is to be made to the Lord. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins.” But it is also essential that we effect reconciliation with others as we confess to people whom we may have wronged (Acts 24:16; Matt 5:23–24).

Confession to God often reveals areas of our lives in which we need to make restitution. In some situations reconciliation comes about through confession, asking forgiveness, or making an apology. However, in other instances it is necessary to pay back what has been wrongfully taken from another. The repentant sinner desires to set right all that can be corrected. When such restitution is altogether impossible, it is the humble attitude of the heart that is recognized by the God of all grace (Luke 19:8).

Forgiveness is a two-way street! God’s forgiveness of our sin is dependent upon our willingness to forgive others who may have wronged us individually (Matt 6:14, 15). It is the attitude of Jesus expressed on the cross toward those who crucified him. Forgiveness leaves no room for malice, hatred, bitterness, or ill will. God’s love will also enable us to forgive ourselves, thus bringing healing to our emotions.

8. Having allowed the Holy Spirit to bring conviction that results in godly sorrow, thus producing repentance that results in restitution and forgiveness, one must now believe. Through believing faith we claim God’s plan of salvation as we obey the Word. For, “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved” (Rom 10:9–10).

Salvation is God’s gift to the believer. However, our continuing walk with the Lord is dependent upon our obedience to his Word. Those who teach the “eternal security of the believer” fail to read the complete text in John 10. To capture the complete thought one must read the entire passage. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (vv 27–29, italics added). Our security in Christ is determined by our personal obedience in following Christ. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with him. But if we reject the light of truth, then we walk in darkness, and how great is that darkness. In Christ we are not only saved but we are also constantly being saved as we walk the Highway of Holiness with him.

Questions for Study, Chapter 3

1. What was the purpose of Christ’s coming into the world? (See Luke 19:10; Matthew 1:21.)

2. Explain in your own words the meaning of the atonement in God’s plan of redemption. (See Matthew 20:28; Ephesians 1:7.)

3. In what manner is “free moral choice” exercised in salvation? (See I John 1:7; Matthew 11:28.)

4. Our awareness or conviction of sin is produced in what way? (See Hebrews 4:12; John 16:8–11.)

5. What is the difference between “remorse” for sin and “repentance” of sin? (See 2 Corinthians 7:10; Acts 3:19.)

6. To whom and in what manner do we confess our sins? (See 1 John 1:9; Matthew 5:23–24.)

7. Explain what restitution means? (See Luke 19:8.)

Memorize

If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.

—Romans 10:9–10

Chapter 4

Personhood: Created New in Christ

While salvation technically means “to save” or to heal, make sound, or preserve from death, other scriptural terms convey the meaning of “new life.” The words of Jesus to Nicodemus were “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). Through the exercising of free moral choice, the human will chooses to reject sin and believe in the resurrected Christ, thus producing a new life. Paul expressed it, “Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). It is compared in Scripture as being raised from the dead. The old life of sin is behind you, cast as far as the East is from the West to be remembered against you no more (Ps 103:12). Truly, you have come into a new personhood in Christ.

Though saved instantly through faith, one must now apply that faith to living this new life. Salvation has accentuated our uniqueness as new persons in the image of Christ. Not all Christians are alike. Becoming a Christian only frees you to be the person God wants you to be. Peter emphasizes that we, “like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk [of the Word], that by it [we] may grow up to salvation” (1 Pet 2:2). Strength to live this new life comes from the Word of God and our obedience to that truth. Not only does it build strong spiritual convictions; it also enables you to “give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Pet 3:15). During this formative period of your new life you are more receptive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Obedience to God’s Word will help you to remain stable in time of the contrary winds. As Paul wrote, “Be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Eph 4:14–15).

Being a new creation does not conform us to all of the traditions of past history. The Galatian letter accentuates the fact that we are free from the religious teachings that others would impose upon us. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Gal 5:1). Having been set free from sin, we are now free to be led of the Holy Spirit in conforming to God’s plan for our lives.

Jesus stated that we are to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:14–16). Christians are a part of the community and culture in which they live this new life. Jesus was not an isolationist. He touched the lives of the common and ordinary persons of his day, giving them new life and principles by which to live. God has entrusted us with freedom to discipline our lives according to the principles set forth in the Bible—principles of integrity and decency in personal conduct. Some areas of conduct were very specifically dealt with. Those who were addicted to lying or stealing are admonished to cease because they are now living a new life in Christ. Their bodies and minds have become God’s and his will controls their lives.

Four simple questions based upon biblical principles can be of great help in personal discipline as new persons in Christ.

1. Is this act constructive or destructive?

(1 Cor 10:23)

2. Does this produce bondage or liberty?

(1 Cor 6:12)

3. Is this to the glory of God or for my self-satisfaction?

(1 Cor 10:31)

4. Will this help or hinder other persons?

(1 Cor 8:9)

As unique persons we live in relationship to others and we must always be sensitive to how our personal freedom affects them. For that reason the Word of God states, “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:13–14).

Questions for Study, Chapter 4

1. Is salvation instantaneous or is it a process? (See Acts 16:30–32; 2 Peter 3:18.)

2. What does the word salvation technically mean?

3. Salvation is also compared to what? (See Ephesians 2:5–6.)

4. What do you believe Paul is referring to as the “old” that has passed away? (See 2 Corinthians 5:17.)

5. Explain in your own words how Christians can be different from one another and still serve Christ. (See Acts 15:36–41; Romans 14.)

6. Outline for yourself a plan for daily Bible study to maintain this new life in Christ. (See 2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Peter 2:2.)

7. Discuss the Pauline principles in First Corinthians as possible aids to personal decision-making and value systems in today’s world. Are they applicable? (See 1 Corinthians 10:23; 6:12; 10:31; 8:9.)

Memorize

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

—2 Corinthians 5:17