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The continuous reading of Cornelius Plantinga Jr.’s book Engaging God’s World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living, has left me lingering on a lot of thoughts towards my relationship with God. In the conclusion of his book, Plantinga focuses on the redemptive qualities of God as well the the redemptive possibilities of mankind. Another main subject is the vocation in the Kingdom of God, correspondingly the Bible says in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Plantinga (2002) states clearly, “given Jesus’ summons, his followers have always understood that to be a ‘Christ person’ …show more content…
Obeying God’s commandments is where we obtain this freedom. Many people feel that having to live by “these set of rules” (the ten commandments) is debilitating but as a matter of fact, it is sin that is crippling us. Plantinga (2002) stated that “Sin traps people and makes them wilt; godly obedience liberates people and helps them flourish” (p. 74-75). In Exodus 19:4-5, it says to “obey my voice,” the commandments were not given to us to rescue us, but because we have already been rescued. “God rescues people and then lays down the law,” said by Plantinga, perfectly reflects these thoughts. Grace is a tremendous word that is used more than 150 times in the New Testament to speak of divine favor granted to undeserving people. MacArthur (2014) writes in God’s Sufficient Grace that, “We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8) and in grace we stand (Romans 5:2). Grace upholds our salvation, gives us victory in temptation, and helps us endure suffering and pain. It helps us understand the Word and wisely apply it to our lives. It draws us into communion and prayer and enables us to serve the Lord effectively. In short, we exist and are firmly fixed in an environment of all-sufficient grace” …show more content…
God is waiting with open arms, we need only to turn back to him like the waiting father in this parable. I try to always look at my relationship with God as my father (yes I know he his) but I mean like how you view an earthly father. I had a wonderful father growing up. Not matter the situation, good or bad, that I found myself in, I knew that I could always turn to my dad for support, understanding, advice, and he was my ultimate supporter during these times. But he did as any father really should and told me when I was wrong, or that I had really thought through my situation and was making the right decision. I knew I could always turn to him. I think that is the relationship that God seeks to have with us. He wants us to come to him, in good and bad times, to seek his advice, or feel his joy in our joyful times, or even to fall into his arms during trivial times. In the story of the prodigal son, the son wanted everything that his father would have given him, but he wanted it now, unlike when you receive your inheritance after the passing of them. The father gave the son exactly what he wanted, and it hurt him maybe he even suffered a little, but he did it anyway. After the son had taken it and left and then found himself eating with the pigs did he think about his father again. No matter the time that passed, that father was so thrilled to have his son return home to him and accepted him
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
Engagement with others is the most fertile ground for spiritual growth. Yet, salvation cannot come through individual questing nor good works in the community of the world alone. Salvation can only come when the journey and the work become
Garrett’s concise treatment of an array of relevant questions is reflected in chapter titles like “Faith and Belief”, “The Bible and Theology”, “Sacramental Faith”, “Spiritual Practice”, “The Kingdom of God”, “The End of Things”, and “Friends or Rivals: Living in a Multifaith World”. Each chapter is a vivid explanation on how our life should be based on love, nothing else but the love of Christ, it contrasts the modern day depiction of God bein...
To a significant extent, the statement “Religion is a set of variously organized beliefs concerning the relationships that exist between humanity and the supernatural dimension” represents the lived expression of Christian adherents as it is the principle beliefs and teachings of Christianity that shape the everyday lives of adherents by helping them to maintain right relationships with God and others. Specifically, this response will explore how significant people such as St Paul of Tarsus have shaped Christianity so that adherents focus on the intention rather than the letter of the law, so as to obtain a contemplative outlook. As well as how Christian adherents across the breadth of the tradition respond to their baptismal commitment in daily life, and how adherents honour this commitment to God when responding to issues concerning environmental ethics.
Christianity falls under the category of Theism, which is the belief in only one personal god. Christian worldview believes that God sent humanity His only son so that we can learn about God and how He wants us to act. Jesus is crucified later in His life on a cross, which relieved us from losing a relationship with God due to our sins. When analyzing the Christian worldview, we learn that God came to earth in human form as Jesus Christ to experience life with humanity and restore earth back to harmony. In this paper I will discuss God, Jesus, and humanity individually, how restoration will occur, and finally, analyze and reflect on the Christian worldview.
