If an alcoholic addresses an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting, saying, “I am an alcoholic, but have not touched alcohol for many years,” he or she is accepted and belongs to that group (even while struggling with alcoholism). If a homosexual addresses Christians, saying, “I am a homosexual; but by the grace of God I am living for Christ,” he or she deserves […]

Being a homosexual is not a sin; homosexual behavior is. Since the behavior is sinful, a believing homosexual should not try to advance a homosexual agenda or justify the behavior. Instead, he or she should lead a celibate life, with God’s help, just as a non-married heterosexual is asked to do. Leading a celibate life can be very difficult, failures may […]

An atoning sacrifice allowed God to pardon the sinner. A pardon is the act of releasing a person from the consequences of his or her actions, but pardoning does not clear the offender of guilt. The pardoned Old Testament believers were still guilty, and the penalty for their sin had to be paid sometime. Sin cannot just be overlooked or forgiven […]

An unbeliever’s sins are not forgiven, so she or he is spiritually dead. The consequence of being spiritually dead is an eternity in Hell. The believer, on the other hand, is forgiven and can revel in the thought of what Christ has promised her or him. Life on earth is short, generally having some good and some bad, but the […]

God had to keep the Age of Grace a secret, not to deceive or deprive us, but to ensure His eternal plan would work. If His secret were known ahead of time, the plan would not work. Our fate and the fate of the world depended upon that secret being kept—at all costs. Had the secret (called the mystery in […]

Grace is a common topic in Christian circles because it is one of the most important biblical topics that exists. Grace is important because the Bible says, “For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). The main topic of these […]

Transformation changes the expression of our minds from what we had before salvation to that which is representative of Christ. Transformation (renewal of the mind) removes negative thinking (a source of mental and physical illness) and the burden of believing our performance is the measure of our standing or acceptance with the Lord. We all have mental baggage […]

Studies 10-11 have borrowed considerably from, Biblical Transformation—The Renewed Mind, by Steve Shober (also author of this study). The topic of a sound mind and transformation were introduced in Study 9, which should be read before Studies 10-11. When we are saved, our “old man” (former non-regenerated self, that is, who we were before being […]

Understanding God’s creation of humans gives us a better idea of what God had in mind for us. God specifically uses the word created three times in Genesis 1: first, for the creation of the physical universe; second, for the creation of the soul (self-awareness); and third, for the creation of the human spirit (God-awareness). […]