A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

t run with them in the confusion of their abominations. So it is; since all who have not entered into the obedience of faith and have not united themselves with God so that they will to do His will, are a great abomination before God, therefore nothing else can or really will grow or spring from them than abominable things. Now there is nothing else in the world and all creation than good or evil, believing and unbelieving, darkness and light, the world and those who are [come] out of the world, God's temple and idols, Christ and Belial, and none will have part with the other.8 The people of the Kingdom of God have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of Christ (Col. 1:13). They "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wicked- ness in high places" (Eph. 6:12).9 The conflict between the two kingdoms provides the key to understanding history. The struggle recorded in the Old Testament, world history in general and the future consummation of history reflect the on- going conflict between the two kingdoms, with the certainty of ultimate victory for the Kingdom of God (Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Cor. 15:28; Rev. 20:7-10; Rev. 22:12). The most comprehensive treatment on this subject ap- peared in the writings of Henry W. Lohrenz under the subject wThe People of God in the World. ",0 Lohrenz went to great ef- fort to distinguish between a universal relationship of God to humanity as the creator and provider, and the specific rela- tionship of God to the members of the redeemed community. 71 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH He answered the question, "Who are the children of God?," by drawing careful distinctions between a mere profession to be a child of God-the claim of nominal Christianity-and the true members of the people of God. The latter are a people in whom God has performed the radical transaction of a new birth through which they have become partakers of a new na- ture in character, disposition and relationship (2 Pet, 1:4), The true children of God are followers of Jesus, a people who are under the leadership of the Holy Spirit (Rom, 8:14-15) and who seek perfection in character since their father in heaven is perfect*11 He defined the concept of world according to John 17:6: those who were chosen from "out of the world," In a second manuscript, "Siegreicher Kampf gegen Teufel und Sunde"11 he described the conflict of the people of God against Satan. The admonition "to stand against the w