Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Road

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Road Construction in Ghana… Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Humanity – Review… 1. Where is the first mention of the word “soul” found in the Bible? Genesis 1: 24 “chay nephesh” (living creature) 2. Provide a definition for the word “nephesh. ” Soul, self, life, creature, person, living being 3. List all the scriptures that refer to the “spirit in man. ” Prov. 20: 27; Eccl. 3: 21; Eccl. 12: 7; Job 32: 8; Job 34: 14; Zech. 12: 1; 1 Corinthians 2: 11 -12 Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Humanity – Review… 4. What are three Greek words translated “body, ” “soul, ” and “spirit in 1 Thessalonians 5: 23 -24? Define each word. Soma = flesh (body); psuche = life (soul); pneuma = spirit 5. Explain the parable of Lazarus and the richman. This is a parable. It was an indictment against the Pharisees who were “lovers” of money. Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Humanity – Review… 6. Explain Christ’s statement made to the thief at the time of His crucifixion as recorded in Luke 23: 43. Comma is in wrong place. Thief died as did Christ. 7. Explain the “spirit in man. ” What part does this spirit play in the resurrection and the gift of eternal life? Like a tape in a recorder. Returns to God at death. Sin and Law

Austin Bible Class Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Sin and the Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Fundamental Belief – Sin and God’s Law… Sin is the transgression of the law of God, which is spiritual, perfect, holy, just and good. God’s law is based upon the two great principles of love toward God and love toward neighbor. The Ten Commandments expound these foundational principles of God’s law of love. Breaking any part of God’s law brings upon a person the penalty of death. Those who love God and seek eternal life will strive to keep God’s commandments. Obedience to God’s law produces happiness and peace of mind. Disobedience to God’s law produces misery and strife and ultimately eternal death. Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Is the law done away? Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Outline of Class… 1. General principles 2. Definitions 3. Book of Hebrews holds the key 4. Which laws from the Old Testament are carried over for Christians? 5. Defining sin 6. Difficult Scriptures 7. Paul and the Law Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Quotes about the Law… • God is freeing people from all rules—the Sabbath, the holy days, and the Ten Commandments—and it is a beautiful thing. • Satan does not want grace preached, because he wants to keep people in bondage—under his control—by having them keep the Sabbath, the holy days, and the Ten Commandments. • The law causes division. Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God General Principles… Romans 7: 9 -14 “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God General Principles… Matthew 19: 16 -18 “And, behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said unto him, Why call you Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments. He said unto Him, Which? And Jesus said, You shall do no murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Outline of Class… 1. General principles 2. Definitions 3. Book of Hebrews holds the key 4. Which laws from the Old Testament are carried over for Christians? 5. Defining sin 6. Difficult Scriptures 7. Paul and the Law Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Words and Terms We Must Define… • What is the Old Covenant? • What is the New Covenant? • Which Laws from the Old Testament are binding on Christians? Hebrews 8: 1 -13 Jeremiah 31: 31 -34 Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Meaning of term “covenant”… “Covenant” comes from Hebrew bryith and it means “agreement, ” literally to cut [an agreement]. It means a “confederacy” with two or more parties. The “Old Covenant” is the old agreement. There is now a “new agreement. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The New Covenant… The new covenant is an agreement between God and individual Christians. Christ is the mediator of this covenant. The Ten Commandments are still a part of the agreement. Other laws were carried over from the Old Testament. Hebrews 8: 13 and Jeremiah 31: 31 Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Outline of Class… 1. General principles 2. Definitions 3. Book of Hebrews holds the key 4. Which laws from the Old Testament are carried over for Christians 5. Defining sin 6. Difficult Scriptures 7. Paul and the Law Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Book of Hebrews Holds Key… Hebrews 8: 6 -10 “ 6 …inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them… 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, ’ says the LORD. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Book of Hebrews Holds Key… Hebrews 8: 11 -13 “ 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. 13 In that He says, A new covenant, He has made the first obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Hebrews 8: 13… Greek word actually means “making old” or “wearing out. ” Word is palaiow (palaioo). According to Strong’s, it means: “to make ancient or old, to become old, to be worn out…to declare a thing to be old and so about to be abrogated. ” Verse 13 (AV) “In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. ” Verse 13 (BBE) “When he says, A new agreement, he has made the first agreement old. But anything which is getting old and past use will not be seen much longer. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Hebrews 8: 13…Greek word for “new” is kainhn (kainos). Vines: “Kainos denotes new, of that which is unaccustomed or unused, not new in time, recent, but new as to form or quality, of different nature from what is contrasted as old. . Kainos is translated ‘fresh’ in the RV of Matthew 9: 17; Mark 2: 22; and Luke 5: 38 of ‘wineskins. ’” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Interlinear Greek New Testament… Hebrews 8: 13 en {IN} tw {THE} legein {SAYING} kainhn {NEW, } pepalaiwken {HE HAS MADE OLD} thn {THE} prwthn {FIRST; } to de {BUT THAT WHICH} palaioumenon {GROWS OLD} kai {AND} ghraskon {AGED} egguv {IS NEAR} afanismou {DISAPPEARING. } Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Outline of Class… 1. General principles 2. Definitions 3. Book of Hebrews holds the key 4. Which laws from the Old Testament are carried over for Christians? 