This research will show how that both retributive and remunerative righteousness have been demonstrated in the covenants that God has made with his people throughout history, and how in the exercising of divine justice God is righteous when He punishes violations of His covenants and when He rewards those who are obedient to His covenants.
Project Summary
The righteousness of God is an attribute that is closely related to the justice of God. The justice of God is meted out in His retributive righteousness. In many circles the retributive righteousness of God has been overemphasized at the expense of the remunerative righteousness of God. This is what happened before Martin Luther saw the truth of justification in Romans. Luther was so concerned with God’s retributive justice that he took excessive steps to punish himself for his own sin. When looking at the covenants of God there are clear guidelines for keeping the covenant, and when those guidelines are broken the retributive righteousness of God is meted out to the covenant breaker. However, the remunerative righteousness of God is still at work for those who have kept His covenants. Those who keep God’s commands are blessed in a display of remunerative righteousness. This study will focus on biblical passages that focus on both aspects of God’s righteousness, ending in a discussion of God’s ultimate display of both retributive and remunerative righteousness in the incarnation and death of Christ.
Preliminary Bibliography
Bird, Michael F. “Incorporated Righteousness: A Response to Recent Evangelical Discussion Concerning the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness in Justification.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47, no. 2 (June 2004): 253-275.
Bibliography Summary
Bird’s article brings up a controversy over whether God’s retributive righteousness is necessary. It argues rightfully against the proposition that God’s response to sin is something that He willed but could have willed otherwise.
Preliminary Bibliography
Burk, Denny. “The Righteousness of God (Dikaisune Theou) and Verbal Genitives: A Grammatical Clarification.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 34, no. 4 (Spring 2012): 346-360. Sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav (accessed November 10, 2013).
Bibliography Summary
Burk’s article will aid in a short etymological section on the Greek word for righteousness and the normative meaning in the New Testament.
Preliminary Bibliography
Chester Stephen J. “Paul and the Introspective Conscience of Martin Luther: The Impact of Luther’s Anfechtungen on his Interpretation of Paul.” Biblical Interpretation 14, no. 5 (2006): 508-536. Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed November 13, 2013).
Bibliography Summary
This article, by Stephen Chester, will be used in a section on Martin Luther’s pre-reformation view of his guilt and sinfulness in the section on retributive righteousness.
In Martin Luther’s Freedom of a Christian Man, Luther describes what he believes should be the relationship between faith and good works in the life of Christian people. His beliefs became integral to the Protestant and Lutheran ideologies. The basis of Luther’s pamphlet was “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” (31) This central thought provides readers dialogue on what is truly a selfless, act and if these acts do in fact have an effect on one’s
James Kittelson’s biography on the life of Luther is thought provoking and informative. Kittelson does not have a concise thesis, but as it is a biography the central theme of Luther the Reformer is an insightful narrative of Martin Luther’s life from his birth in Eisleben until his death on February 18, 1546 in Eisleben. Kittelson thoroughly and with great detail and sources explains Luther’s mission to reform the catholic church. Luther the Reformer seeks to condense Luther’s life in a manner which is more easily read for those who do not know the reformer’s story well. Luther is portrayed not only as a theologian throughout the book, but as a person with struggles and connections throughout the Germanic region in which he lived. Luther’s theology is portrayed throughout the entirety of the book, and Kittelson approaches Luther’s theology by explaining Luther’s past. The inclusion of
The divine command theory is an ethical theory relating to God and how his commandments should guide the morality of humankind. Objections to this theory include objections to the nature or existence of God or to the nature of his character or commands. For the purposes of this paper, I will present the divine command theory, introduce a serious objection evident in Genesis 22, propose and explain an alternative to the divine command theory that is the divine will theory, explain why this theory avoids the objection, and critique and respond from the perspective of a divine will theorist.
Marcuse, Harold. "Translation of The Stuttgart Delaration of Guilt." 12 July 2014. 19 November 2014 <www.markusgemeinde-stuttgart.de>.
