Having a form, but denying the power
I was recently asked to review a book. However, when I looked at the excerpt available on the website of the publisher; I knew that I would not read it. You see, it was written by a recent convert to christianity. And unfortunately, it seems that she has been ripped off.
The woman who wrote the book, came to see the good things in her christian husband and the church he attended. She made a decision for God. However, this whole blood of Jesus thing seemes "icky" to her. So she has written a book, all about how christianity is good, but just leave out the "icky" blood thing.
Well she is right, of course. The blood of Jesus is "icky". It is offensive. In order to be a child of God we must be washed in the blood of the Lamb. We christians have sanitized and even try to gloss over the offensiveness of this. When, in part, it is the the very offensive nature of the means of salvation that gives it its power!
Our Lord was "hung upon a tree" and crucified! If you are a christian, the very God, very man, that we claim to follow was executed by the cival authorities like a common criminal! He was executed with thieves on either side of Him. He, who rightfully was the King, was brought low. He lowered Himself; concented to humiliation, so that He might rise to the right hand of the Father.
Likewise, we must consent to the humiliation of realizing that there is no innate goodness in us. God did not see something in us that set us above anyone else. Nor is there anything that we can do to save ourselves.
If we can fully understand the humiliation of salvation... I don't know, I'm still working on this myself. :-) But I do know that it is practically the opposite of the culture in which I live. In America the rugged individual, the "self-made" man is lionized. It is almost anti-American to admit weakness, a need for help, or a lack of self-sufficiency.
The Good News of God's Salvation requires that we first admit weakness, a need for help, and that we lack self-sufficiency. Otherwise, it is not Good News! If I am capable of living a life that is acceptable to God, then I don't need an external savior.
The woman who wrote the book, came to see the good things in her christian husband and the church he attended. She made a decision for God. However, this whole blood of Jesus thing seemes "icky" to her. So she has written a book, all about how christianity is good, but just leave out the "icky" blood thing.
Well she is right, of course. The blood of Jesus is "icky". It is offensive. In order to be a child of God we must be washed in the blood of the Lamb. We christians have sanitized and even try to gloss over the offensiveness of this. When, in part, it is the the very offensive nature of the means of salvation that gives it its power!
Our Lord was "hung upon a tree" and crucified! If you are a christian, the very God, very man, that we claim to follow was executed by the cival authorities like a common criminal! He was executed with thieves on either side of Him. He, who rightfully was the King, was brought low. He lowered Himself; concented to humiliation, so that He might rise to the right hand of the Father.
Likewise, we must consent to the humiliation of realizing that there is no innate goodness in us. God did not see something in us that set us above anyone else. Nor is there anything that we can do to save ourselves.
If we can fully understand the humiliation of salvation... I don't know, I'm still working on this myself. :-) But I do know that it is practically the opposite of the culture in which I live. In America the rugged individual, the "self-made" man is lionized. It is almost anti-American to admit weakness, a need for help, or a lack of self-sufficiency.
The Good News of God's Salvation requires that we first admit weakness, a need for help, and that we lack self-sufficiency. Otherwise, it is not Good News! If I am capable of living a life that is acceptable to God, then I don't need an external savior.
posted by Bryan at 8:17 AM
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