Introduction I would like to reflect on two ways to speak of the Gospel of our salvation. The first is the more common way that has to do with justification by grace through faith. I call this Forgiving Grace. The second is in terms of understanding and bearing fruit. I call this Transforming Grace. (Martin Luther, known particularly for his theology of forgiving grace, nonetheless early on preached a similar message, ‘Two Kinds of Righteousness’.) Forgiving Grace So, first, let’s cover familiar territory and speak of justification by grace through faith. We Christians, particularly we Evangelicals, will very often describe the Christian life by speaking of God’s saving us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, our Saviour. When we explain what it means for Jesus to be our Saviour, we continue with saying that Jesus’ death on the cross was for our sins, a free gift from God to people still in their sins. We cannot ear...
Of the various definitions one might give to the term ‘Evangelical’, I would commend the necessary one that Evangelicals regularly read the Scriptures . While not a sufficient definition—the Devil himself is quite versed in God’s Word—it is surely in the bedrock of whatever Evangelical movement is inspired by and emerges from the careful and regular reading of Scripture. Evangelicals do not just believe that Scripture is the Word of God and therefore the fountain of all theological and ethical teaching for the Church. They find various ways to express this and the further claim that this Word is without error. Yet to be an Evangelical is also to read the Scriptures, to know them, and to study them. Claiming that the Bible is God’s inspired Word is translated further into an active reading of the Word, a love for God's Word, and a life formed and transformed by God's Word. We might trace the history of those who framed their faith by the Scri...