Spiritual Transformation The topic of spiritual transformation will be grounded upon the ethics presented within the Holy Bible and the teachings of the Apostle Paul. There must be a solid foundation to build ethical principles on for a true transformation to occur. When the training up is unrecognized, the transformation process will ultimately fail in its attempt. With this in mind, there will be a question to be answered in delivery of the thesis and its corresponding evidence of argument. The question will be "What is the foundational source to ground spiritual formation on?" The ethical ground of the Pauline ethics will consist of such things as moral instructions, passion, love, community formation, and virtues. The ultimate goal of Christian ethics is the fulfillment of being Christ-like. The character of Jesus Christ is the greatest goal to strive for. The thesis statement is "A Christians ethical foundation must be centered on the Holy Bible, Jesus' example, and the leading of the Holy Spirit."

Ethics and the Holy Bible

The foundations source to ground spiritual formation on is an ethical foundation since a Christian's ethical foundation provides a solid base for growth. This ethical foundation, which serves as a solid foundation for growth, is founded upon three major elements i.e. the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Given the significance of ethical foundation in spiritual formation, every Christian is required to devote himself/herself to understand the basic tenets of theology, which should be carefully obtained from the Bible (Pettegrew, 2000, p.143). When this understanding is carefully drawn from the Bible, spiritual transformation occurs because the Bible shapes the individual's decision-making process, moral standards, and lifestyle. Through this process, a Christian's ethical foundation is based on doctrine, which plays a major role in the spiritual transformation process. There are two dimensions for understanding the Biblical ethical foundation as a sold source for spiritual transformation as follows . . .

I. Pauline Ethics

Paul's ethics is grounded in his theology because he not only focused on theological coherence but also incorporated ethical integration in nearly all his writings (Hartog, 2011, p.19). An overview of Paul's writings shows that his ethical integration was based on his view of the concept of law and grace. While the law is not completely irrelevant in Paul's writings, he understands it as the law of faith or grace. Through this understanding, Paul emphasizes love (which is the premise of grace) rather than prescribed rules (which is the basis of the Old Testament). In light of Paul's focus on grace and on the surface level, it seems that the structure of his theology ultimately undermine ethics. Actually, some Biblical scholars have argued that some of Paul's statements annihilate ethics altogether (Hartog, 2011, p.19). For instance, Paul' statement in Romans 4:5 seemingly undermines ethics by arguing that God, "justifies the ungodly" (Hartog, 2011, p.19).

However, an investigation of his epistles, especially the book of Galatians, shows that Pauline ethics is based on the theology of grace, which is founded on love rather than prescribed rules. In this case, the Christian's ethical performance is not dependent on his/her capabilities but on the power of God working in him/her. The prescribed rules (moral instructions) in the Bible are not adequate to promote a Christian's ethical foundation since it's nearly impossible to obey all rules. In this regard, a Christian needs to depend on something that is beyond and greater than his/her abilities to keep the law or obey all rules. Through explaining the theology of grace, Paul's point's Christians to something greater than individual capabilities to keep the law i.e. God's power. In Philippians 2:12-13,Paul's directs Christians to God's power as the premise for a strong ethical foundation by stating that, " . . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (The New King James Version).

As an individual relies on God's power and grace to do according to His will, he/she is motivated by love in all his/her actions. Since love is the premise of grace, it becomes...

When a Christian acts based on love while relying on God's power, he/she demonstrates desirable ethical performance and behavior. Through this process, the individual exemplifies Christ-like character, which in turn builds up the entire community of believers. This up-building occurs as the individual focuses on discovering and doing God's will rather than simply focusing on obeying some prescribed rules. Notably, Paul does not completely disregard prescribed rules i.e. moral instructions as crucial elements for a strong ethical foundation, but highlights a more important component i.e. love and God's power.
The ultimate objective of Paul's work is the transformation of believers, which is the focal point of his theology of grace (Thompson, 2011, p.2). As a result, Paul frequently utilizes the language of formation to explain a believer's moral or ethical progress and performance. The significance of moral progress in Paul's theology of grace and focus on transformation is shown in Romans where he states that, " . . . do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . . " (Romans 12:2). In this case, Paul not only envisions spiritual transformation, but also considers moral formation or ethical foundation as an important aspect of that process.

II. Moral Instructions

The other important aspect of ethics in the Holy Bible is moral instructions, which relates to moral formation and progress. Pope (2006), states that moral formation is individual and social transformation, which are crucial in the process of spiritual transformation of a believer. Moral instructions basically refers to the prescribed rules in the Bible that a believer should utilize as the premise for his/her actions towards others whether Christians or not. These rules guide a believer's behaviors and actions towards others regardless of their religion because the Bible requires us to consider others as neighbors. Essentially, every individual is precious to God and therefore needs to be treated with equal dignity (Pope, 2006). This type of treatment is not only based on the understanding that every human being is precious to God but is also founded on love. The significance of love as an important component of moral formation and eventual formation is shown in Jesus' statement that, " . . . 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39). Therefore, love for our neighbors emphasizes justice and morality as the basis for Christians' actions and behaviors.

Following Christ's example, an individual moves beyond individualism and considers others above himself/herself. For instance, Jesus Christ preferred to suffer instead of inflicting pain on others, accepted violence instead of acting violently towards others, and was humiliated through death on the cross in order to save mankind (Pope, 2006). Based on this example, the motivation of a Christian's behavior and actions ought to be love. Moral instructions provided in the Bible are based on love for others and the example set by Jesus Christ. This implies that moral instructions, which contribute to moral formation and eventual spiritual transformation, are based on love.

Moral instructions emphasize an ethical foundation that is based on love for others, which contributes to desirable ethical performance that in turn lead to spiritual transformation. The instructions focus on appropriate conduct that is centered on love and towards individual and communal transformation. Therefore, an individual is unable to follow these instructions effectively and experience spiritual transformation without love for others.

Ethics and Jesus Christ

The moral significance of Jesus for today's Christians has been the subject of increased scrutiny by some theologians who seek to determine the role Jesus Christ plays in ethics (Spohn, 1994, p.40). This issue has emerged following perceptions and assumptions that Jesus is seemingly peripheral and irrelevant on the issue of ethics. On the other hand, others have considered Jesus too narrow to engage or be involved in ethics. Despite these assumptions, it is increasingly clear that Jesus Christ has a role to play in ethics, especially in relation to moral formation and eventual spiritual transformation. In this regard, Christian moral perception, reflection, and formation are inadequate if Jesus Christ is not included in the process. Actually, replacing Jesus with a generic abstraction makes the moral formation of a Christian impossible and essentially contributes to inability to realize spiritual transformation.

The significance of Jesus in moral formation and ultimate spiritual transformation is that he is the basis of the Christian life. The ability for a believer to live this life is dependent on the work of Jesus Christ and continual power of the Holy Spirit. Without Jesus Christ, what is the standard that believers will use for weighing their actions and behaviors? From a theological perspective, Jesus Christ is the standard of measurement of the Christian life. Actually, living a Christian life implies living in a Christ-like manner based on the example of Jesus. According to Spohn (1994), Jesus plays a normative role in the moral reflection and formation of Christians (p.41). Jesus' story…