5. Defining sin 6. Difficult Scriptures 7. Paul and the Law Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Which Laws Carry Over from the OT… Any division of “law” from the Old Testament is arbitrary. The Old Testament itself gives no hint of any such distinctions. “For example, ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ (Lev. 19: 18) is followed in the very next verse by the law ‘do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material’ (19: 19). ” --New International Commentary on the Old Testament Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Which Laws Carry Over from the OT… Examples of how the law can be divided in the Old Testament: 1. Moral and Ceremonial 2. Moral; Ceremonial; and Civil There is no clear division listed in the OT when it comes to law. But it is clear that there are different laws and not all apply in the same manner for Christians today. Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Psalm 19: 7… “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Psalm 119: 86 “All Your commandments are faithful. ” Psalm 119: 172 “For all Your commandments are righteousness. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Outline of Class… 1. General principles 2. Definitions 3. Book of Hebrews holds the key 4. Which laws from the Old Testament are carried over for Christians? 5. Defining sin 6. Difficult Scriptures 7. Paul and the Law Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Defining Sin… 1 John 3: 4 (NRSV) “Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ” Word for “lawlessness” is anomia. Verse reads “missing the mark (sin) is lawlessness” (anomia). Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Defining Sin… James 2: 10 -12 “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Defining Sin… Revelation 22: 14 “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Outline of Class… 1. General principles 2. Definitions 3. Book of Hebrews holds the key 4. Which laws from the Old Testament are carried over for Christians? 5. Defining sin 6. Difficult Scriptures 7. Paul and the Law Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Difficult Scriptures… 1. Matthew 5: 17 2. Romans 10: 4 Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Matthew 5: 17… “Do not think that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Matthew 5: 17… Greek for “fulfill” is pleroo. In the Greek it is plhrovw. Louw and Nida Greek-English Lexicon: 33. 144 plhrovwf: to give the true or complete meaning to something - ‘to give the true meaning to, to provide the real significance of. ’ oujk hlqon katalu'sai ajlla; plhrw'sai ‘I did not come to destroy but to give true meaning to’ Mt 5. 17. Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Romans 10: 4… Romans 10: 4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. ” Greek for “end” is telos (telov). Strong’s: “to set out for a definite point or goal. ” Word has more the meaning of goal and not end as no longer existing. 1 Peter 1: 9 “Receiving the end of your faith-- the salvation of your souls. ” See also 1 Timothy 1: 5 and James 5: 11. Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Outline of Class… 1. General principles 2. Definitions 3. Book of Hebrews holds the key 4. Which laws from the Old Testament are carried over for Christians? 5. Defining sin 6. Difficult Scriptures 7. Paul and the Law Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Galatians 3… Galatians 3: 19, 23 -25 “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator…But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Galatians 3… Hebrews 9: 9 -10 “It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience– concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. ” The “law that was added” in Galatians is the system of law which included the sacrifices and “fleshly ordinances. ” These were only for a limited time and they were to bring Israel to Christ as the ultimate sacrifice. The Old Covenant itself was until Christ. Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Paul and the Law… “Law that was added because of transgressions…” Greek for “added” is prostithemi. Vines provides this definition: “to put to” or “to place beside. ” What law was placed beside the promise because of transgressions? There can be no transgression without law. The spiritual law was in existence from the beginning. A system of law – rituals and ceremonies– was added at the time of Moses. Even the Old Covenant itself was added at the time of Moses, but the Ten Commandments precede the agreement. Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Paul and the Law… • By what authority would Paul have done away with the Law? • Why does Paul make so many positive comments about the Law? • Clearly there must be some misunderstanding about Paul’s comments regarding the Law. Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Quotes from book: “Paul the Convert, The Apostolate and Apostasy of Saul the Pharisee” by Alan F. Segal. Yale University Press; 1990. “Although ‘works of the law’ is a direct translation of the Hebrew Ma’ asei ha-torah, Paul is not referring to Torah but to the observance of Jewish ceremonial practices. ” (Page 124) “Works of the law means the ceremonial Torah, those special ordinances that separate Jews from Gentiles. ” (Page 124). Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God 1 Corinthians 7: 19… “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. ” Sin and Law

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Outline of Class… 1. General Principles 2. Definitions 3. Book of Hebrews holds the key 4. Which Laws from the Old Testament are carried over for Christians 5. Defining sin 6. Difficult Scriptures 7. Paul and the Law Sin and Law