the role of the sacraments in the journey of the Scripture way of salvation

Though Jesus was sinless and undeserving of death, he offered himself as a sacrifice in atonement for all sin (Invitation to World Religions, pg.418). Paul was always emphatic in maintaining that salvation cannot be earned by “works”, whether humans’ effort to obey the commandments in the Torah or excellent work in general. Instead, he taught that the salvation made possible by Christ’s sacrifice is a gift, the ultimate expression of God’s love and grace. Salvation is given to those who respond to God’s grace in faith, the conviction that God has acted through Jesus Christ to amend for human sin. Although Paul was very clear in teaching that salvation depends on God’s grace and the individual’s turning to God in faith, he did not dismiss the importance of works (Invitation to World Religions, pg.419). For Paul, faith does more than bringing salvation; it unites the believers with Christ in a “newness of life”. He believed that the spirit lives in believers and brings them into union with God. As a divine presence within, the spirit encourages the growth of spiritual virtues, the greatest which is love and makes all Christians one in the church often called “the body of Christ”.

The book then addresses the Church and discipleship and looks at some basic questions, baptism, the body of Christ and the visible Church-Community. The book also covers Saints – members called by God. Included in this chapter is sanctification

Living religious traditions are integrated meaning systems which provide adherents with comprehensive and distinctive answers to the enduring questions of human existence. Religious traditions are ultimately shaped and reformed by the actions of the individuals who practices the faith. In a contemporary Christian environment, prominent practices to have a significant contribution to Christianity as a living religious tradition are Baptism and the works of Pope John XXIII. The significant practice of Baptism, as a central element of Christianity, is an initiation of adherents to a “discipleship” with Christ as well as a reinforcement of the community’s relationship with God. Furthermore, the development and expression of the Christian tradition

The Crucible of Life, by Timothy Crutcher, is a book that explains: the interrelationship of theological method and religious epistemology, the function of experience as an authority, the specific epistemological grounds, and the usefulness today of John Wesley’s theological method (17). The book begins by explaining an important distinction in Wesley’s usage of the word experience in comparison to our contemporary common use of the word. That is, Wesley uses the word experience to describe an outward, active process rather than a subjective and passive interpretation (23). Furthermore, it is noted that Wesley should not be assumed to be a Lockean philosopher due to his variety of philosophical roots (25).

Catholics go through a cycle of events in their spiritual lives known as the seven sacraments. Although all Catholics can not partake in each sacrament, the majority receive the Holy Eucharist and are baptized as children. The sacraments are the rites of passage in the Catholic faith. Some of the sacraments require proper preparation and knowledge of the one’s faith. The seven sacraments include Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and the Holy Orders. Faith ties the people of God together. We are united through our belief in faith. I see the sacraments as the acceptance of faith in God and of our faith. With all the diversity that exists among God’s people,

Wesley believed that sanctification was a process that could be received as an instantaneous experience after conversion, or later on in life. No matter when sanctification was achieved, the moment someone received sanctification was the “climax” of their Christian life. He believed that the “second blessing purified the believer from his inward sin and enabled him to secure perfect love of God and of his fellowmen.” Followers of Wesley had trouble balancing the “crisis and process views” of Wesley, and the crisis view began to take “precedence over the process view.” Soon, sanctification was no longer viewed as the goal of a Christian life, but the beginning of a Christian life.

When Wesley talked about development in holiness, and the fundamental goal of being entire sanctification, he was fixed that sanctification and justification is by faith. In his preaching, “The Scripture Way of Salvation”, Wesley expounded the faith by which Christians are perfected is because God is able, he promised in Scripture, he is willing, and he really does it 1) God has foretold this in Scripture. 2) What God promises, God is able to do. 3) God is capable and willing to manage it right away. 4) God actually answers this. Wesley concluded the sermon by exhorting his audience “expect it by faith, expect it as you are, and expect it now!”

Summary The essay, Baptism written by Katherine Vaz, is a strictly reflective and autobiographical piece of work. Vaz focuses specifically on one of the seven sacraments acknowledged by the church, baptism. She explores the history and symbolism related this sacrament of initiation.

