He states that it is either Christianity went wrong or our instincts went bad. He believes that our instincts have gone wrong. He goes on to say that we have been lied to and that our sexual desires is in the same state of any of our other natural desires and if we stop hiding it then things will be alright. Many people think that Christian Chastity is impossible, but when one really puts there mind to it they will be surprised at what they can overcome. Lewis then goes on to say that we cannot simply do it on our own strength but to go to God for our strength.
Christ does not give us love, joy, peace, patience, and so forth. Christ is the gift and the giver! Nee also mentions that many Christians come to the “ Christ of the Scriptures for salvation and then they are bombarded with "things!" We have all these "spiritual things" we believe and do and the sum of them is our spiritual life. Nee expresses that we don't need more "spiritual things" we need Christ.
Each type of chaplaincy has its unique characteristics but overall a chaplain’s duty is to provide for the spiritual wellbeing of those he is serving, no matter which field he chooses. In each different field chaplains are able to fill a role that full time pastors cannot. Since chaplains are out among those they are ministering too, they have a level of access that pastors do not. However just like pastors, chaplains must have a personal conviction for the work they do. “Outside of assurance of personal conversion to Christ, no other spiritual conviction will help a pastor in his journey more than a firm conviction that God has called him to preach.
“So where does this leave thee philosophers, the scholars and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-21 New living Translation). In the following verses it is stated that God saw in his wisdom that the world would never know him through human wisdom. Human wisdom is limited, because its bases off of prior knowledge and instinct, the wisdom of the world from philosophers, scholars, Greeks, Jews, and Gentiles is foolish to God.
In order to receive salvation, one must have faith in the word of God and “preach Christ”. To “preach Christ” is to teach and minister about Jesus, who He is and what He did. Luther clearly tells us that no works can bring about salvation. He depicts an ideal Christian as one with great faith in God’s Word. In order to live a Christian life, one must look to Christ and place faith in Him.
There are people who live in a secular world, worlds that is non-religious, but who identify, in their hearts, with Christianity. They are a breed of people who are challenging the Church to become ecumenical in its thinking and if the Church will not get out into the community to help others this group will be found doing the work of the ‘Church’. Pastoral Carers and/or Ministers have challenging roles that must include these Christians who will most likely never come into their Churches. The inclusion of these people will exemplify the most powerful form of love that could ever exist, a love that is unconditional and a love that does not come with wrong motives. The traditions of man must give way to this new generation of worshippers, worshippers who are not frequenting the Church but are in the communities helping, reading ‘spiritual’ books to help them learn about being great people, and having a relationship with God.
Being a Christian involves devout prayer and good deeds for others. In points fifty-two through fifty-five Luther expressed the importance of spending time preaching the word, instead of spending time talking about pardons. Points fifty-six through sixty-eight state that it is natural to want riches and the men of the Church had many treasures, but Luther advised the greatest treasure could be found in the Holy Word and in the Grace of God. Again, in points sixty-nine through eight-one Luther warns the people of trusting in the letters of pardon and confusing them with true forgiveness and salvation. Only repentance
First you have to admit the existence of sin in all peoples. But there are others who are not thinkers who may have had their moral and spiritual natures so hardened that that they are past feeling. Most Christians realize that sin is in them, a fact they do not try to deny. With this realization they have used the account of the fall of man as a lesson to carry in their hearts and to attempt to live a better life. The enormity of this single act by Adam caused the fall of the whole human race and will continue through
We are not allowed to choose what we like to worship and rejected what we do not like. We cannot just worship God for what he has done but also for what he will do. The ideal state of worship is to be close to Isaiah like he was in chapter six of that book of the Bible. When we are lost we need to seek (and hope to find) the holiness of God and become aware of our sin in order to truly worship. Instead of going through the motions at church, we need to truly focus on what we are worshiping.
A lot of Christians fear of looking at themselves on the inside because they are afraid they will become very self-absorbed. The Bible states “We all fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The biggest issue with a fallen human being is denial. Christians are often advised on only focusing on Christ rather than evaluating themselves. Things that should guide people towards repentance could potentially keep their focus looking inside themselves.