Expectations in Soteriology for Christian Formation

As soon as I began looking at courses to fulfill requirements, this class jumped off the web page. The study of salvation, and more so, how to properly steward this message of grace, is a topic I love. One primary thing I hope to grasp out of diving deeper into this theological insight is to grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD Jesus Christ and to steward His love and grace better. We all have this deep inner desire to do something to make a difference, and for those in the Kingdom of God, it is showing the love of God manifested in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is one of the takeaways I want to walk away with. I want to be transformed into one who shows the love of Jesus in word and deed and become a better child, husband, and friend to those around me.

If I had to select a concern regarding faith formation, I would say I really want to ensure I represent Christ well and bring glory to His name. If I am honest with myself, there have been times I have not glorified God to the best of my ability. It is a conscious effort of mine to ensure, whether in evangelism to strangers or teaching in a pulpit, that the love of God is made known, God's love is proclaimed, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins is preached and practiced. In addition to this class, I am taking a spiritual formation class focusing on the spiritual disciplines, and one key takeaway this week is ensuring we are having proper discipleship in our churches and communities. They noted one key takeaway is that we have to come to recognize that we are doing something wrong. I mention this because I wonder if the message of salvation today has been changed from what was preached 2000 years ago. We preach a "be saved" gospel and simply "get" people to say a prayer. But what happens after this? I am reminded of the scripture, which says to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, I'd like to commit to doing my best and learn what it means to work out our salvation and grow in it, knowing the action of salvation is oftentimes pin-pointed to a key moment in our lives, but how that it is merely just the beginning. I want to grow in this knowledge so I can communicate and articulate the gospel Jesus Christ preached for true life formation, salvation, and holiness. I am very much looking forward to growing in this community with my fellow colleagues and growing in God's love together.