Trueman engages the question of “What is man?” and demonstrates how contemporary definitions of mankind result in the dehumanizing of our neighbor.
This is an excerpt from the third chapter of By Water and the Word: God’s Gift of Baptism for You by Brian Thomas (1517 Publishing, 2026), pgs 52-60.
Even when the bitter places sink down deep into our bones, the Restorer never relinquishes his grip on you.

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For Luther, those who refuse Christ as a curse want their sin removed not in Christ but in themselves.
Confession is not another ecclesiastical bludgeon but is instead a gift. There we can tell the truth about ourselves, knowing that Christ has only mercy for us in response.
Luther had a living Word from God intended to land squarely among sinners.
Christ powerless on the Cross is where the false definitions of glory theologies are exposed and everything is turned upside down.
Luther’s confessions and writings during that time demonstrated the diagnosis of the problem he faced had always been the same.
The problem with sin is that we fail to honor God who wants to take our hearts captive and fill us with his goodness.
An immense amount of ink has been spilled contesting and interpreting Bonhoeffer's significance as a figure of Christian history and a theologian of the church.
Aquinas would craft a systematic theology that did with the matter of faith what Aristotle had done with the natural world.
Not only does Scripture command us to maintain purity of doctrine and practice, it also commands us to reconcile with our brother, to seek to end division, and recognize common ground where there is common ground.
At its heart, this is what Deacon King Kong is all about: the paradox of Jesus carving his victory out of the last thing we expect, not our triumphs but our defeats.
Viewing the Word as a unified theological narrative prevents us from treating the Scriptures like a cage match between competing theological systems, with prophets duking it out with apostles, and psalmists with evangelists, all supposedly fighting for their voice to be heard.
We don’t have to worry about deserving, earning, or reciprocating his gifts. Our Lord doesn’t give us what we deserve. We are given what he deserves, what Jesus has won for us.