Courtney and I went for a 1:00 a.m. McDonald's run last night. We talked about assignments due in our Pauline Epistles class, and then the conversation went to topics we have been discussing in class. We discussed true worship, as seen in yesterday's post, but most of our discussion had to do with Christian status, ethics, and maturity. It went something like this...
"I think the church needs to preach more about Christian holiness and how it comes from God and not from our own efforts," I said. "Our holiness is not based on how well we reflect our holiness in our ethics. We may not be reflecting our holiness as well as the Christian next to us, but that doesn't make us any less holy... Nor does it make them any more holy. Our holiness is total and complete, being bestowed upon us by God. And this isn't lofty language, either. We really are holy, even if our actions don't always reflect this. How well we reflect this holiness in living a life of honoring and pleasing God has no affect on our status as totally and completely holy."
Courtney added, "The problem is that when we preach this, people might--no, people will--use it as an excuse to live however they want. Obviously, this isn't right. Paul calls us to reflect our holiness more-and-more as we develop in the life of faith."
"Right," I said. "In Romans 6, Paul says, in effect, 'Shall we keep on sinning since God's grace will cover us? Hell no!' Using this reality of our holy status in God's eyes as a blanket for indulging ourselves however we please is contrary to the gospel. Like you said, Paul exhorts us to pursue holiness. He exhorts us to mature in our faith, to reflect this holiness more and more in our daily lives. He isn't saying that the reflection of our holiness is what saves us--for it doesn't--but that in response to the grace that God has showered upon us, we should pursue holiness. He is always very frustrated and angry when Christians don't pursue maturity."
So does our status as holy in God's eyes negate pursuing a life of holiness? Does the fact that we're holy despite our behavior give us ample room to do as we please? In the words of Paul, HELL NO! We have come into the fold of God--we are God's friends, and even more, God's children--and so we ought to be motivated and inspired to pursue holy behaviors. I believe this is a big part of what maturity in Christ is about: reflecting more-and-more the status of "holy" that God has stamped upon us through Christ.
I have done a little revising with my schedule for next summer, adding three classes and dropping one, as well as adding a summer class in late May. Here are the classes I'm taking next semester:
Dangerous Earth with Reuben Bullard
Pentateuchal Studies: The Exodus with Dan Dyke
New Testament Seminar with Jamie Smith
The Prison Epistles with Jamie Smith
The Corinthian Letters with William Baker
Doctrine Seminar: Miracles with James Snyder
Plus "The Gospel of Luke" with Professor Weatherly as an early week in August, and "Modern Ethical Problems" with Snyder as my late summer class. During the semester I am taking 15 credit-hours (as opposed to my 12 now!).
"I think the church needs to preach more about Christian holiness and how it comes from God and not from our own efforts," I said. "Our holiness is not based on how well we reflect our holiness in our ethics. We may not be reflecting our holiness as well as the Christian next to us, but that doesn't make us any less holy... Nor does it make them any more holy. Our holiness is total and complete, being bestowed upon us by God. And this isn't lofty language, either. We really are holy, even if our actions don't always reflect this. How well we reflect this holiness in living a life of honoring and pleasing God has no affect on our status as totally and completely holy."
Courtney added, "The problem is that when we preach this, people might--no, people will--use it as an excuse to live however they want. Obviously, this isn't right. Paul calls us to reflect our holiness more-and-more as we develop in the life of faith."
"Right," I said. "In Romans 6, Paul says, in effect, 'Shall we keep on sinning since God's grace will cover us? Hell no!' Using this reality of our holy status in God's eyes as a blanket for indulging ourselves however we please is contrary to the gospel. Like you said, Paul exhorts us to pursue holiness. He exhorts us to mature in our faith, to reflect this holiness more and more in our daily lives. He isn't saying that the reflection of our holiness is what saves us--for it doesn't--but that in response to the grace that God has showered upon us, we should pursue holiness. He is always very frustrated and angry when Christians don't pursue maturity."
So does our status as holy in God's eyes negate pursuing a life of holiness? Does the fact that we're holy despite our behavior give us ample room to do as we please? In the words of Paul, HELL NO! We have come into the fold of God--we are God's friends, and even more, God's children--and so we ought to be motivated and inspired to pursue holy behaviors. I believe this is a big part of what maturity in Christ is about: reflecting more-and-more the status of "holy" that God has stamped upon us through Christ.
***
I have done a little revising with my schedule for next summer, adding three classes and dropping one, as well as adding a summer class in late May. Here are the classes I'm taking next semester:
Dangerous Earth with Reuben Bullard
Pentateuchal Studies: The Exodus with Dan Dyke
New Testament Seminar with Jamie Smith
The Prison Epistles with Jamie Smith
The Corinthian Letters with William Baker
Doctrine Seminar: Miracles with James Snyder
Plus "The Gospel of Luke" with Professor Weatherly as an early week in August, and "Modern Ethical Problems" with Snyder as my late summer class. During the semester I am taking 15 credit-hours (as opposed to my 12 now!).
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