So, I lost the "blog every day" bug (yeah, it happens every February, but this year I want it back 😉
This is going to be sort of "stream of consciousness" sort of post, but this is something I want to articulate and I'm not sure how to do it.
I read in one place that the writer would never be able to read Hebrews 11 without seeing orange jumpsuits...
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth...
of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
And in the midst of this, I read in other places that "Coptic 'Christians' are not saved, since they don't get the nature of Christ right."
The Coptic church is the one that the apostle Mark founded when they was sent out to evangelize the world - it's not like they made up their own religion.
The split happened later on, when Arius was preaching his heresy. Arius taught that Jesus was not God. Jesus (Arius taught) was a created being, and thus, he denied the Trinity.
There was a big church council, and Arius was declared a heretic. Here's where I'm a little fuzzy, but I think I have the basics.
All of the "streams" - Alexandria (Coptic) and Constantinople (Orthodox) and Rome (well...Rome) agreed that Arius was wrong. They all affirm the Divinity of Christ, they all affirm the doctrine of the Trinity. They all affirm salvation by faith. They all affirm the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin.
If a person is going to judge the salvation of Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Copts, Arminians, and pretty much everybody other than the "truly Reformed" because of the works debate, I cannot go there.
Even if I don't understand the role of works, is it Jesus Christ who saves me through faith?
Do I hold Christ through my faith, or does He hold me?
How right does my doctrine need to be before Romans 10 is found to be valid?
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Is it "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead *AND you get the hypostatic union right...you will be saved?"
Is it "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead *AND you get the relationship between works and faith right you will be saved?
Is it "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead *AND you get TULIP right, you will be saved?
Is it "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead *AND** you can quote from the Catechisms and Confessions, you will be saved?
How big is your asterisk?
There was something about THIS rock that caught my eye.