Of all the debates that concern the Christian faith, the most important lies in the understanding of the very one whom the faith professes to follow: Jesus Christ. Who was Jesus Christ, and what did He do here on this earth? In noting the importance of these issues the apostle Paul goes so far as to make the startling claim that the Christian faith is useless if predicated on a false assumption of Christ’s saving work (1 Cor. 15:14). Indeed, there are no truths more central to our faith than the personhood and work of Jesus Christ, and yet serious disagreements exist regarding the nature of these tenets. Jesus lived here on earth as fully divine and yet fully human in one and the same person, and His death on the cross served as a perfect sacrifice and substitute for the necessary punishment of death that all sinners deserve.
Martin Luther was not fond of the practices the Roman Catholic church of indulgences. Indulgences are a practice where worshippers would pay their priest which granted remission for their sins (“Indulgences."). This practice became increasingly corrupt. In the 95 Theses, Luther, became prominent in the Protestant Reformation due to its humble and academic tone (A&E Television Networks, LLC.). For example, in the second theses he states, “The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.” This means that only god can give salvation, not a priest. He is questioning why we must pay to re...
The implementation of this new ethical paradigm allowed for Abrahamic societies to link their belief in God to common social values and responsibilities (Stark, 2001). The approach which Judaism, Christianity and Islam each take toward these common social values and responsibilities displays which values are held highest in each religion. Despite differences in each religion’s approach, common themes exist. The role of justice and forgiveness in each religion displays a common belief that man’s nature is to stray from God’s justice, but that man can ultimately connect with the divine through the contemplation and understanding of what is good and right.
The Sovereignty and Goodness of God is a primary source document written in the 17th century, by a well-respected, Puritan woman. This book, written in cahoots with Cotton and Increase Mather, puritan ministers, tells the story of her capture by Indians during King Phillip’s War (1675-1676). For three months, Mary Rowlandson, daughter of a rich landowner, mother of three children, wife of a minister, and a pillar of her community lived among “savage” Indians. This document is important for several reasons. First, it gives us insight into the attitudes, extremes, personalities and “norms” of the Puritan people we learn about in terms of their beliefs, and John Calvin’s “house on a hill”. Beyond that, despite the inevitable exaggerations, this book gives us insight into Indian communities, and how they were run and operated during this time.
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”.
the justice of God, human responsibility and the providence of God in sanctification of the
Unger, Merrill F. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Ed. R. K. Harrison, Howard F. Vos, and Cyril J. Barber. Chicago: Moody, 1988. Print.
Surveying the Old Testament reveals the theme of God’s faithfulness to his people. In light of this understanding, the restoration of the Israelites prophesized in the Old Testament is essentially the fulfillment of every covenant with God. This perspective relates to the work of Christ and encourages any follower of God to trust in his faithfulness.
Religious texts have been one of the main sources for laws and social customs since the conception of organized religion. Each religious text provides its followers with a code of conduct they are expected to apply to themselves, their actions, and their institutions. This code of conduct applies to the individual, as well as to the government and society to within which the people exist, and ultimately defines what a "just society" is in the context of that religion. Using stories and proverbs this code of conduct, and thus "just society", is not only set, but also shown in examples. In The Bible, the essence of a "just society" is laid out within passages that serve as "the laws", including Deuteronomy, and the Psalms, and in the stories, such as the stories of Job, David, Samuel, and the Family of Adam. The actions and nature of God in these stories are meant to be an example of the values and personality favored by God. In these passages, a structure for a just society is presented, and the values and examples, which are to be referred to and followed in the creation of this "just society", are discussed. However, even within these passages, there are discrepancies between the structure of the ideal "just society" and its values, and the following of these examples by the stories presented in The Bible. One of the most noticeable of these is the difference between the presentation of the ideal "just society" and values that are supposed to be implemented by the people, and the actual justice and values presented in the stories. This is particularly pertaining to the stories of the rulers appointed by God, and the vengeful nature of God himself presented in these stories.
Class notes. Man’s Desperate Need of Righteousness and God’s Glorious Provision of Righteousness. Faith Christian University. Orlando, Florida. August 2011.
Whitford, David. "Martin Luther (1483—1546)." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 2002. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .