Final Research Paper

Title Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name Date Daniel Treier’s Perspective of the Nature and Purpose of the Church The Church as a pivotal institution and its effect on evangelical theology is presented as a crucial aspect of “Introducing Evangelical Theology” written by Daniel J. Treier. Treier (2019) highlights the Church being the living organism of the faith community made up of the baptismal believers who believe in the Lord Jesus. By focusing on multiple aspects of the Church’s character, function, and salvation, Treier develops the Church’s appearance on the evangelical platform. Primarily, Treier (2019) talks of the commonness of the Church, demonstrating how Christians are manifesting a community centered around their faith. In and of itself, Evangelical Theology provides a view of the Church not as a mere organizational arrangement or a religious institution but rather as a living community of faith. This community stands out because of the embedded ingredient of mutual love, among the other club members, representing the relational side of Christian experience. Treier’s portrayal of the Church as a community echoes the biblical imagery of the body of Christ, where each member plays a unique role in the collective functioning of the Church. Moreover, Treier (2019) points out the church's identity as a body of disciples’ followers and a community of Christian, showing it as a call to Christ and his doctrines' embodiment. According to the evangelical theology, Jesus Christ is over all the things, so his rule belongs over the Church. This affirmation includes the doctrines and practice as well. Treier highlights the Church’s duty of fostering discipleship among its ranks, wherein Christians are offered a vision of deeper spirituality and instruction towards a maturity of faith. It is outstanding to note that the pattern of Jesus to deal with his disciples causes this to be the transforming nature of the Church as it wants its members to be in the image of Christ through power of the Holy Spirit. Treier (2019) discusses the Church’s role in ministry and mission as its key marks. Based on evangelical theology, the Church is to join the mission of God by preaching the gospel, baptizing disciple-makers, and working in compassion and justice acts. Treier emphasizes the Great Commission with this foundational mission being to go and make disciples of all nations. This missionary inclination is the core of the evangelical conception of the Church, demonstrating the same mindset of bringing people closer to God through Christ’s salvation. Also, Treier (2019) talks about the Church’s function as a reflection of God’s kingdom on earth. According to evangelical theology, the Church is understood as a glimpse and hint of God’s rule, where the kingdom’s values which include love, justice, and togetherness are exhibited in the community. Treier stresses the Church to incarnate these kingdom values in its life and witness by becoming the light that illumines the path toward hope and change in a shattered and divided world. Such a view of the Church as the sign and tool of the heavenly kingdom indicates its importance and influence in the society, therefore. In addition, Treier (2019) speaks to the Church’s unity and diversity as the building blocks of its identity and witness. The evangelical theology states clearly that the Church is one in faith in Christ, regardless of ethnicity, culture, and denominational differences. In parallel, Treier notices the multiplicity within the Church and appreciates the diversity of the traditions, expressions, and the gifts it has. This tension between unity and diversity depicts the diversity of the Church as it tries to embody the universality of the gospel and the specificity of its cultural environments. On the other hand, Treier (2019) points out that the sacramental and liturgical practices of the church are the gas tanks that carry us into communion with God and a life of grace. The theology of evangelicalism carries out the function of sacraments like baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the outward sign which demonstrates God’s favor and gift to His people. Treier focuses on the essence of these rites in the life of the Church, explaining their function of creating a faith atmosphere, as well as providing the opportunity to form a community and to have a spiritual experience with God. Additionally, Treier explains how corporate worship with God and prayers are regarded in the Church as significant acts of its devotion and joint adoration of God, describing how they are major components of the identity and vision of the Church. In conclusion, Treir presents the Church as a dynamic congregation of believers, identified by its devotion to Jesus Christ. He raises the issue of church’s identity by pointing to its communal, discipleship, missionary, and sacramental dimensions. In every place, Treier affirms the radical transformative dimension of the church, speaking of its vocation as testifying and being the instrument of God’s kingdom on earth. In addition, Treier exhibited the true characteristics of the church that demonstrate how deep and broad the evangelical theology is, thus supporting its role as core of the Christian faith. Other Authors' Perspective of the Nature and Purpose of the Church In African American theological reflection, the Church is a vital focal point that is responsible for advocating redemption, revelation, prophetic challenge, and holistic uplift. Frederick L. Ware, James H. Evans, James Cone, and Loida I. Martell-Otero provide a depiction of a variety of reflections. Different aspects of the mission of the Church in addressing social and systemic injustices are expressed by each author but connected to theological subject of sin, salvation, revelation, and liberation. Frederick Ware’s Perspective of the Nature and Purpose of the Church Frederick L. Ware’s work in “African American Theology: An Introduction” studies religiously the African American struggle as portrayed and attained in the church, especially as a place of sorrowful memory and triumphant memory. Ware (2016) talks about the Church in its various roles, stressing out that it should conquer systemic injustices and should not be content with retaining a passive role in the world and merely condemning the structures that perpetuate inequality and marginalization. A fundamental point in Ware’s approach is the thought about sin and redemption connected with the development of an African American theology. He alludes to the transversal nature of sin, which is not limited only to individual failures, but also is evident in the various forms of injustices that grow inside society. When the Church embraces this recognition, it gives the Church the role of a catalyst whose purpose is to solve the problems at their roots. For Ware (2016), the Church can be a channel of hope by which the society is relieved from the multi-featured deprivations that become visible on the society. He stresses that the Church is not just sitting pretty on the sidelines in the moral imperative to contextualize as she is instead called upon to engage herself in the work of re-creation and freedom. This consequ...