Holiness Is Required

I am so thankful for the amazing gift of grace that God as gifted us. Grace, as defined by McMinn is, “merciful kindness offered by God to those who do not and cannot ever deserve God’s kindness, and it is our only hope.” Grace is such an interesting concept. The idea that we have already been forgiven for our sins before we even commit a sin is not widely accepted by most people nowadays. When people sin, they feel a sense

God’s grace is a word frequently used to refer to “gift from God”. In many circles, it is theological defined as God’s unmerited favor (Hughes, 1998, Ryrie, 1963). Within this

The belief of a sacred space has been a highly contested concept since the beginning of mankind. Each individual may have a different perception or opinion on whether a particular place is truly sacred. However, many of these places have a close and personal connection to certain individuals, due in large part to having experienced a supernatural occurrence or witnessed a miracle of life. Often times, these places become associated with a divine presence, and are ultimately labeled as sacred for a particular religion. In The Sacred and the Profane, Mircea Eliade describes the key elements that define a space as sacred rather than profane. He stresses his belief that not all space is homogenous, and that there are certain places that hold

Since their creation, humans have sought to find meaning from the mundane existence of mortality. This quest for answers has motivated many to seek out the divine and sacred spaces forged by the divine. Biblical scholar and historian Mircea Eliade argues that, “man becomes aware of the sacred because it manifests itself [and] to designate the act of manifestations of the sacred [is the] proposed term hierophany” (Eliade 1959: 11). In other words, a hierophany exists when the divine chooses to reveal himself, by defining a space or object as sacred through the divine’s presence. After a hierophany occurs, the chosen object or space is deemed an axis mundi. Eliade defines axis mundi as, “a universal pillar which at once connects and supports heaven and earth and whose base is fixed in the world below” (Eliade 1959: 36).

"What is grace? In the New Testament grace means God’s love in action towards men who merited the opposite of love. (Definition of God's Grace)

Another way to think about this is how Wesley wrote in his sermon The Scripture Way of Salvation. On our journey to sanctification, he states, what keeps us going on the journey are the means of grace, whether they be for ourselves or done for others. His basic point was that once we are brought into awareness of the grace and our need to repent and turn from our sin, the means provide the nourishment our souls need to grow in grace. How else could one grow in grace than by means of grace?

Paul sums it all up in this phrase: A confession of the Gospel of Christ. For that is the source of all good gifts: Jesus Christ has made peace with God our Father, justified the whole world in His death, and atoned for all your sins. It is freely given apart from the Law, out of Fatherly divine goodness and mercy, without any merit, or worthiness, or thankfulness in you, but purely on account of His Son. Purely on account of His love that declares the unlovable to be lovely by washing you in the blood of Jesus. As it is written, He has distributed freely, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. And that is the righteousness He gives freely, graciously, as a gift. St. Paul calls this enduring mercy and favor a surpassing grace of God upon you. It surpasses our lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. It surpasses our idolatry and even our thanklessness. Your life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions. It consists in being possessed by Him, a recipient of His mercy that covers all your sin and that overcomes all

Grace is defined as “divine help or strength … given through the mercy and love of God.” This grace can help us serve beyond our capacity to love, and in the scriptures grace is frequently used to connote a strengthening or

Walter A Elwell the author of “Evangelical Dictionary of Theology,” defines grace as, “Underserved blessing freely bestowed on humans by God. Grace is a concept that is at the heart not only of Christian theology, but also of all genuinely Christian experience.”1 The word “Grace” was first mentioned in Genesis 6:8, “But Noah Found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” This is the first time in the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament that can be seen as the Greek word for grace is charis. God’s grace is one of the prima attribute that formalizes the purpose of Him sending His son Jesus into a sinful world to redeem humanity back into Him. Although this statement has been spoken in various forms such as Sunday morning sermons, chapters

The more strict-to-text christians lead a sermon that describes being gay as a sin and something that should be fixed (the same thought process as the early 1900’s), while the more modern christians have shifted to become accepting of these choices while still maintaining biblical accuracy. Rob Rees, a Pastor at Friendship Church says,”the word gay brings a sense of discomfort fueled with emotion and experiences. The original context of the word gay was to express happy not a lifestyle”. The church tries to be accepting in all of their attendees life choices but the line is hard to navigate when the Bible is very straightforward about same sex relations. Romans 1:27 says, “In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error”. With the complexity of the Bible and it’s thousands of scriptures, many are led astray as some preach the sinfulness and hatred of gays, while others preach acceptance and love for everyone. Although many people are conflicted, Rob Rees sends out the message that, “the church is a hospital for sinners and not a hotel for saints”. Rob Rees wants the message to be heard that the church can be seen as the enemy for some but it is also a place to worship and pray no matter who you are. The Pastor does not

The unmerited favor of God expressed unto those who did nothing of their own power to earn this gift. Because of Christ Jesus obedience unto the death of the cross, the grace of God is given unto us through justification by faith unto righteous, when one truly repents for their sins, (Romans 5:17-19).

Grace peregrinates from auricular discerning, to reading, to lecture, and praying. Venturing into these channels opens us up to be crafted by the Spirit. Enrolling in the means of grace, opposed to passively waiting on God, is a kind of unique investment. Moreover, accepting grace is not about standing by waiting on God. This elucidates why Wesley was an advocate of “all who desire an increase of the grace of God are to wait for it in partaking of the Lord’s Supper.”

You stated that “justification is a process an individual is brought into an unmerited, right relationship with a person, whether that relationship is established between people or with God” (Butler, 1991). Carl Henry stated that “Justification is God’s declaration and implementation of his eternal will giving sovereign assurance in a divine verdict that we otherwise doomed sinners are by faith now acquitted”. Both definitions in short, that it’s by faith alone that Justification of sinful man is acquitted on God’s divinely provided medication. Henry then quote Heidelberg Catechism, which put the icing on the cake “Without any merit of my own and of His mere mercy [God] gives me the perfect satisfaction and holiness of Christ, and accounts that I have never committed or had any sin, but have myself fulfilled the obedience which Christ has achieved for me, if only I receive this benefit with a believing heart” (Henry, 1995, 57). When Paul was in Roman, Rome did not deny that grace is necessary for salvation, but you cannot be justified by faith alone. But Paul continued to stress that God’s merciful verdict declares man’s justification (Henry, 1995, 59). Thanks for your post; it was an eye opener for understanding of being

The Lord Jesus Christ has granted us grace and by faith we work towards a divine fate.

The word holy, holy, holy, shows up twice in the Old Testament Isaiah 6:3 and once in the New Testament Revelation 4: 8. These phrase in both time is spoken about a heavenly creatures and both times it shows up in a vision of a man was transported to God’s throne. Firstly by prophet Isaiah and secondly by apostle John. (The Bible says that God is holy, holy , holy. Not that He is merely holy or even holy, holy. Page 40, The Holiness Of God)