Journal 3 It is no secret to Christians, and even most non-Christians, that the Bible claims to be and is the story of God, but what is the point of that story? What is the big picture of the Bible? The answer is simple. Reconciliation and sovereignty. By looking at God’s continuing work throughout the entirety of the Bible, we can see exactly how and what God is reconciling back to himself and how he establishes his sovereignty.
Broadly, by studying the Bible, we can see that God is reconciling every part of his cosmic house back to himself. Once accountability/sin was introduced into the world so was disorder. Sin corrupted God’s “good” world and provided the need for a saving and a reconciling act. More specifically, there are numerous
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During the Israelites journey, there were many different times where God allowed a civilization to rise and take them into captivity with the end goal of judging and shaping his people. Through these captivities, by looking carefully, we can see that God is judging his people’s sinful ways and showing them that he is still in control of their destiny in order that they might turn back to him. In addition, perhaps the greatest reconciliation involved in God’s plan, to date, is Jesus. Jesus accomplished everything that everyone who came before him couldn’t. As an example, he established and was the source of order on his own, which Adam failed to do. Through Jesus and the new covenant, God will one day complete his act of full and complete reconciliation that he began when sin and disorder entered the world. That’s a huge piece of the big picture of the Bible. That is, God’s reconciliation in and through the work of his son Jesus in all places and at all times. Jesus accomplished what man could not for themselves and is therefore the avenue by which God reveals himself through and ultimately will bring us …show more content…
I had so often made the mistake of viewing it as a collection of books from different people all talking about the same kind of thing, but what I missed was the beautiful continuity and cohesion that all the books possess. Every book works equally and perfectly together to give us the exact amount of details that God wants us to have about his reconciliation of the world and our souls back to himself from the way he works with the Israelites to the laws he gives us. The books also work perfectly together to show us how God’s hand is involved in every little detail throughout the Bible, furthering establishing that he is truly before and above all creation. Through reading this, I was reminded of how much I take the Bible for granted for what it really is. I was convicted of how often I don’t give God near enough credit for the Bible and all that it contains, stands for, and is. All in all, I was happy to be reminded that God is currently reconciling me and my sins back to himself like he did with those in the Bible and is still working in our world today to show us his sovereignty like he also did in the
Restoration allows humanity to have a relationship with God and be forgiven of our sins so that humanity can be welcomed into the kingdom of Heaven. Without restoration, humanity would lose all ties with God and would not be able to be saved by Him when judgment day comes. Restoration is extended to all people but those who seek forgiveness of their sins will be able to use the restoration to their advantage. Just because God forgives us of our mistakes does not mean that we do not have to repent. Humanity is going to sin no matter how hard we try not to. It is what we do after we sin that will lead us away from God or bring us closer. “Sometimes we are determinedly ignorant of what we are doing...It is the small wrong step that is so easy, the small deviation from the path that we cannot imagine will lead us even farther from our goal” (Shuster, 2013). Sometimes when we sin we do not realize that we are getting off the path of God, and how easy it is to do so. When we sin we will be forgiven when we repent which will help us gain entry into the kingdom of
Reconciliation is affirmed with this bible verse “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”(2 Corinthians 5:18-21, ESV) , I feel this is the most important part of the FREE model and has to be tackled with good results before proceeding to the forgiveness intervention using the 4 D’s. Decision – at the step the couples will make a decision whether they want to reconcile or not , this step is very fundamental because if the couples are not ready then the forgiveness therapy cannot take place; Discussion – here the offender make confession or te couple will discuss about their wrongdoing; Detoxification – at the stage the they will talk about how to remove the poison that I the bad behavior from the offender so it will not reoccur; Devotion- The
While reading through the Bible, a person does not expect to find so much forgiveness and unconditional love. As Christians, the Bible is our book whenever there are questions that need to be answered. Throughout his or her life, a Christian is taught of the life of Christ and His Resurrection, but there is a lot of information that seems to be overlooked. When asked to explain the big picture of the Bible, it is easiest to look through the main stories of the Bible and find common themes. While looking through the Bible, and finding so many themes present throughout, but there is one that important in the life of a Christian, the cycle of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration is one of the most important ones seen from Genesis to Revelation.
The rattling story of Joseph told of a man who must struggle with the most horrid betrayal from his family in which he learned to forgive them and even helped them flourish in later life. Justified by a need to make them properly atone for their sins, Joseph put his brothers through hell and back. In the end, Joseph ended up feeling happier for reconnecting with his family and saving them from the ominous hands of the famine that plagued Canaan. Although it may seem that the Bible suggests exonerating those who have deeply wronged one shows weakness and too much leniency, forgiveness allows one to become a stronger person and allow for the restoration of bonds amongst once-close companions.
