GRACE ALONE
In this bible talk, David Mier focuses on the idea of grace and “Why it is worth fighting for.” He starts off referring to the well-known historical figure, Martin Luther, whose ninety-five theses were a key catalyst in the reformation and schism of the Roman Catholic Church in the 16-century. He goes on to say how within these were complaints that the Catholic Church had strayed from the scriptures, how they were focusing too much on deeds or religious works and not on grace. He argues against this idea, stating that grace is the only way to be saved.
David Miers largely bases his talk around the idea of humans being helpless without the hand (or grace) of God. He talks at length on how we cannot save ourselves and he quotes chapter 2 verse 1-3,11-12 of Ephesians “…As for you, you were dead, in you transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world… by nature, objects of wrath.” He uses this to explain how as dead in the eyes of God, we can do nothing to redeem or help ourselves and are reliant on God. He briefly talks about how as humans, we are deserving of nothing more than that wrath and anger of God before returning to the idea of grace and explaining how we are saved through “God’s love” and once we are saved and changed we live a new life and can do good works, though this, he says, will not earn you a place in heaven. He goes on to emphasize how the death and resurrection of Jesus has restored our relationship which God and between the gentile and the Jews.
Analysis
In this talk, David Miers really focuses on the idea of grace being the most important part of Christianity. Without it, he says, we are dead and can do nothing to help ourselves and he uses a quot...
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...one of the most powerful organizations at the time. In the end, that was attracted me to this speech and made it meaningful to me personally. The other part that really caught my attention was the part in the speech where he stated that although you do not need to do good deeds to be saved by God, as a Christian who is saved by faith, you have a responsibility to do good deeds to others. This made me think of all the Christian who would have tried to convert their enemies or people who hate them for no personal gain. Why would you do that, the prospect of living for eternity with someone you hate is not particularly attractive and it would seem to be easier for him or her to just let his or her enemies go to hell…. If there is anything that this speech has taught me, it is that even if I don’t believe in Christianity now, I should keep an open mind towards it.
What a fascinating adjustment in perspectives, motive, and determination from the once deeply connected to God the unprofessed theologian. The man who we admired for his crafty dexterity to be a Christian Apologetic emerges to be torn from the foundations of his faith and experiences of how to respond to the unspecified. This book is openly troubling for the believer because all too often we know that this is a very real situation that our author is experiencing. However, while it may appear that a staunch believer has lost his way were hastily reminded that this not the case at all. In the book "A Grief Observed" by C. S. Lewis we see, what I call, a defining mature Christian transition, disruption to the norm, or bump in the road all Christians
In this essay Martin Luther comments upon the role of good works in a Christian's life and the overall goal of a Christian in his or her walk. He writes seventeen different sections answering the critics of his teachings. I will summarize and address each one of these sections in the following essay.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith… it is a gift of God” (NIV). Grace, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary is defined as “unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification,” (Theopedia) but is more commonly defined as God giving us what we don’t deserve. God’s grace was presented to us in the form of hi only Son, Jesus, dying on the cross so that we could go to heaven. Now that it is understood what grace is and what form the gift of grace came in, the remaining question is who the gift of grace available to. John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius had different views on to whom grace was imparted but only through careful study and examination of scripture can the truth be found.
theological perspective is evident on almost every page of this book, and at times—especially in
Westerholm’s central thesis is that for Paul, the greatest problem that humans face is their sin, therefore, the greatest need humans have is divine grace and the only solution is the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross. In this discussion of Justification, Westerholm
As we have looked in to the Christian worldview of God, our humanity, the Son of God, and the restoration of our lives back into God’s purpose. Now we have a better understanding of what it means to be a member of the Christian community. God wants believers to dwell in union and in community having the same mind that is in Jesus Christ (Phil 2:1-11). This paper showed how God and Jesus Christ are at the fundamental core of all Christian beliefs regardless of the countless differences many Christians may
Chapter two of Philippians reminds us that Jesus laid down his own needs to sacrifice for us and our sins as human beings so that we could restore our relations with God. Because of this, we can regain eternal life. He tells us that our needs are not important but we as Christians should put others needs ahead of ours if we are true believers. If we live each day with this mindset, then we give all our trust and faith to God.
A famous figure in the popular Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther. Before he joined the movement, he practiced Catholicism for many years. His doubts started shining through when he thought that Catholicism made it seem that no one could enter the Kingdom of God because it is so easy to give into sin. He began teaching that since everyone is born in sin and bound to sin again; the way to gain admittance into heaven is to become “saved”. To become “saved” one would...
