The Bible should undergird every aspect of Christian life. The Bible is where God has chosen to reveal his character, express his desires and to unveil his plan of redemption for humanity. The Bible holds the information that aids to solidify the believer’s faith, relays history, offers wisdom, comforts the hurting and communicates the foundational instructions for living a transformed Christ-like life. Therefore, this thesis will begin its research from a Biblical perspective, to establish a biblically grounded framework to aid in the development of a theology of waiting.
Humanity’s experience with waiting is interwoven throughout the whole of Scripture, beginning with Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden. The act of waiting is a part of the humanity’s metanarrative, culminating with the return of Christ. However, God’s love for his creation leads him to implement a plan of redemption that will repair the fractured relationship between himself and humanity. Conversely, the Bible only reveals a redacted version of God’s plan, leaving humanity with partial information about the future, which compels us to wait on further instructions directly from Him. The Bible does provide a complete schematic of the redemptive plan, however, the theme that is consistent throughout the plan is that humanity is called to wait on and trust in God to faithfully work out the minute details of his plan.
Table 1. Abbreviated View of the Redemptive Plan
Noah and his Family – Chosen
God’s continuing work can be seen in the incarnation of Christ and his redemptive work. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God…God created the things we can see and the things we cannot see…everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else and he holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:16, 17). Not only is Jesus the exact representation of God, but he is God himself who worked with the Father in creating the world – the sustainer of everything (Hebrews 1:3). “Because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan” (Ephesians 1:11). This means that, “his will may be disobeyed, but his ultimate purpose cannot be frustrated, for he overrules the disobedience in his creatures in such a way that it sub serves his purpose” (Akin 2014, 235). Here we can clearly see God’s sovereignty and that we can rest in the truth that Jesus is Lord and God is in control. God’s involvement in our lives goes even deeper and shows us that he is personal and wants relationships with his creation. He not only spoke with Old Testament figures such as Adam, Abraham, Isaac and Moses, he held relationships with them through guidance and even discipline (Genesis 1:28, 3:8, 12:1, 26:5; Exodus 11, 19, 20, 33:11). Amos 4:13 says that God reveals His thoughts to man. We often
5. What is your basis of ethics? My basics of ethics was taught by my grandma she instilled a lot of her values and morals in my life giving me the teachings that made her a bright woman. She made sure to start on me early by getting me involved in church and helping me understand my religion and god and what he expects from his people. I was told to become a leader and not a follower use gods power that he using in my life to restore and help those who may be broken in life. I always ask god if I’m unsure I understand in this world of many temptations we may fall but our god isn’t a judging god and will be there with open ears and arms to help you get it right if you want change. I am not perfect but I pay attention I know right from wrong and know I am help accountable for my actions and faults. And have god move in my
The book of Judges introduces us to the long years of Israel’s struggle to maintain control of the Promised Land and serves as the transition from the conquest to the kingdom. It deals with events following Joshua’s death (c. 1380 BC)
Every individual has their own personal worldview despite their race, religion, sex and age. One’s worldview is that particular person’s own perception and how that person shapes their beliefs concerning the world around them. The framework of one’s worldview is what personally defines that person’s reality. One’s worldview is important because one’s perceptions and principles dictate one’s actions. A biblical worldview are values, perspectives and principles that are biblically based. Values, principles and perspectives shape and mold how decisions are made in one’s life. Having a biblical worldview helps to govern one’s lifestyle to be a reflection of God. Those who have a biblical worldview have the belief that humans were put on earth to be the image of God, therefore we should shape our behaviors to be like Him. A biblical worldview can only be established by the investigation of information provided by the Bible to determine truth and principles that ultimately shapes one’s conduct. The purpose of education is to guide humans into their purpose in life. The Christian philosophy of education helps create a platform for biblical truth and principles to be investigated for the purpose of transmitting
Our relationships with other people give a strong sense of what our relationship with God is like. How we interact with people on a daily basis and the relationships that we build goes a long way in showing just how we feel about them. In Romans 1:10 we see that Paul wanted desperately to come to Rome to teach, to interact, to fellowship, and build relationships with the Christians that were there. Just as God wants a personal relationship with His creation we all feel a deep need for relationships with each other. It was not meant for man to go through life on his own without being able to interact with each other. We see the genuine love that Paul displayed toward the people and churches throughout his epistles and it should make us want to have an even stronger relationship with our Creator.
