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Religion and Theology Essay

Christ’s teaching about the farmer and the seed gives a lot of teaching on how most people react to the word of the kingdom of God (Butler, 2014).From Mathew 13: 3-28 the Bible reveals that we have different types of people depending on how they interpret the word of God. Seeds here in the parable serve as the people, and the farmer is the God himself. Mathew 13 starts with a large crowd surrounding the Lord and the Lord Himself boarding a boat so that all those people standing on the shore could hear Him keenly.

Jesus started preaching, and in the first parable, He talked about a sower who went to sow and started sowing, some of the seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds of the air came and devoured the seeds. Some fell on thorny trees and they did not grow since they sprout up quickly but thorns choked them. Others fell on rocky places where there were no soils they sprang up suddenly, but the sun scorched them. Jesus went on, and He preached on another type of seeds which fell on the right grounds, they produced hundred, sixty –thirty times what was planted. Disciples were amazed, and they talked to the lord and asked Him what was He talking about, and He told them to let those who have ears hear.

From this parable we as Christians we need to understand a lot(Butler,2014). Jesus went on, and He interpreted the parable to our regular daily. Those seeds which fell on the path belong to people who hear God’s message and don’t understand it. The devil comes over them he snatches what is in their hearts. Those who fell on rocky places show people who receive the Kingdom of God with joy, but since they don’t have roots in their hearts to allow the word to grow, the word diminishes as soon as possible. When a challenge outweighs them, they quickly fall away and forget the Kingdom of God. Those seeds which fell on thorns represent those people who hear the word, but the worries of life deceive them they fail to follow the word thus making the word unfruitful to them (Butler, 2014). Those who receive the word and understand the word represent those seeds that fell on fertile soil and yielded a lot. Jesus preached this parable to give a clear picture of how we Christians approach the word of God.

Prison Epistles

The prison epistles are Ephesians, Philippines, Philemon, and the Colossians. The apostle Paul wrote them during his incarceration in Rome. The exact period of Paul’s imprisonment is not known, but he stayed in Rome prisons for a long. During his stay in jail for two years Apostle, Paul wrote this epistles and his detention is well verified in the book of Act 28:31.During this time, a period of two years Paul did not relax in the prisons. Therefore, Paul in his imprisonment in Caesarea made him produce three excellent letters to the churches of Ephesus, Colosse, and Philippi, and even the Philomena a letter to his friend. The three prison epistles referred to as captivity letters they were directed to the three churches which he came across during the second missionary in his ministry. From his teaching, Paul is always concerned with the heart of all those prayed for during his mission. The epistles describe the real world whereby Paul shows that as a pastor he had love and much concern for all those he found had the spiritual life as children of the kingdom of God.

In the letter of Colossians, Paul reflects on people of celosia who had interfered with the existence of the churches. He focuses on the vital part of today’s theology whereby he talks about the deity of Jesus Christ as seen in (Colossians 1:15-20; 2:2-10). It was the time when circumcision was introduced to the traditional or rituals of Jews in the bible. The letter has a message to the church of Ephesus since Paul had now written the whole idea of the doctrine of the faith to those he believed were the beloved people of the Christ Kingdom. The letter of Philippians which Paul wrote encourages the church and more so the believers to always have joy despite the fact that challenges or objects try to mingle with their faith. Believers here in the letter of the Philippines are told to see Christ as the only object and the helper of their challenges, and they should serve Him with hope and much faith in their hearts.

Philemon was the fourth letter Paul wrote to the workers and their friends while he was in prison. The message reflects that forgiveness is a virtue that should be emulated by all believers and the church at large. Paul met with Philomena in Rome’s prison, and he encouraged him to follow Christ. The overall theme of this epistle is all about forgiveness and the ability of the word of Jesus Christ to rule over all the hearts of masters and superiors. Paul’s imprisonment was according to God’s will because it’s here in Rome prisons whereby we see Jesus Himself talking to Paul telling him not to fear anything, and to have courage since Paul testified about Lord while in Jerusalem. From our today’s life we as believers should learn from the epistles of prisons to gain courage when serving the kingdom of God.As Christian, we ought to be forgiving. Paul’s life in prison has profits our churches. Christians are supposed to stand with the power of Christ, and they should not surrender regardless of the hardships in their ministries.

The general epistles

1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and the letters of James form the general epistles or the Catholic Epistles. They all describe the church in general rather than individual churches. All these epistles represent hard work, relationships, leadership, equity and fairness, and communication. All these are practical to daily lives and the church of today (Köstenberger & Patterson, 2011).