While most theologians agree upon the existence and importance of mediated grace, they often disagree upon the exact nature of its role. What this conflict yields though, is not a sense of discord and disunity, but a greater appreciation of the immense horizon of grace as perceived by humanity. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the clash between Martin Luther and the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church (represented here by their Decree on Justification that was presented at the Council of Trent). Luther saw grace as the way to salvation, while the Catholic Church intimated that grace itself was salvation. In his treatise on Christian Liberty, he said “very great care must always be exercised so that no man in a false confidence imagines that by such works he will be justified or acquire merit or be saved; for this is the work of faith alone.”[8] He referred to this kind of grace as “alien righteousness,” which he claimed was “instilled in us without our works by grace alone.”[9] Unlike the Thomistic precepts that the Council of Trent was working from (Aquinas’s theory of deification), Luther did not believe that grace affected an ontological change in the person. On the other side, the Trent decree maintained that “One truly merits salvation through good works in grace.”[10] Luther felt

John Wesley wrote in his Sermon 16 that the means of grace are understood as “outward signs, words, or actions ordained by God… to be the ordinary channels whereby (God) might convey to men preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.” Means are what happen outside of oneself and the grace is what does the work inside of ourselves or another way to say this is to say the ways we receive and experience grace. When we speak of the sacraments we refer to them as outward signs of an inward and spiritual grace. The means of grace in the sacraments, means are the bread and cup of communion and the water of the baptism and the liturgy spoken. These act in an outward and physical way, but the real work is that of the invisible grace we receive.

This paper on Salvation is defining both objectively and subjectively from the two required reading text. The first text is written by Alistair McGrath’s “Theology: The Basics and the second is written by Dr. Yung Chul Han’s “Transforming Power: Dimension of the Gospel. I will describe how the both texts are in association as well as seeking observations, and other conclusions to gain a better understanding of salvation from both perspectives. According to (Mc.Grath, p.78), the word salvation is referred to as something that has already happened in the past, to something that will happen in the future. Spiritual transformation requires of us what is called dependent responsibility. All the moral commands and exhortations of scripture assume our responsibility. Salvation is deliverance from danger or suffering. The word salvation carries the idea of victory, health, or preservation (www.biblia.com). Salvation can be viewed as a spiritual transformation which the dependency of the Holy Spirit assist in the change of a believers past, self to a vessel of God in the present lives which exemplifies life, deliverance, peace, and a victory won through personal conviction. The victory is one that only Jesus Christ has authority save us which gives believers complete approval to have possession to enter the kingdom of heaven.

In a contemporary Christian environment one of the most prominent practices to have a significant contribution to Christianity as a living religious tradition is Baptism. Baptism is of utmost importance for most Christian denominations. It has profound significance for the individual who is baptised and is also important for the Christian community as a whole. As a sacrament of initiation, Baptism calls its adherents to become missionary Disciples of Christ. It is through baptism that one’s faith journey begins and Christians are called to follow and live their lives in the light of Christ.

John Wesley’s discourse, “The Means of Grace,” expresses the expedient of grace as, “outward signs, language, or actions ordained of God, and appointed for this end— to be the ordinary channels whereby he might impart to men preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.” Acknowledging his need and proceeding in his evangelization, Wesley could obtain the grace he needed to have both the potency and placidity that was eluding from his religion. God utilized his perpetuated participation in the ministry of Scripture to proclaim faith in Christ into Wesley’s philosophy.

Each of the four Gospels contains points in ecclesiology. In the Great Commission, Jesus’ last instruction to the Apostles is to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching people (Matthew 28:19-20). For Jesus’ mission to continue and for his Church to grow, discipleship is necessary. Discipleship is a prominent theme in all four Gospels, for purposes of this essay, only the Gospels of John and Luke-Acts will be analyzed. The similarities regarding discipleship in these Gospels include images of the net and fishing, and the sheep/shepherd/sheepfold. The differences include the preparing of the Twelve to carry on Jesus' ministry in Luke, and service to the community and passing of authority in John's Gospel.

This paper will provide an understanding the theories of theology of the history of the church, the celebration of the atonement; Jesus Christ being the vicarious substitutionary lamb slain for the sins of mankind.