Sunday, October 22, 2017

Barth’s Adultery


What to Make of Karl Barth’s Steadfast Adultery | Christianity Today

A thoughtful quote: I am a firm believer that good theology can be an immense help in leading a godly life. But there is a reason the Lord also gave us prayer and fellowship, Scripture and worship, among a host of other gifts: to help us grow up into the full stature of Christ. To paraphrase our Lord, some sins theology cannot exorcise but come out only by prayer and fasting.


Titus 2:11-14, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." 

Monday, October 16, 2017

Articles on the Reformation


500 Years After Luther, We Still Feel the Pressure to Be Justified | Christianity Today

Just before his complete conversion, Augustine had a vision of Continence, personified as a loving and gracious woman, who reassures him: “Why are you relying on yourself, only to find yourself unreliable? Cast yourself upon him, do not be afraid.” Please read A Roman Catholic Appreciation of Justification by... | Christianity Today

Johann von Staupitz, vicar of the German Observant Augustinian Friars, came to visit the monastery where Luther lived. When he saw how sickly Luther looked, he asked, “Why are you so sad, brother Martin?” “I do not know what will become of me,” answered Luther. “I promise God I will do better, but I find it is useless to make promises to God because sin is stronger than I am.” Von Staupitz did not fully understand the struggle Luther was experiencing, but he wanted to help him. “My friend,” replied von Staupitz, “look at the wounds of Jesus Christ and think of why He came into the world.” Though von Staupitz pointed him in the right direction, Luther was afraid of God and of His Son Jesus. He thought of God only as one who punishes sin. Von Staupitz tried to encourage Luther. “God is not angry with you. Christ Jesus does not want to terrify you; He comforts those in trouble and distress. He became man to give you the promise of deliverance. By His stripes we are healed. By His blood our sins are washed away. Love Him Who first loved you.” But Luther didn’t understand. Staupitz had given Luther a Bible and pointed his eyes away from his own unworthiness to Jesus on the Cross. To Luther’s crippling fears, to his guilt and feelings of never measuring up, to the penance and punishment he derived for himself, to his visions of Christ only as a Judge ready to smite him, Staupitz had a clear resounding refrain: “Look to the wounds of Christ.” Although Luther would continue to battle his own anxiety and depression for the rest of his life, he now had an anchor to hold him fast – the all-consuming grace of God, poured out in Jesus’ blood on the Cross. 


Ephesians 2:8-10, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."


The Reformation and Missions: 5 Invaluable Effects • Message Magazine Good quotes from the article. “A good missionary is a good theologian. A good theologian is a good missionary.” John Calvin   “If he have faith, the believer cannot be restrained. He betrays himself. He breaks out. He confesses and teaches this gospel to the people at the risk of life itself.” Martin Luther

Other helpful articles on the Reformation: 
What the Reformers Thought They Were Doing | Intercollegiate Studies Institute: Educating for Liberty
Unexpected Counsel from Martin Luther
The Protestant Reformation - YouTube The warts and everything, though some parts are inaccurate, I feel.
20 Great ‘Protestant’ Films