Comparing The Bible And Spiritual Gifts

800 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The nature and authority of the holy scriptures

Martin Luther believed that the Bible determines what a Christian should believe (sola scriptura). Since “the word of God is God Himself in Scripture,” Luther was wise to rely on the Bible. As Luther put his faith wholly in the Bible, Christians of today should put their faith in the Bible. Concerning pneumatology, Christians should supremely believe in what the Bible says, even if contemporary theologians say otherwise. Sola scriptura authoritatively answers questions regarding spiritual gifts, spiritual fruits, and glossolalia. Several contemporary theologians have defined spiritual gifts. Through studying all the different Greek words that translators translate into spiritual gifts, Towns has describes, “a spiritual gift is spiritual in character (pneumatikon), sovereignly given by God in the Holy Spirit (charismata), to minister to others (diakonia), in the power of God (energema), with an evident manifestation of the Holy Spirit through the Christian as he serves God …show more content…

According to Towns’ “The Gifts of the Spirit” chart, glossolalia was a sign gift. Hence, the early church operated in glossolalia “to conform apostolic revelation” and according to Towns, it is “no longer to be expected today.” Scripturally, there is no distinguishing factor between sign gifts and serving gifts. For instance, I Cor. 12:10 lists gifts without categorizing the gifts, which Towns groups into two different groups. Therefore, since there is no apparent categorization, all the gifts are as available as the first were or they are all unavailable. There cannot be a division because the Bible does not state or imply that there is a division. Biblically, either they are all available, or they are not all available. Thus, if the gift of discernment is presently available (which is “for all believers today,” according to Towns), because of association, glossolalia is also

Show More
Related

  • An Analysis Of Roland H. Bainton's Here I Stand

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    Benton reminds his readers that the work that is done here on earth is only a brief period of training for the life that is to come. The only difference is the work that is performed on earth can prepare you for eternal joy or everlasting torment. Luther takes on a vow to God that he will be obedient, with the call from Heaven that he had received from God to obey his will in Luther’s life. Bainton also reminds his readers of the sacrifices that Luther made to be the man of God that he was. Bainton questions his readers on what have they done to maintain along with increasing their spiritual lives before God. Bainton also brings his readers into the struggles that Luther went through in his life along with the issues that he had maintaining his faith in God. Bainton skillfully guides his readers through the story of Luther’s life, above all Bainton brings his readers into the mindset that Luther is a man of prayer and strict obedience to the will and way of God. He instructs followers to pray by acknowledging God as their father, so that it is understood by the readers that they are in a personal relationship with God. Bainton strongly emphasizes Luther’s transformation of the Holy Spirit guiding him into the reformation of the church. Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses placed the church on notice of their spiritual and natural misrepresentation of the people of

    Read More

  • Martin Luther's Biblical Studies Final (Option 2)

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    Luther was also a strong advocate for the idea of sola scriptura, or the idea that scripture needs to be interpreted by scripture alone. Luther strongly felt that the Bible was the source for anything and everything that the Church could believe and practice. That being said, Luther had a very particular way of reading the Bible and would primarily interpret scripture in a literal or historical manner. When the Jews began to question Jesus about him being the son of God, Jesus simply responded with, “Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life” (King James Version, John 6:46-47).

    Read More

  • Martin Luther's Impact on the Protestant Reformation

    512 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther’s 95 theses were written in the early 16th century and were developed from his study of the the writings of Augustin and the Holy Bible. The theses are based on two concepts, repentance of sin and faith in God. These became the basis for the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and directly conflicted with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther believed that the Bible was the center of religion rather than the church leaders.

    Read More

  • The Spirit: Continuationism And The Gifts Of The Spirit

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    For Christians it is impossible to comprehend all of God’s mysteries, all of God’s plans, all of God’s desires, abilities, mercies, and blessings. It’s impossible to comprehend all of God. This is the price they pay for serving a divine God of infinitive complexity. Even when he spells it out for them, as he did with creating the bible, the human mind is incapable of understanding how God works. Since people are simple minded and selfish beings, debates over what God is trying to tell them in scripture can be formed, and can get to the point where these debates spilt the Christian churches. The question of whether or not the gifts of the holy spirit still has an active role in the modern day churches is one that has been greatly argued among the believers. Although many ideas have been presented on the matter, three major viewpoints have been formed; Cessationism, Continuationism, and an open but cautious view. Whether or not the gifts of the spirit are still part of the Christian chu...

