TERRIBLE!
Manda planted a watermelon plant last spring, which died off above the ground, but then recovered a foot away from where she originally planted it. She's babied the thing and taken such good care of it. She was very proud
Today, she ran in and had me come look at her plant...this is what I saw...
A few weeks ago I asked a friend if he could attend an Arminian church, as long as they didn't "push" the differences; could he worship and learn and teach and fellowship in a congregation that believes so differently than he does?
I got a taste of that question last weekend. I visted a church that is outside my demonination, one with a different understanding of how God works.
The associate pastor was the one who gave the message on Sunday; the text was Ephesians 2. We were dead in trespasses and sin...the speaker consistently used the present tense: "we are dead"
Question: What does this teach us about Christ, and His finished work of redemption on the cross? If those who claim Him are taught that they are still dead, what does that say?
He told a story about some men during the beginning of the civil rights fight. Two of the men were ministers, the other was an atheist (Petey Greene). The atheist ended up asking one of the ministers to sum up Christianity in ten words or less and he did it this way: "we are all illegitimate children, but God loves us anyway."
To make a long story short, the other minister ended up getting shot and killed by a police officer - the first minister "used every word he could think of" to describe how he felt about the man who killed his friend. The athiest asked him about his words about Christianity and the minister had to say about that police officer, "he is an illegitimate child, but God loves him anyway." Going on to ask about the man that was killed, the minister used the same words about his friend (a minister), "he is an illegitimate child, but God loves him anyway."
Stop the tape! I believe that when we are saved, we are adopted through Jesus Christ. If we are in Christ, we are illegitimate no longer!
At what point does the speaker of the sermon last Sunday get to claim God as his Father? When we belong to Christ, we can with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. We are His children; He is our Father.
What does this story tell us about Christ and His finished work on the cross? If those who belong to Him are taught that they have no different standing than those who do not, what does that tell them about Christ?
I have a friend who uses the phrase about those who believe that you can lose your salvation: "You get it by grace, but you keep it by works." After the fact works-based salvation. I kept trying to tell him that isn't the way it is taught...
but then...
Sunday, during Sunday school (the text was 1 John 2), the woman who was presenting the material said very clearly (I wrote it down), "Our assurance does not come from our experience or our feelings; our assurance comes from our actions."
Okay. If "actions" are not "works-based", I don't know what other description to use.
How does this point us to Christ? If we are striving to "behave" in order to have assurance, how are we continually being pointed to Christ?
If it is our behavior that keeps us saved, how "finished" is Christ's work?
The short story is: I won't ask again whether he/I would fit in an Arminian church. If I cling to Christ on the cross as my only assurance, if I see myself as an adopted child, no longer a bastard, if i read Ephesians 2 in the past tense...
No, I couldn't belong
The Carnival of Beauty is up!
There are many (MANY) wonderful posts this week, head on over Reveleventblog and check them out, and leave a comment or few.