Concerning the Church.

The church was founded by Christ. It is his church (Matt. 16:18). It is a body with each member fulfilling a specific and distinctive function (1 Cot. 12:20), with Christ as its head (Eph. 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18). It is a fellowship that cares and shares with those in need (Acts 2:44-47; 4:32-35). The church may be located at Corinth or some other specific place and is inevitably influenced by its location; but it must never forget that it is “the church of God” at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2, 2 Cor. 1:1) or wherever it may be. It should challenge and lift the culture surrounding it toward the purposes of God. The church is the outcropping or manifestation of the kingdom of God, the instrument for implementing the evangelistic witness and the moral principles of the kingdom.

Salvation and Good Works.

When forgiven sinners become children of God, we are brought into a vital, life-changing union with the resurrected Christ (2 Cot. 5:17; Col. 1:27). By the grace of God (Eph. 2:6-8) laid hold of through re¬pentance (March 1:15) and faith (John 3:16; Acts 16:31), we are born again (John 3:3) to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). This salvation experience comes by grace through faith apart from the works of the law (Rom. 3:28; 4:1-5; Gal. 2:16) or good works in general (Eph. 2:5; 8-9). Although Christians are not saved by good works, we are saved for good works.

Good works or a fruitful life is a clearly stated purpose of our salvation (John 15:16; Eph. 2:10). Our good works should glorify our heavenly Father (Mart. 5:16) and should be convincing to the non-Christian world (1 Pet. 2:12). Good works should so naturally evolve from our union with Christ that they serve as proof of the grace of God in our lives (Matt. 7:15-20; Rom. 6:1-4; James 2:14-26). Salvation through union with Christ inevitably affects the total person—body, mind, and soul or spirit. Also, it affects every relationship of our lives—in the home, the church, the world. Salvation operates in all tenses: past (justification—Rom. 3:28), present (sanctification—2 Cot. 4:16; Col. 3:10), and fu¬ture (glorification—l John 3:2).

Concerning Sin.

Sin is rebellion against God, a missing of God’s mark for our lives, a violation of the law of God, a rejec¬tion of the will of God. We can sin by attitudes, thoughts, and feelings (Mart. 5:28) as well as by the spoken word or the out¬ward deed. All human beings have gone astray (Isa. 53:6). None is righteous (Rom. 3:10); all have sinned (Rom. 3:23; Gal. 3:22; I John 1:8). We may sin directly against God or against our fel¬lowman, created in the image of God (Gen. 9:6; James 2:9). We can also sin against our family, our church, our nation. Not only do individuals sin but a group such as a family, a labor union, a corporation, a church (Rev. 2:1-3; 22), or a nation (Exod. 32:3 1; I Kings 8:33-34) can sin against God and frustrate his will.

Sin is social as well as personal. No one sins unto himself Others are involved in or affected by personal sin (Gen. 3:1-7; Gal. 2:11-13). Sin not only separates us from God (Gen. 4:14) but also from our fellowman. The forgiveness of our sins by our heavenly Father is dependent on our forgiveness of those who have sinned against us (Matt. 6:14-15; 18:35). It is only the forgiving who are forgiven; and the forgiven are to be forgiving.