Tag: The Church

The image of God and its implications for theology and the church

The doctrine of the image of God is based on Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1-3, and 9:3, which state that God made human beings—both male and female—in His image and likeness. The basic implication of this doctrine is that all human persons regardless of gender, race, and capacities are created according to the likeness or the image of God. Other texts in the Scriptures that are useful for this doctrine are Colossians 3:10 where Paul speaks of the renewed human being created after God’s image; 1 Corinthians 1:17 where Paul asserts that in some respect the male is both the image of …

Four ways the Western church misreads the Scriptures

Three years ago, I was invited to attend to a five-hundred-member Reformed congregation. Xavier (named changed for privacy), the seminarian who invited me, shared with me all the aspects he liked about this particular congregation: high liturgical and ceremonial, relevant preaching, and social-focused. In addition, the building was breath-taking. It had several Gothic style elements and beautiful colored stained-glass windows. Thirty minutes after the start of the morning worship service, the minister started his sermon by asserting that the Bible is responsible of promoting old moral behaviors. It had led people to discriminate against each other so that the most …

Cultural diversity and God’s mission

In Late Summer of 2013, I decided to purchase cycling sunglasses. Because it was an attractive price deal, I bought a box of five instead of the single item I originally saw online. As soon as I received and opened the box, I breathlessly chose the black polarized sunglasses and left the rest of the colored sunglasses in the box without paying attention to them. Regardless of whether or not it was morning or afternoon, I wore the polarized sunglasses most of the time. When the sun was out, they significantly reduced sun glare and overexposure; however, I soon learned …

What I believe series – on the christian hope

I don’t know why many Christians are extremely negative about the future. I do not deny the sad events that have happened in the last decades; however; I believe that in this life the true church has a taste of the heavenly joy — a joy that will be completed in heaven. God has graciously given his children a glimpse of eternal joy now, yet the perfect joy God has promised in the Scriptures is still to come. Christian hope is set on the glorious day when the number of people who have been called to the church is completed, …

What I believe series – Why the church needs to engage in morality?

When the Scriptures speak of the church as an assembly, one should remember that the church is not a human project, but a God’s project that He has given to us so that every Christian can participate in communion with Him. This makes morality of high significance in the church. In this short post, I will offer three reasons the church must firmly engage in morality. The Church Is Called to be a Community of Saints. Even though the visible church is not made of morally perfect persons, the church is called to be a community of saints — of …

What I believe series – marks of the true church

All Christians who have believed in God and His message constitute the Body of Christ, the Church (from the Greek ekklesia, which means assembly), which is universal and invisible. However, although believers are united in Christ with one faith, the members of this Body also share different sociocultural backgrounds and have diverse thought about how the Christian life should be, among other aspects. This is the visible church. Thus, while one can find a particular congregation that emphasizes the role of worship in the community of faith, one also finds another congregation that believes that a social gospel is what …