These epistles describe the challenges faced in Rome such as slavery, favoritism, and even mockery and abuse from the rich and the influential leaders of the Roman Empire. In today’s Christian life we experience all these tensions(Köstenberger & Patterson,2011). The general epistles teach Christians to trust in God as the provider and more so to work for the benefit of others who are in need. From these general epistles, Christians ought to learn the following practical applications

Faith and work

Here from the epistle of James, we need to trust to God as the provider for us. We even have to work for the benefit of others’ needs.From James we as Christians we are assured that our faith will grow as we trust God (Köstenberger & Patterson, 2011).

Wisdom, spiritual growth, and perseverance.

Peter advocates for the spiritual growth of believers. God uses real life and challenges to test our faith. Our daily trials as Christians would determine our faith in God. Believers have to use wisdom to tackle their problems and trials. Sometimes Christian life can be tempted to abandon their hope by the challenges and James in general epistles is telling believers to hold and grasp the faith in their hearts with a lot of seriousness. Perseverance and endurance should be in Christian fingerprints and at times of trials we have to look for God’s help all the time (Köstenberger & Patterson, 2011).

Depending on God

General epistles require the church to trust God. John says God is the provider to all believers. Christians have to understand that Jesus Christ is the source of everything. He is the creator; He is the owner of all we need. In the bible God is the provider of the poor, He raises the poor and provides for all those in need. James’ epistle affirms to believers that God is the ultimate source of everything and it is our responsibility as Christian to depend on Him while keeping faith in our hearts (Köstenberger & Patterson,2011).

From the general epistles, Christians ought to ask themselves whether are they able to depend on God, and do they believe and have trust in Christ. These are the questions the church should answer. Is the world affecting our faith and are we ready to overcome the trials of the evils? Our trust in God always. From the letter of Jude Christians are advised that religious life is not about attending the church sermons, but the issue is our hearts pure and holy. Do we believe and work within the principles of epistles? This should be a guiding factor in the church (Köstenberger & Patterson,2011). We need to work for the benefit of others’ needs; when we work for God, we serve others. By helping others, God awards us more blessings in our lives. These epistles require the church to transform the whole world into the virtues and principles of the kingdom of God. Therefore according to God’s promise believers have to be righteous as we wait for the second coming of our savior.

The influence of God teaches the organization Control tends to be a dominant thing. In all spheres, every person in daily life influences something or someone. Biblically we can see God comparing the disciples as the salt (Mathew 5:13) and even we can see Paul being warned over the bad influences when he realized that evil companionships always corrupt the morals which are good.

The New Testament church has been influenced by the following;

Glorifying God. The Bible says we have been called to praise God.The church should be ready to serve God always.

Suffering and struggling. The Bible says sin entered the world and human beings have to struggle and suffer. As Christians, we will have trials. Disciples faced trials in ministry, but Stephen sustained because of faith. God says we will experience, but He who believes and keeps my commandments will conquer all the challenges and evils we will overcome all as Christian through God’s strength (Kennedy,2014).

Family. In the letter of Paul, we have a marriage, and we can see how man and lady come together in friendship to nurture children. In Ephesians, fathers are reminded to raise their children without fear as the Lord provides for them.

Work. New Testament influences the church to work. Believers should know the importance of hard work and give our efforts to the Lord. We need to serve the lord all the time with all our hearts.

Worshiping. New Testament requires us to show evangelism and discipleship (Kennedy, 2014).In the book of Mathew Jesus compares believers with the light. Light helps people to see, we as the church are influenced to worship shine, and glorify the Kingdom of God.

Love and charity. As Christian, the word requires us to love and share all that we have. We are influenced not to worry when giving or helping since the hand that gives is blessed more. By doing everything and sharing willingly, we please God(Kennedy,2014).

Prayer and faith. Faith and prayer work hand in hand. In the new testament we as the church we influenced to abide by God’s teachings. Prayers link us with Christ, and through it, we can ask for anything.

Repentance. New Testament influences Christian to repent. Sin came into the world to separate man from God. Christ requires us to repent our sins for forgiveness all the time. Repenting builds our relationship with Christ.

In conclusion, New Testament offers lessons that Christians are supposed to follow. Church today needs to adjust to these lessons to keep the relationship with Christ. Faith and prayer will help Christians to conquer all the trials which can emanate from the ways while serving the Kingdom of God (Kennedy, 2014).

Reference

Butler, O. E. (2014). The parable of the Sower. Hachette UK.

Köstenberger, A. J., & Patterson, R. D. (2011). Invitation to biblical interpretation: Exploring the hermeneutical triad of history, literature, and theology. Kregel Academic.

Kennedy, G. A. (2014). New Testament interpretation through rhetorical criticism. UNC Press Books.

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