Biblical wisdom emphasis is another approach in which one can investigate to see what reigns to be important. Like the wisdom approach, biblical share in the importance of seeking wise counsel. Horton (2009) states that in the biblical approach several areas are important in determining spiritual discernment. These areas consist of decision being determined by the guidelines in the Bible, common sense, individual gifts, God has a plan but do not reveal it, sovereignty of God, and free to make choices (Horton, 2009). One may object to the fact that God would want us to do something but do not give us the tools or clues to do it. God being sovereign is an area that many can agree on. Gill, (2006) states that it is through the sovereignty of God which is presented through the Holy Spirit that allows for us to understand God’s will for our life. Gill (2006) also implement the wheel of life for the coaching process whereas God is at the center. I highly believe that nothing happens without God ordaining it to happen. God is in control of all things. Roman 8:28 states that God works all things together for those who love him and who are called according to his purpose (NIV). Therefore God is in control and guiding us towards his plan or purpose for our lives.
Actively waiting is described in Mouw’s book as, “we must seek the city that is to come.” And one way we can do this is by putting ourselves out in God’s creation; serving what God gave us to serve. We can serve people, God’s creation, really anything God puts before us. Mouw finishes his book by asking readers how we should live in light of Christ. As Christians, we know that Christ is transforming our culture in the near future. Mouw argues that our culture is not clear whether or not it is going to transform like the Bible says it will. All we can do is wait for our Lord to come.
First: to suggest that the Bible is true is to advocate that what it means is true; moreover, what it means is fashioned by the genres in which the Bible is spoken, the outlooks and its disposition it takes regarding history and the techniques by which cultural contexts were shaped and the meanings of the words that it uses.
What do you see when you visit a city for the first time, or look at a movie or, what do you hear when you listen to the news or read a book? The answers to these questions depend on your worldview. So, what is a worldview? A worldview is described as “the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world.” David Noebel, author of Understanding the Times said, “A worldview is any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world and man 's relations to God and the world," Your worldview is like a set of lenses through which you view the world. Your worldview is formed by your upbringing, your education, your culture, the books you read, the
This paper will analyze the "Divine Purpose" as it appears in the various "highways of prophecy" in the New Testament, and show how those "highways" may be followed to a deeper and fuller appreciation of God's message.
Theologian Vern S. Poythress wrote, “Theological systems, whether dispensationalist, covenantal, Calvinist, Arminian, or even modernist, have a profound influence on the way we approach a given [biblical] text.” There is no portion of scripture that is more influenced by the theological system of dispensationalist than that of biblical prophecy, particularly in the area of God’s redemptive plan from for humanity. The purpose of this essay is to establish that an appropriate understanding of biblical eschatology can best be achieved through a dispensational theological perspective.
Christianity is the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Most followers of Christianity, called Christians, are members of one of three major groups--Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Eastern Orthodox. These groups have different beliefs about Jesus and His teachings. But all consider Jesus central to their religion. Most Christians believe God sent Jesus into the world as the Savior. Christianity teaches that humanity can achieve salvation through Jesus.
Responding to such a question as the one stated on responding to a friend who asks you why you believe in the Bible, and asks "Isn't it a book just like any other piece of literature?" would be a difficult question, but let alone a very plausible question to be asked to a Christian in a one's lifetime. I have personally been asked this question before on multiple occasions, and there are many responses I have given as according to being sensitive to the circumstances upon which the question was asked. I believe in the Bible as being the authoritative word of God, and the divinely inspired, and breathed out word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). To use a response that would allow this message to portray itself accurately, I would likely use 3 main
In our modern society, religion can either promote positive, optimistic actions or negative, destructive ones. From Christianity to Daoism, each different religion shapes the lives of its followers. Christianity and Hinduism can propel their followers to achieve moral greatness, while Islam and _____ can cause people to do heinous, damaging acts of violence and self-destruction.
This paper will approach each aspect of God Divine decrees, from a biblical standpoint and His plan of salvation. The working of God’s plan includes three periods in time: