*YOU MUST HAVE ACCESS TO THE BOOK*Everyday Bible Study Book by Ben Gutierrez, Chris Hulshof, and Professor John Cartwright. Chapters (23-26) *200 word * Discussion Board post.

With each word being worth 10 cents, write 4 (four) $12 summaries of the weekly reading from Everyday Bible Study (Chapters 23-26). This means that you are developing 4 summaries of 120 words each (1 for each of the 4 chapters in this week’s reading). The goal in this assignment is to create four summaries where each summary is between 100-120 words. You should not exceed the $12 (120-word) limit for any of your four summaries. For an example of this type of thread, please see the provided Discussion Board Forum Examples.

Discussion Board Examples

The following examples are based on the book Reading Romans with Luther by R.J. Grunewald. Even though you may not be familiar with this book, you should be able to get a general idea of what is expected from each of our discussion board assignments based on these answers as they relate to the content of this book.

Week One: A “Squares, Triangles, Circles, and Hearts” example

Squares:

1. Because of sin, our nature (human nature) is curved in upon itself. This is what is theologically known as original sin. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah understood this and wrote, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

2. The heart is co corrupted by sin that it will fear, love, and trust anything and anyone but God.

3. “God always meets us when rock meets bottom. He promises to meet us in the place of despair” (Grunewald, p.101).

4. Christians love their neighbor not out of obligation but out of a heart overflowing with the love of Jesus. This is the heart of a servant.

Triangles:

1. Sin is ultimately the worship of self and therefore a worship problem.

2. According to Luther, one reason that people leave the church is because sin is downplayed and good works is promoted making people think they are already good enough or righteous enough for God’s acceptance.

3. “Christian growth is not primarily about sinning less. Christian growth is a war within us that is won by the Spirit through the Gospel…As you grow you will realize more and more how big the problem of sin is…Growth isn’t about needing the cross less, it’s about the cross doing its work daily. As we become acutely aware of what need to be put to death our daily lives transform” (Grunewald, p. 96).

Circles:

1. How else does Paul describe the difference between the carnal and the spiritual man in his other letters and does Luther’s understanding in Romans fit with these descriptions?

2. How does Luther’s understanding of the gifts listed in Romans (Prophecy, Service, Teaching, Exhortation, Generosity, Leadership, and Mercy) fit with the other places Paul talks about gifts in his letters?

Hearts:

1. “Grace is the pronouncement of your relationship to the Father, and it has nothing to do with whether you are a well-behaved child of the Father” (Grunewald, p. 39).

Week Three: A “Word Splash” example

(The underlined words represent the 12 words that made up the word splash)

R. J. Grunewald gives his study of the book of Romans and Luther’s commentary on Romans in an unusual manner. Rather than studying the book in the traditional manner of chapter-by-chapter, Grunewald covers the book and commentary by topic. The strength of this format allows him to focus on how key themes and ideas are treated throughout both the book and commentary. Strategically, Grunewald moves from human nature and sin to the Law and then to the Gospel. Along the way he addresses theological terms like righteousness and sanctification. In discussing human nature, the intent is to relay the fact that human nature is corrupt because of the fall in Genesis 3. Thus, we are curved in and continually focused on ourselves. In other words, we are all the “me generation.” Grunewald’s thoughts here direct him to the work of the Law and the Gospel. He writes, “While the Law exposes the sinner, the Gospel exposes the Savior who comes for sinners” (Grunewald, p.46). He elaborates on these two theological concepts to point out how the Law shows us our sin and our fallen human nature. Yet, the Gospel provides the remedy for the sinful condition that plagues all of humanity. To that end, Grunewald notes, “The Gospel promises that we are given everything we need in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel promises that our sins are forgiven freely…by the perfect obedience of Jesus (Grunewald, p. 49). This leads the author to focus on the significance of righteousness and sanctification. He describes righteousness as “the state of being just or rightful (a relationship in good standing) (Grunewald, p. 13). Further, he describes sanctification as “God’s work of producing good works in the life of the Christian (Grunewald, p. 105). These two definitions help anchor his coverage of Luther’s understanding of Romans as it relates to the fallenness of humanity and the rescue provided by God through the Gospel. Two important sideroads that Grunewald takes deal with the topics of suffering and gifts. In discussing suffering, he notes the extent of brokenness and how it impacts every facet of life. Consequently, suffering is not something we should see as out of the ordinary. Similar to his work on the fall and sin, the clarity expressed here helps present a Biblical example of the way the world works. Finally, Grunewald draws attention to the gifts God has provided the church as listed in Romans and explained by Luther. Here the author draws a sharp contrast to what the church currently focuses on instead of the provisions given by God. He notes that these gifts are given to the church “not so they can build a great organization but so they can ‘seek and save the lost’” (Grunewald, p. 116). In some ways, this section brings the book to a fitting end because it draws attention back to fallen and lost human beings, the Law’s ability to point that out, and the Gospel’s ability to rescue.

Week Five: A $12 Summary Example

Chapter 2: Human Condition (120 words)

Sin is the disease that has infected every human being. The proper theological term for this is “original sin.” The viciousness of original sin has altered our nature that it is “so deeply curved in upon itself” (Grunewald, p. 21). The implications of this for our human condition is that “sin is not simply something we choose to do or not do; sin is our nature. We aren’t sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners” (Grunewald, p.26). The answer to our human condition is found in the Gospel, or more correctly, the person of the Gospel. Rather than being plagued by a “me first” spirit, Jesus selflessly gives himself to rescue those under the curse of sin.

Week Seven: A 3-2-1 Example

3 key ideas from this week’s reading.

There is a definite link between justification and sanctification. Grunewald expresses it this way, “Justification always effects our sanctification. In other words, the grace that saves us also changes us” (Grunewald, p. 105). This connection is rooted in Jesus Christ who is at work within us re-creating us to be people who love the people around us.

The gifts and opportunities God gives us are so that we can serve the people around us. They are not because “He” needs something. We are given them because “they” needs something. Grunewald writes, “Our neighbors need our good works. Jesus doesn’t need our love and service by our neighbors do. Jesus doesn’t need our food in order to survive, but our neighbors might. Jesus doesn’t need us to protects Him and care for Him but our children do need care and protection” (Grunewald, p. 110). Thus, we are blessed to be a blessing. We have received good things so that we can share those good things with our neighbors.

The transformation in the believer is being orchestrated by Jesus and it turns our curved inward bend to an outward bend. In other words, we are being reshaped so that instead of an inward gaze at our own life we have an outward look to the needs of our neighbor. Grunewald notes, “Jesus turns our inward curves out toward our neighbors. When selfishness has made us worship only what pleases us, Jesus is at work in us making us forget ourselves. Jesus gives us new sight as we see our neighbors the way He sees our neighbors” (Grunewald, p. 124). One practical outgrowth of sanctification is that we begin to see the needs of others and the way in which God has gifted us to meet those needs.

2 things you learned from this week’s reading.

Concupiscence: This theological word is not something we hear used frequently today. However, its definition is one that describes the human condition. To that end, “Concupiscence is the desire and the lusting of the heart towards sin” (Grunewald, p. 25)

Luther’s interpretation of Deuteronomy 6:6: This is an understanding of this passage that I was not aware of nor had been previously exposed to. Luther sees the terms in this verse as more practical rather than religious. To that end, “‘between your eyes’ means all our thoughts must be directed by these words, and the phases to write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates’ means that all our senses and particularly our tongue must be directed and applied according to these words” (Grunewald, p. 112).

1 way you can use what you have read this week.

Grunewald talks about hiding in chapter 1. More specifically, he talks about the way we have learned to hide things as it relates to social media. He writes, “We’ve become experts at hiding. We filter our lives and crop out the sadness so that everybody sees a version of us that has everything together…This is the unwritten law of social media: show the best version of your life and hide the mess (Grunewald, p.12). With this in mind, I will focus on personal contentment rather than personal dissatisfaction as I consume information on social media. I will remind myself that what I am looking at is a highlight reel with all of the sadness cropped out.