Christian insights into God's love and grace
We are part of the body of Christ and we have a mission to preach the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. What's the good news? God has reconciled the world to himself through Jesus Christ and offers all people forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The death and resurrection of Jesus motivate us to live for him, to entrust our lives to him and to follow him. We are happy to help you live as disciples of Jesus, learn from Jesus, follow his example and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. With the articles we want to pass on understanding, orientation and life support in a restless world shaped by false values.
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Birth pangs of the new creation
When our long-awaited son finally saw the light of day, a cry of joy escaped me: "He's coming! He's coming!" In retrospect, I find this expression an unusual way to describe such a wonderful event. For nine months, his mother carried the growing life within her. He was truly born only the moment he separated from her body and entered this world. My wife Karen and I longed to start a family and have children. This desire reflects, in a human way, God's sublime plan. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have a dream that is expressed in the words: "Let us make mankind" (1 John 13:14).
True nourishment for the soul
Jesus was speaking to a crowd who, a few days earlier, had miraculously been fed five barley loaves and two fish. These people had followed him and hoped he would give them more food. Jesus reminded them of the manna, another special food source that had sustained their ancestors for only a limited time. He used their physical hunger as an opportunity to convey a spiritual truth: “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert and died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that whoever eats of it may not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven…”
Saved by grace without merit
Are we saved through our own efforts? In my life, there are many situations where I try to achieve spiritual goals without God's help. There are things I want to overcome by resolving to accomplish them solely with my own strength and abilities, without consciously relying on Jesus or his Spirit who dwells within me. In doing so, I act as if I can achieve perfection through my own efforts. But I must constantly remind myself that my salvation is a gift of grace and not the result of my good works. These may be well-intentioned, but they do not save me. Paul reminds the early church…
Reconciled through Jesus Christ
Even before the creation of humankind, God's plan of salvation was established. From the beginning of time, Jesus, the Son of God, was destined as the sacrificial lamb. Peter explains that the Christian is redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake." (1. Petr 1,17-20)Paul describes God's decision to provide a sin offering as "an eternal purpose which God has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord". (Eph 3,11)God intended this to happen “in the times to come…”
Too much mercy?
Sometimes I hear the concern that we overemphasize God's grace. Those who worry about grace being granted so generously are expressing perfectly understandable concerns. Indeed, there are doctrines that claim it doesn't matter how we live if we are saved by grace and not by works. This error assumes that grace is an unrestricted permission to act as one pleases. Antinomianism refers to the doctrine that denies the binding nature of the Old Testament law and instead emphasizes human…
Faith is relationship
God was never alone. He has existed since eternity as perfect communion: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Joh 1,1)The early Church referred to this divine unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as "perichoresis." It is a mutual indwelling in perfect unity and self-giving. True love always requires a counterpart, as Paul vividly describes: "For in him (Jesus) he chose us before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." (Eph 1,4)God's purpose in creation was…