    Read More

  • Roman Catholic Indulgences In The 1500's

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther started out becoming a lawyer, but then an accident happened. Long story short, he became a monk. When a friar named John Tetzel came into Wittenberg, he was selling indulgences (indulgences means a donation to the church that came with a promise from the Pope to reduce a sinner’s time in the purgatory). Martin Luther felt that was not right. Martin Luther felt that the indulgences were meaningless and was not right. So in response Martin Luther wrote Ninety-Five Theses against the indulgences and everything that was wrong with the Roman Catholic Church. The Theses led to a series of debates with other men of the church. One of the Ninety-Five Theses states that Christians were saved only through the Grace of God and he also stated that the church’s rituals did not have any power to save souls. Martin Luther also said, “The church and the Pope made errors all the time.” The argument between the church and Martin Luther became heated when Luther denied that the officers of the church and the church itself had any spiritual powers. Martin Luther said, “Christians do not even have to hear the priests to receive the Grace of God.” That is when the Ninety-Five Theses created a

    Read More

  • Lutheranism

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...nd your books, you have truly denied God." (Luther, How far Temporal Authority Extends, p.29) Faith was a free act that no one could force because it came from within.

    Read More

  • Human Individualism

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martin Luther’s views on human individualism come from his rebellion against the Catholic Church. Since Luther stressed the idea that salvation comes through faith alone, priests and other clergymen of the church are not necessary, according to Luther. One of the ways that Luther describes becoming a Christian is the distinction between the physical nature and the spiritual nature. Physical nature is an outward, or old man. In contrast, the spiritual nature is a new man, or the soul (9). Luther uses II Cor. 4:16 to describe this process which says, “Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day.” This change of heart and nature that Luther describes is done solely by the individual with the help of the Holy Spirit. According to Luther’s writing, the most important aspect of human individualism is an individual’s faith and character. An individual’s character, according to Luther, is de...

    Read More

  • Martin Luther's 95 Theses On The Door Of The Catholic Church

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    All throughout Luther’s life, examples of sola scriptura (scripture alone) are evident. First of all, during Luther’s trial to recant his beliefs, Luther said that he will only recant if scripture can prove his ideology wrong. He ended up not recanting

    Read More

  • The Charismatic Gifts Debate

    2193 Words  | 5 Pages

    Body says that these gifts were given by the Holy Spirit to carry out ministry. However there are those who believe that speaking in tongues is a private communication with God, therefore there would have to be a slightly different position on why they were given. Continuationist with this view often use First Corinthians 13:1 to support this view in speaking of tongues of men and angels, however in context his view has no solid basis. Hodge says that Paul is speaking of a language defined as a known meaning of expression weather divine or human, the main point being that these are worth nothing without love.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther Research Paper

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though, to his advantage, Luther did not become accustomed to the worldly view of what suffering meant. Instead, he taught and lived out that true faith perceives the presence of God amidst the presence of suffering. Throughout his writings there is a clear sense of his goal to distinguish the differences between true and false suffering and to support his claim that suffering is primarily for the sake of sanctification if viewed rightly through the theology of the cross. For Luther, being practitioner for others often meant teaching these truths to them and guiding them with a biblical compass. Luther understood what it meant to counsel through the lens of the cross; Luther never saw the ministry of the Word as reserved solely for the pulpit.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther Thesis Statement

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    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”.

    Read More

  • Spiritual Gifts And Leadership

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book, The Gifts and Ministry of the Holy Spirit, Sumrall states the meaning of spiritual gift comes from the Greek word called “charisma”. Charisma

    Read More

  • Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Anabaptists Impact

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther’s ideas changed the way Europe thought about God, economics, culture, even the truth. Luther was a monk who read Jon Hus and Erasmus’ criticisms of the Church. Luther believed Christianity was a lot simpler than what the Catholic Church tried to teach. He stated that the way to salvation was through faith, not good works. In his piece, On the Freedom of a Christian he states, “...when any man is made good or bad, this does not arise from his works, but from his faith or unbelief.” As stated in one of his 95 theses, salvation was based on an individual’s own relationship with God. Additionally, to guide faith an individual must interpret the Scripture themselves. The Scripture was infallible. Luther rejected celibacy, purgatory and monasteries because they were inventions outside of the Scripture. Contrary to the

    Read More

  • Kant and Luther’s Understandings of Human Freedom

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Luther preaches grace and in so free choice is abolished, suggesting that divine grace and human freedom are contradictory concepts. Because reconciliation between God and humans is made possible through the death of Jesus, God’s gift, it is foolish to assume that the exercise of freedom could have any relevance to salvation. Human freedom in Luther’s eyes is derived from the notion that individual’s are already saved through God’s righteousness and confirmed with the works of Christ, you are saved because of your possession of faith. "We reach the conclusion that faith alone justifies us and fulfils the laws; and this because faith brings us the spirit gained by the merits of Christ. The spirit, in turn, gives us the happiness and freedom at which the law aims.

    Read More

  • Character Of The Holy Spirit In Acts

    1802 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Holy Spirit is the gift given by God freely to those who repent their sins and believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 1:4-5, 2:38). It is God’s promise for all the people (2:39). The Holy Spirit is available to any believers even if they are the gentiles. Peter was astonished when he saw that the gentiles also received the Holy Spirit (10:24-48). He realized that ‘God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right’ (10:34-35). Since it is the gift from God, it cannot be purchased with money (8:19-20).

    Read More

More about Comparing The Bible And Spiritual Gifts

Open Document