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
Religion is the most important aspect of many people’s lives, serving as a roadmap to live a virtuous life while promising eternal life and salvation. In his work On Christian Liberty, Martin Luther writes on what it means to truly be Christian and how to achieve salvation. Luther discusses many aspects of Christian faith, including the difference between the inner man and outer man, the effect of works on salvation, the marriage with Jesus as a result of faith, how individuals should act towards others, and the important notion of Christian liberty that arises because of one’s faith. Luther’s ideas were highly controversial at the time as many of them opposed the thinking of the Catholic Church, one of the most powerful institutions in the world. The Catholic Church adamantly disagrees with many of the ideas expressed by Luther, including the value that works, the church, and humility has in salvation.
Grace within biblical time is defined as as forgiveness, repentance, and god 's grace towards man without judgement. God 's unmerited forgiveness on man even without deserved. God 's grace within ourselves supplies us with the necessary steps be good. Id define his grace as being god 's enoughness for the sins that we commit while he still remains in our corner. Retrospectively grace is the only thing needed for salvation which is displayed in Ephesians 2:8 “ For by grace are ye saved through faith and not of thyself, it is the gift of god”. One aspect of salvation is justification meaning that god will assess each individual based on the payment Jesus Christ gave for ours
Religion is the most important aspect of many people’s lives, serving as a roadmap to live virtuously while promising eternal life and salvation. In his work On Christian Liberty, Martin Luther writes on what it means to truly be Christian and how to achieve salvation. Luther discusses many aspects of Christian faith, including the difference between the inner person and outer man, the effect of works on salvation, the marriage with Jesus as a result of faith, how individuals should act towards others, and the important notion of Christian liberty that arises because of one’s faith. Luther’s ideas were highly controversial at the time as many of them opposed the thinking of the Catholic Church, one of the most powerful institutions in the world.
1 Peter has great insight for contemporary Christians today. The sufferings and lifestyles encountered by Christians and for Christians are readily observed throughout history. 1 Peter was written by the apostle Peter during troublesome times for the church outside of Rome and Judea. Peter is in the process of instructing fellow believers how they should conduct themselves in a holy and righteous manner during times of hardship and suffering; Peter is qualified through personal experience as the church would be knowledgeable. We must clarify being holy or holiness for this paper is defined as “a state or quality of being morally pure and separate from evil.”
Martin Luther demonstrated the visionary leadership characteristics of change management, diversity, FRLD, and team building to begin a reformation. He started his reform in 1517 when he learned that the Roman Catholic Church was selling indulgences ,a ticket to heaven, in order to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica. With the individual consideration of others in mind, he recognized this as immoral and saw the need for change and took on the role as change agent. Using the conceptual approach by focusing on principles, ideas and alternatives, he established a sense of urgency when he wrote his Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, better known as his 95 Theses. In these theses, he reiterates some of the founding beliefs of the church in an effort to initiate change. He then distributes the information to the public in order to include them and stimulate their intellect and then set up a place of meeting to seek different perspectives. He then delivers the same theses to church directors to involve the respected leaders in order to develop his guiding coalition. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education LM06-2SG Change Management (1 Mar 13) step 2 Creating the Guiding Coalition asserts that “assembling ...
On June 17, 1703, Reverend Samuel Wesley and Susannah welcomed a little baby boy into their family. This little boy was their fifteenth child they had, but he was the sixth child to survive birth. This little boy would become not just a theologian and pastor whom many would agree with while others would disagree with, but he also would became the founder of the Methodist Movement. The theologian whom this paper is about is none other than John Wesley. Wesley was influenced by a lot of other scholarly Christians at Oxford, their group “became known as the ‘Holy Club,’ ‘Bible Moths,’ or ‘Methodist’” (Cross 1446). It was also at a meeting on May 24 1783, that Wesley “experienced a conversion during Martin Luther’s Preface to the Epistles to the Romans. Wesley’s professed object was to promote as far as ‘I am able vital practical religion and by the grace of God to beget, preserve, and increase the life of God in the souls of men’” (Cross 1446). The topic of this paper is theological information about salvation from John Wesley’s point of view. Salvation is one being saved from his or her sin by the act of God’s grace. Salvation is very important to both the church and Christians today because we cannot be a church or a Christian without Salvation it comes when we welcome Jesus Christ into our hearts. Wesley believes in original sin; and “salvation from original sin begins with justification, continues in sanctification, and ends with glorification” (Cramer). In the following we will be looking at what Wesley means by justification, sanctification and glorification, and how this is a great contribution to life of the church today.