NO Spiritual Reward for Depriving the Physical Body

In their book, The Great Commission to Worship, Vernon Whaley and David Wheeler takes an in depth look at commandment from Jesus for His followers to go out and spread the Good News of salvation. Today’s Christian seems to have a misconception about their role in evangelism. As the authors stated, “many times in Scripture it appears

In this paper, there will be research on the Gospel of Matthew from Daniel Harrington’s commentary “The Gospel of Matthew”, This paper will explain the teachings of the “6 Antithesis” in chapter 5 verses 21-48, and the main point on “Jesus came not to abolish but to “fulfill” the Law and Prophets (Harrington 90).” This paper will also have Daniel Harrington interpretations of the writing of the gospel of Matthew. I believe that Jesus had a reason for his teachings and how he went forward to preach them to the congregation.

God said: "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" (Gen 2:18). This “man” refers to the human person, and not just to the male.

In the past ten years, the nonstop discussion and stress has been over the question of homosexuality. Are homosexuals to be excluded from the community of faith? Article writers, Richard B. Hays and Walter Wink explain their perspective and answer the ongoing talk.

This is an important reason as to why the Prohibition movement gained so much momentum and support. With violence and crimes rates raised, many people feared the domestic sphere and the well-being of women and children in families. Many of these people blamed alcohol and pushed for prohibition. Of these supporters, Protestants play a large role. In a pro-prohibition newspaper from Milwaukee, a minister says, “deliverance will come… from the… unspoiled and unpoisoned by the wine-tinted, beer-sodden, whiskey-crazed, sabbath-desecrated, God-defying and anarchy-breeding,” [Doc H]. The Protestants believed that alcohol was the root of evil, and violence came from abusing it. As Protestantism had a major influence over much of the nation, preachers and women as well were able to speak to the members of the church about the issues they saw in using alcohol. They were able to use sermons and fiery speeches about how the devil tormented people through turning away from Christ and to the whiskey bottle. Spreading knowledge and opinions through religion is a large reason why Prohibition was supported by so many people, and was successfully

Sacramental uses for alcohol was another issue. Many religions groups had for centuries used wine in their traditions and services. Events such as weekly communion, and pass over even mentioned wine in scripture. The Religious use of wine widely accepted in congress and an exception was added. During prohibition many religious leader and those calling themselves on would give into corruption in many cases. On one occurrence two African-Americans who Okrent quotes, “found god through the ideology of Judaism,” where

“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son and Holy Spirit “- Matthew 28:18-20 (The Message)

Some people “reformed their ways, married their concubines, abstained from drinking and gambling, and appeased the friends and neighbors they had insulted or offended.” 4 One of the more extremist groups, who were known as the Flagellants, held to the idea of penitence. This strange and terrible brotherhood, also known as the Brethren of the Cross, originated in Germany.5 The Church vehemently opposed the self-abasing group. The Flagellants held processionals through the streets, whipping themselves as they went from town to town. Penitence is a practice that lost favor after the Black Plague due to its ineffectiveness to prevent the spread of the disease, and in part due to the extreme lengths it was taken to during the plague. The Flagellants criticized the Church for not following God’s law, and eventually found a popular target to blame for the pestilence: the Jews.

Craig Blomberg, New Testament Scholar and Professor at Denver Seminary, provides an insightful commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Blomberg investigates the text using a historical, literary, and theology analysis. The commentary begins with an introduction analyzing the following 7 topics regarding the entirety of the Matthean Gospel: (1) structure, (2) theology, (3) purpose and audience, (4) sources, (5) date, (6) author, (7) and historicity and genre. Blomberg, then, throughout the rest of the commentary, provides a verse by verse discourse on the text by breaking it down into 3 main sections: (I) Introduction to Jesus’ Ministry (1:1-4:16), (II) The Development of Jesus’ Ministry (4:17-16:20), and (III) The Climax of Jesus’ Ministry (16:21-28:20).

The spiritual significance of illness and suffering is a topic Christians continue to grapple with, as Larchet points out in The Theology of Illness. Scripture offers a wealth of wisdom and cues for understanding illness, health, and healing from a Christian perspective. Larchet analyzes the various and often contradictory Christian positions on health and illness, revealing how attitudes have shifted over time and with changes in medical technology, practice, and ethics. For example, St. Barsanuphius presents a comprehensive analysis of the spiritual significance of illness and suffering. One view holds that illness signifies a lack of faith; another presents illness in terms of a person who is offered the opportunity to develop a stronger faith, or whose faith is being put to a test like the story of Job. Ultimately, the latter remains the most helpful way to approach illness and healing from a Christian perspective. The essence of Christian health care is that, "Healing itself, while resulting from natural processes, actually comes from God," (Larchet 116).

J Matthew 28: 18-20 So Jesus came to them and said, "All authority (power) in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach those people to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world.

The Evangelicals were a main group behind starting the prohibition. They saw alcohol as “the devil's drink”. Many people thought it caused the society ills and that if people stopped drinking, God would bless

The essential problem Wright identifies in the introduction can be documented most clearly in six ordinary, but unsatisfactory responses often provided by the church to the query "What are the Gospels all about?, ” which are: 1) teaching people how to go to Heaven, 2) recording Jesus's exclusive ethical teaching, 3) depicting Jesus as a moral prototype for the people, 4) exhibiting Jesus as the perfect sacrifice, 5) telling stories with which humans can recognize and then find direction, and 6) signifying Jesus's spirituality. While each of these answers contains a portion of truth, Wright contends they all fail to hold the heart of the Gospel accounts. According to Wright, “the gospels tell of Jesus who embodied the living God of Israel and whose cross and resurrection really did unveil and initiate the Kingdom of God.” Wright then claims that the kingdom is apart of a greater eschatological theology, which is concerned with what is believed to be the final events of history, or the definitive destiny of humanity.

As a church, we believe in the great commission found in Matthew 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. It is essential for us to reach out to our community, but first

Through the moderate practice of Christianity, supporters often believe that Jesus Christ came to modify or “refashion” the Old Testament through his proclamations of the Gospel and his life holistically. However, this obsolete notion is incorrect; Jesus did not soften the Old Testament, but in fact, he did the complete opposite. Jesus came to fulfill all that was written in the Law and of the Prophets. The Old Testament and its entirety points to Him, even where it is not explicitly prophetic. His declaration of accomplishing what the laws of the Old Testament required was ushered in during his Sermon on the Mount where he expressed to his disciples “not to think he had come to abolish the law or the prophets, but instead to fulfill them,” which