It seems that in our fast-paced world it is so easy to overlook complexity. As I am running from place to place, I often find myself oversimplifying things, ideas, people, etc. It is much easier to look at them as the general label that society puts on them instead of digging deeper for the more profound truth. The Bible is a book that, by its nature, totally rejects the fast-passed simplicity of today. It is a collection of writings written in complex ways, at complex and ancient times, and by complex and distant cultures. It is a book of profound wisdom, but also one that needs to be recognized for its profound intricacy to be read to its fullest potential. In the above quote, Scott McKnight makes an excellent point to which I (and others
The authors acknowledge that many books have been written on this topic. Their goal is to be unique by focusing on different types of literature (genres) so their readers will understand how to properly interpret them in the context they were written. This review will examine the principles the authors use to interpret the Bible. The review will summarize the book, followed by a critique, and a conclusion.
Spanning fifteen hundred years with over 30,700 manuscripts, extensive archaeological evidence and 2000 prophecies that have been fulfilled, the Bible is God 's word to us. (Yohn, 2013). In the Bible, the Father is essentially giving us a picture of the history of the world and is also leading us to a place where we must make a decision that involves whether we choose to accept his son or reject him and remain guilty. Additionally, the Word of God tells us what happened that caused this breach between us and God, the result of this and how God has rectified it through the blood of his son. In fact, from the beginning of the Bible (written 1400 B.C.) to the last book (A.D. 96), God is showing us why we need Jesus and how to find him. Just as a plant’s root system propagates and occupies the pot that encloses it, Jesus permeates the entire Bible. Therefore, the motif of the Bible is the story of the redemption of mankind and it all points to Jesus as the messiah and savior who secures this for all.
God does not enter into any relationship without entering into a covenant. A covenant must consist of a relationship between humankind and God; and, it is eternal, which is why it is called an everlasting covenant. The everlasting covenant can only be broken if man fails to maintain an intimate and personal relationship with God or chooses separation from God through sin, as was the case with Israel. Their hearts had strayed and many sins entered their lives. It was not God who divorced Israel, but Israel’s sins broke the everlasting covenant with God that produced a temporary separation from Him. However, in His loving mercy, He had a plan of salvation that would involve not only Israel but, all of humankind with an everlasting covenant that would reconcile those who desired to be in a relationship with Him. This section will discuss the identity and significance of the everlasting covenant to show that God was faithful to keep His promise of the everlasting covenant
No longer are animals sacrificed to atone for sins, but the greatest sacrifice for our sins has now been made. God sent his son to be sacrificed for our sins. God demonstrates his love for us and his desire for us through this act. As a result of this sacrifice we are called into a personal relationship with God the Father. No longer is the biblical narrative a story we read, but we are now the characters in a story that is still being written. With this revelation I must ask myself: Am I where I want to be in the story? How am I contributing to the biblical narrative in my life? Am I learning and growing as a result of my understand of the biblical
—. The Unity of the Bible: Exploring the Beauty and Structure of the Bible. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2003.
Mears, Henrietta C.. What the Bible Is All About. Rev. and updated. ed. Ventura, Calif., U.S.A.: Regal Books, 1983. Print.
Levine, Amy –Jill and Douglas Knight. The Meaning of the Bible: What Jewish and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us. New York: HarperOne, 2011
Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away: see, everything has become new!” The use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation enables Gods people to return to him. Jesus came to forgive our sins and to save the world, he took all our sins so we wouldn’t have to be separated from God forever. God’s love is so incredible that he doesn’t give up on us and Jesus paid the price for our sins that we can be healed, not because we deserve it but because God’s forgiveness is totally free. Jesus breathed the holy spirit over the apostles and said “Peace be with you as the father as set me, so I send you” and “received the holy spirit, whose sins you forgive and forgiven them and whose sins you retain are retained” John
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.
Reconciliation is the sacrament of a loving encounter with a merciful God as you have rightly stated above. Wueri in his pastoral letter to the faithful in his diocese, he asserts, “We are not left to our own devices.” For the simple reason that the effect of Adam’s sin into the world, such as death, disharmony, confusion, disruption and struggle; Jesus through the sacraments restores harmony and gives us newness of life in grace (3). Just as we consult the doctor for illness, eat food when hungry, go to school to acquire knowledge, the priest in the sacrament of penance gives us instructions and absolution to renew our souls.