The Dynamics Of Grace

The doctrine of grace, concerning the healing, freeing, and empowering presence of the Spirit in human life, is central in Christianity. This readable, yet in-depth, historical and interpretive study retraces the long trajectory of the theology of grace as thinkers grappled with the mystery that envelops the interplay between God's life with us and our common life together. Retrieving the rich symbols of the Christian past and reinterpreting them within their own cultural context, theologians in different eras shaped the development of a Christian anthropology that plays upon all the registers of the greatness and misery of the human condition. The presuppositions, questions, and benchmark anthropologies of early Christianity, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Trent, and Rahner are critically analyzed in light of recent historical studies and in light of a new climate of ecumenical convergence. The exploration ends by probing the anthropology of contemporary liberation theologies that mark another turning point in the tradition by breaking grace out of the realm of privacy and into the sociopolitical arena.

In this illuminating study Kathy Ehrensperger looks at the question of Paul's use of power and authority as an apostle who understands himself as called to proclaim the Gospel among the gentiles. Ehrensperger examines the broad range of perspectives on how this use of power should be evaluated. These range from the traditional interpretation of unquestioned, taken for granted for a church leader, to a feminist interpretation. She examines whether or not Paul's use of power presents an open or hidden re-inscription of hierarchical structures in what was previously a discipleship of equals. Paul and the Dynamics of Power questions whether such hierarchical tendencies are rightly identified within Paul's discourse of power. Furthermore it considers whether these are inherently and necessarily expressions of domination and control and are thus in opposition to a 'discipleship of equals'? In her careful analysis Ehrensperger draws on such wide-ranging figures as Derrida, Michel Foucault and James Scott. This enables fresh insights into Paul's use of authority and power in its first century context.

Paul and the Gift transformed the landscape of Pauline studies upon its publication in 2015. In it, John Barclay led readers through a recontextualized analysis of grace and interrogated Paul’s original meaning in declaring it a “free gift” from God, revealing grace as a multifaceted concept that is socially radical and unconditioned—even if not unconditional. Paul and the Power of Grace offers all of the most significant contributions from Paul and the Gift in a package several hundred pages shorter and more accessible. Additionally, Barclay adds further analysis of the theme of gift and grace in Paul’s other letters—besides just Romans and Galatians—and explores contemporary implications for this new view of grace.

Did Christ atone for the sins of humanity on the cross? Does God desire all people to be saved and direct his grace toward all people for that purpose? There are some Christians following a deterministic paradigm who believe this is not true. They believe God has predestined some people for heaven and many, or even most, for hell. The rising tide of Calvinism and its "TULIP" theology needs to be respectfully answered. Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation features a distinguished international panel of scholars to examine this controversy. These writers address issues such as election, free will, grace, and assurance. They make compelling scriptural arguments for the universality of God's grace, contending that Christ atoned for the sins of all people and that God sincerely offers forgiveness for all through Christ. This book strives to uncover the biblical position on salvation. We hope the reader will enjoy this stimulating series of articles on the Arminian perspective and that it will spur further writing and discussion. Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation is an updated and revised version of Grace Unlimited, a 1975 collection of scholarly articles assembled by the late Clark H. Pinnock of McMaster Divinity College. The Contributors: David J.A. Clines Jack Cottrell Vernon Grounds William G. MacDonald I. Howard Marshall Roger Olson Grant Osborne Robert Picirilli Clark Pinnock J. Matthew Pinson Vic Reasoner Glen Shellrude James D. Strauss John D. Wagner Steve Witzki

Misconceptions lead to misunderstanding and misapplication of believers' precious gift, grace. This ignorance robs many believers it's tremendous benefits. The life of a Christian is dependent on and determined by grace. So a normal christian life can only be lived by exploring the this gift according to the perfect will of God. Acquainting yourself with the right perspectives of grace and unlearning misconceptions hindering the exploits expected of you are necessary steps to occupy the niche calved out for you. Believers are expected to take dominion wherever they find themselves but this is impossible if they refuse to explore the resources of God available through grace. Therefore, this book is written to encourage, inspire and mentor christians to explore the grace of God. This book in the name of Jesus will impact grace on you to impact on the world.

We are so much more than sinners saved by grace, but rather saints indwelt by grace. We should not forget where we came from but never confuse that with who we are and where we are going (1 John 3:1). Reading The Inward Embrace of Grace provided insight and an answer to "why I experienced decades of failed attempts of trying to resolve sin" and "why I was never able to fully attain and retain living a joy-filled life as a Christian." The techniques taught by religion almost always lead to depending on one's own ability. John writes that "Relying on our own ability takes the focus off of God and puts the focus on self, which only makes sin abound and creates further distance from God." I now realize how often we default to relying on our own ability, and we are not even aware that we are doing it. No wonder people experience despair and lose hope. In the book, John brings clarity to what grace is and what it is not, how faith is produced, and a correct understanding of righteousness, as well as other terms that are imperative to know in order to understand the Gospel and experience its true freedom and power. -Dorothy Snyder Grace was never God's plan B to fix something but plan A to experience someone. This is not a self-help book of steps to try to fix your life but rather a new fresh outlook to experience His life in your original purpose and design. You will be led on an illuminating discovery of the life that you were created to live. This happens by systematically unfolding the dynamics of grace through the inward transforming work of the Holy Spirit, supernaturally leaving behind any former attempt to fix yourself. The true Christian life is freedom from our own self-effort to live to experience His life (Galatians 2:21).

Throughout the history of Christianity, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT” or“queer”) people have been condemned as unrepentant sinners who are in dire need of God’s saving grace. As a result of this condemnation, LGBT people have been subjected to great spiritual, emotional and physical abuse and violence. This issue takes on a particular urgency in light of the ongoing harassment and bullying of LGBT young people by their classmates. Cheng argues that people need to be liberated from the traditional legal model of thinking about sin and grace as a violation of divine and natural laws in which grace is understood as the strength to refrain from violating such laws. Rather Cheng proposes a Christological model based upon the theologies of Irenaeus, Bonaventure and Barth, in which sin and grace are defined in terms of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. This book serves as a useful resource for all people who struggle to make sense of the traditional Christian doctrines of sin and grace in the context of the 21st century.

Utilizing resources from Martin Luther and the Lutheran tradition, this study offers an understanding of the gospel as promise as key to addressing the challenge of relating the missio Dei to a generous, constructive approach toward the religious other. In its construction of a Lutheran missiology, it retrieves and reappropriates four resources from the Lutheran tradition: the gospel as promise, the law/gospel distinction, a theology of grace as promise of mercy fulfilled, and a theology of the cross utilizing the hiddenness of God. The law of God as accusing yet webbing humanity to its Creator; the gospel as the comforting promise of mercy; and the hiddenness of God as mystifying form the overarching framework within which the Lutheran missiology presented here seeks to engage the religious other by dialectically relating gospel proclamation and dialogue. Such a view of "mission shaped by promise" offers the paradox of God being both revealed and hidden in the cross as a distinctive contribution to an interreligious dialogue centered on the ambiguity and hiddenness of God.