Martin Luther Worried That Buying Full Indulgences Served to Hinder Salvation What most raised the ire of the Church against Martin Luther and his ninety-five theses, however, was not his claim of salvation through Jesus alone or the pope having no power over purgatory, but his bold statement that full indulgences served to hinder salvation. […]
The prophetic book of Nahum is essentially a sequel to the book of Jonah. Both focus on the people of Nineveh. Jonah proclaims doom and destruction on them. They have a change of heart (repent). And God relents. A century or so later, they have forgotten all about that. This time Nahum proclaims doom and […]
You likely know the story of Jonah: He proclaims, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” Talk about a lousy sermon. Eight concise and direct words. He doesn’t use persuasive language, doesn’t implore the people to act, and doesn’t show any compassion or concern. He is blunt and to the point. Technically, he does […]
In Baptism, We Turn from Sin, Follow Jesus, and Receive the Holy Spirit Another concept that only appears in the New Testament is baptize and baptism. Baptize occurs fifty times, and its counterpart baptism appears twenty-one times. These two words often show up in the Bible’s four biographies of Jesus and especially in the book […]
Jesus Invited People to Follow Him When people approached Jesus, wanting to connect with him, he would offer a variety of instructions. It seems his response addressed their particular situation and issues. What he said most often was “repent and follow me.” “Repent” simply means to change our ways, to do a U-turn; “follow” means […]