All responsible people stand as sinners before God (Romans 3:9,23; 1 John 1:8). Sin, as defined by the Bible, is: Unrighteousness (1 John 5:17). Since the Bible reveals righteousness (Romans 1:16), when one practices unrighteousness he does that which is contradictory to the Bible’s teachings.

Lawlessness (1 John 3:4). The law of God today is the gospel of Christ, His “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). Lawlessness is acting without the authority of law—living in violation of it. Transgression of the law of God is sin.

What is not of faith (Romans 14:23). Faith comes from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). That which is “not of faith” is that which is not expressed in Scripture. One who does things not authorized by the Bible sins.

Not doing good (James 4:17). God, in the Bible, has shown man what is good (Micah 6:8). If one knows he should do what God wants him to do but still does not do it, he sins.

The Tragedy of Sin

The tragedy of sin is that it separates the sinner from God. He can neither associate with sin nor with the one involved in it (Isaiah 59:1-2). Separated from God, the sinner is lost and alone without the hope of redemption and doomed to spiritual death, the wages of sin (Romans 6:23).

The Mercy of God

God, though, being merciful, kind, gracious, and loving, saw the sinner’s plight and decided to help. Since God knew man was helpless to take away sin by himself, He gave him Divine aid (Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 14:12). Only God had the wisdom and power to grant salvation and love sufficient to make it available to all. He sent
His Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for sin, to pay the price for man’s sins so that not a single person
would have to perish because of his sins but could be saved in spite of them (Galatians 4:4; John 3:16; Matthew 1:21).

God has revealed His plan for man’s salvation in the Bible, His inspired word. The apostle Peter, writing of that word, said, “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). If one is to have eternal life, therefore, he must study and apply those things God has revealed about life and godliness in His word.

Man’s Responsibility to the Word

All people, then, have the responsibility to read, believe, and obey God’s word for their salvation (Philippians 2:12). No one who desires to be saved can close his ears to the voice of God as He speaks in the Bible (1 Corinthians 2:10-12; Hebrews 1:1-2).

Yet to some, the Bible poses problems instead of providing solutions because they fail to properly study it. Some just skip haphazardly through it randomly selecting passages pulling them out of context and misapplying them. Some have preconceived ideas before reading the Bible.

They try to get it to prove their own views and prejudices. Others make no distinction between things from the Old Testament that are not applicable today.

How to Understand God’s Word

To properly understand the Bible’s truths: Passages must not be pulled out of their contexts. Context is “the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light upon its meaning” (Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1967, p. 180). The word of God must be “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15), i.e., it must be accurately studied and applied.

One must gather and apply all the Bible teaches on any matter. To know exactly what God wants one to do in any area, he must gather all that God has to say on that subject. One cannot consider just a portion of God’s word
without taking into account other parts of it that deal with the same subject matter.

One must always remember to divide the Old Testament from the New. The 39 Old Testament books contain two great covenants from God. They present valuable lessons and examples to us but they are not binding upon us. The 27 New Testament books contain the law of God that is now in effect.

The Gospel: Our Law from God

In all of God’s dealing with mankind, three basic eras cover the entire existence of man. In each, a different law from God was in effect.

During the first, the Patriarchal, there was no written law from God. He orally revealed His will to the fathers (hence the term “patriarchal”). They, in turn, taught their families, passing down the law from generation to generation. Abraham is an example of one who lived during this era (Genesis 18:19). Such Patriarchal law was in effect for all men until the children of Israel became the chosen people of God. He gave them a law that was intended for them alone while the rest of the world continued under the Patriarchal system. ​Only the Jews were accountable to the law given to them through Moses. It is variously referred to as the Law of Moses, the Jewish Law, or the Old Law.

Both of these systems remained in effect for those for whom they were intended until Christ died on the cross. His death validated His will or testament, the Gospel. Such passages as Galatians 3:19; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 8:13; and Matthew 5:17 show that Jesus fulfilled the Old Law, taking it out of the way, thus establishing His new law (Romans 7:1-4).

Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers in the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.”

Since He has been given all authority (Matthew 28:18), all are now to accountable to the law Christ has given, the Gospel (see Ephesians 2:14-16). In it He has stated the conditions of man’s salvation. In it is the power of God to save (Romans 1:16). Validated by His death (Hebrews 9:14-17) and first preached by Peter and the other apostles (Acts 2), it was to be proclaimed throughout all the world (Mark 16:15) for all must obey it.

To try to bind things today from the Old Law is a grave error. Some, who in New Testament times tried to do it, were soundly rebuked (Acts 15:1-2; Galatians 3:1f; 5:4). To understand what he needs to do to be saved, one must look to the law of Christ and listen to His words, the New Testament. One cannot appeal to the Old Law in search of the conditions of salvation. The Old Law is profit- able for learning (Romans 15:4), but no one today is accountable to its precepts and commands. It does not contain the conditions of salvation. The new law, the Gospel, does.