Paul was a first century Jew. Though born in Tarsus, Cilicia (Acts 21:39), at an early age he moved to Jerusalem [a few hundred miles from Tarsus]. As a young person, he studied under the Jewish Rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). He became a zealous, totally committed Jewish man. He was a Pharisee, a "Hebrew of Hebrews," devoted to the Jewish law (Philippians 3:5). Given his pre-Christian focus and Pharisaism's first century focus, there is little reason to doubt that he refused to personally associate with idol worshippers.

Paul was an isolationist Jew. Yet, God made him the Christian apostle to people who were not Jews (Galatians 2:7,8). Most Bible students accept this fact without thinking. Has that strange situation challenged your thinking? Pre-Christian Paul was a Jew of conservative perspectives. He arrested and voted for the deaths of Jews who violated his conservative perspectives (see Acts 8:1; 22:4; 26:9-11). This inflexible Jew refused to tolerate fellow Jews who believed Jesus was the Christ! Yet, later, he was Jesus' apostle to people who were not even Jews!

The gulf between conservative Palestinian Jews and idol worshippers in the Roman empire was enormous! Devout Jews regulated all aspects of life by God's scripture. They knew God's moral values. They knew the divine principles that served as God's foundation for ethical decisions. True, many first century Jews misunderstood God's priorities. Yet, they correctly identified the living God and were exposed to His will.

Many idol worshippers did not correctly identify the Living God and were not exposed to His will. Many of them had no knowledge of God. Many of them never studied God's scripture. To many of them, God's moral values and ethical principles were unknown concepts. To many of them, sexual immorality [including homosexuality] could be considered godly. Abusing others could be considered ethical. Deceit could be considered virtuous.

The point: when many who were not Jews were converted to Jesus Christ, they had to learn a new concept of character and a new understanding of integrity. Often their understanding of good and evil had to be reversed. Matters that devout Jewish Christians understood to be moral disaster might be accepted as moral goodness by Christians converted from idolatry. Often Paul's statements to Christians converted from idolatry focused on their misunderstanding of godly character and integrity (consider Galatians 5:16-26 and Colossians 3:1-17).

To illustrate this all too frequent problem among converts from idolatry, consider some situations addressed in Ephesians.

Read Ephesians 2.

1. In "every day words and phrases," describe the spiritual condition of these people before they became Christians. (verses 1-3)

2. God made it possible for people in such a horrible spiritual condition to be saved. How? (verses 4-7)

3. In speaking to these Christians, what basic truth did he want them to understand about their salvation [their forgiveness of sins; their cleansing or purification]. (verses 8, 9)

4. For what purpose did God create them in Christ Jesus? (verse 10)
   1. When did God plan those good works?

   2. Did those good works save them? Explain your answer.

   3. Would God's grace save them if they, as Christians, refused to do those good works?
      Explain your answer.

5. In verses 11 and 12, what did Paul say about these Christians' preconversion existence?

6. Why was it now possible for these Christians to belong to God? (verses 13, 14).

7. These Christians (Christians who were not Jews) were no longer what? What had they become? How? (verses 19-21)

Read Ephesians 4:1-24. The first ten verses contain a plea from Paul to these Christians at Ephesus to preserve unity and peace.

1. What roles of service existed in the church? (verse 11)

2. Why did those roles exist? (verse 12)

3. What was the goal of those roles? (verse 13)

4. What would stop if the goal of those roles was achieved? (verse 14)

5. What would happen if the goal of those roles was achieved? (verse 15)

6. In what way could those Christians contribute to the growth and building up of Christ's body? (verse 16)

   Note the natural link coupling knowledge of our identity in Christ and Christian character and integrity.

7. How would those Christians no longer live their lives? (verses 17-19)

8. Why would they no longer live in these ways? (verse 20)

9. How would an understanding of Jesus Christ cause them to live their lives? (verses 21-24)
   1. What would they do with the "old self?" What was the "old self?"

   2. How would this transformation affect their minds?

   3. What would they put on? In what is it created?

Link to Teacher's Guide Lesson 10

Copyright © 2002
David Chadwell & West-Ark Church of Christ

previous page | table of contents | next lesson