The book I will review is Engaging Gods World: A Christian vision of faith, learning, and living, by Cornelius Plantinga (2002). In this book, Plantinga does not seem to state a specific thesis in the writing piece, but in reading the book it seems like the best statement that would fit a thesis of the book would be the following: “The point of all this learning is to prepare to add one’s own contribution to the supreme reformation project, which is God’s restoration of all things that have been corrupted by evil” (Plantinga, 2002, p. xii). From this thesis, I believe he achieved the purpose of directing the reader to see that God created all things including man, we fell from His paradise, He restores us to Himself in Christ, and now calls us to be part of His restoration project for the world.
"We cannot indeed overestimate the importance of the fact that Jesus' redeeming influence on the world-all that has induced men to call Him Lord and Savior-owes to His humanity at once its individual and its social power, and is complete with the com...
The Christian worldview is centered on the Gospel and places their beliefs in the essential teachings of the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (DiVincenzo, 2015). This paper will explain who God is and what he created, what our purpose and nature is as humans, who Jesus was and what he did while on earth, how God plans to bring his people back into the right relationship with himself, and as a Christian how one is to live their life with an analysis of the Christian worldview.
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
...Today as a Christ follower, we will never be satisfied if our life is not bearing lasting fruit because we are not fulfilling the purpose for which we were “grafted “into the Vine. Let’s examine the “fruit” of our lives. Is it the kind of fruit that reveals the character of Christ? Let’s not settle for fruitless Christianity. God will do the work of making us fruitful – we must only abide, surrendering our lives to His mission of making disciples of all nations through us. The whole notion of mission is to stretch out to work the work of evangelism not through hierarchy, sovereignty, rather through humbleness, hospitality, affection love for the others. That is what Jesus who portrayed as the one who we do not deserve to untie His sandals straps in the first Chapter of John, later become feet washer, intimate with humanity leaving His equality with God.
“First, there is the call to be a Christian. Second, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond through service in the world. Third, there is the call that we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives—our immediate duties and responsibilities” (Smith, ...
Jesus told “The Parable of the Prodigal Son" to the religious and the Jewish crowd there to help them understand that salvation does not come by works, but by the grace of God. The Lord is merciful and forgiving, but you just must be willing to realize your mistake and ask for forgiveness just like the prodigal son had done. The reaction of the crowd when Jesus spoke was most likely extreme upset and outrage, similar to that of the eldest son. Since God is gracious and loving, sinners can return to him with confidence that he will warmly welcome them. A good father only wants what is best for his children, and that is to love and be loved. Most importantly, the parable shows that God’s people should rejoice at the willingness of sinners to turn to God and the willingness of God to receive them. This parable especially exemplifies God’s redemptive grace, mercy, unconditional love and forgiveness. In addition, the author greatly incorporates character analysis to give us a good description and understanding of the parable. By using the prodigal son’s, the father’s, and the elder son’s character as analogies and symbols to compare and contrast to other concrete examples, the reader was able to understand the parable on a deeper level. Unfortunately, the parable ends without revealing what the older son did. The ending can be used as a self-check; if you were in the older brother’s shoes, how would you react? Would you be rejoicing for your younger brother’s return or would you allow the bitterness and resentment of your father’s reaction take over
With this in mind, the following will focus on the spiritual formation process within the Christian community. The concept of Christian community stems from the Bible with the perspective of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is compared to the humane body, a whole comprised of numerous parts; each individual part is required and created by God to form a cohesive whole, no matter believer or non-believer or social status (1 Corinthians 12). Similarly, the spiritual community is also comprised of bountiful parts and can be customized to the individual as the formation. Ashbrook appraises the significance of individuals and community, “Our spiritual formation is designed by God to happen in the context of Christian community, the chu...
God is the creator of all. He created everything with a purpose, and gave everything a purpose. That purpose in our life is called God’s calling. In this paper I will discuss what my calling is, how my calling is helping God’s kingdom, and what am I doing to live out my calling in the short term.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul twice mentions ‘the righteousness of God.’ What is the message Paul is putting forward? A great place to start is with the original Greek phrasing ‘δικαιοσύνη δὲ Θεοῦ’. From this we can take the righteousness to mean: uprightness, justice, justness, righteousness, righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness (Strong’s Concordance online). It is easy to understand that God is just, holy, righteous, and all the things listed above. It is also plain to me that God is the source of his own righteousness, just as he is the source of his own existence. But these ideas and definitions of God’s righteousness, as seen through the word itself, do not fully paint the picture