CHRIST IS THE GATE AND YOU ARE NOT
07/01/23 07:43
Why is it that Paul’s statement that ‘Christ who is our life’ is not understood or even rejected by the Unbelieving Believer? The reason has to be that that ‘they are their life’ because they have been socialised into ‘earning Christ.’
MISGUIDED DOOR
Too many live in the bent gospel of ‘earning Christ.’ - a habit that undoes their freedom and joy of being with one with God as the starting point. It reduces their living to fig-leaves of contract and self-made grace. It leaves them obsessing over some denominational fundamental or obvious sin, while defining themselves out of peace, grace, true Godliness and a Godly consciousness that God so loves the world - that too many have given themselves leave to kill for the sake of ‘jobs and growth’.
STEPS TO CHRIST?
“Gary Deddo observes, ‘Despite the pattern of biblical teaching which begins with God and his faithfulness, we feel the pressure to preach and teach and motivate folks to obedience by addressing the naked will with raw commandments.’ David W. Torrance considers, ‘Probably the great majority of sermons preached are telling people what to do’. Christian identity tends to be defined in terms of “Yes, I made a decision for Christ” or “I follow the teachings of Jesus” or “I attend church regularly”.
SELF ABSORPTION
“This emphasis upon our own, independent religious activity leads to ‘frustration, failure and a lack of the real joy of the Lord’. ‘Because of this focus on ourselves,’ David W. Torrance regrets, ‘there is frequently in the Christian life a lack of assurance of salvation so that we are not really set free to serve!’ The remedy to this situation is the Torrance’s’ claim that our being and action is irreducibly bound up with Christ.”
THE ‘EARNERS’
“The Torrance’s theology offers a valuable corrective to the tremendous burden placed on people today by preaching and teaching that, whether blatantly or subtly, “throws people back upon themselves” to earn their relationship with God and to try to achieve by their own efforts the kind of person that they ought to be.” (1) The unfortunate thing about attempts to ‘earn Christ’ is that we are still in debt.
ONE WITH CHRIST
The best ‘doing’ starts with ‘being’ by which we mean being one with God in Jesus Christ. Christ is our life through atonement and actualised by incarnation. By His Spirit in our flesh Jesus becomes us so that as individuals and together we are His Face in the world.
(1) Radcliff, Alexandra S.. The Claim of Humanity in Christ: Salvation and Sanctification in the Theology of T. F. and J. B. Torrance (Princeton Theological Monograph Series Book 222) (p. 3). Pickwick Publications, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
MISGUIDED DOOR
Too many live in the bent gospel of ‘earning Christ.’ - a habit that undoes their freedom and joy of being with one with God as the starting point. It reduces their living to fig-leaves of contract and self-made grace. It leaves them obsessing over some denominational fundamental or obvious sin, while defining themselves out of peace, grace, true Godliness and a Godly consciousness that God so loves the world - that too many have given themselves leave to kill for the sake of ‘jobs and growth’.
STEPS TO CHRIST?
“Gary Deddo observes, ‘Despite the pattern of biblical teaching which begins with God and his faithfulness, we feel the pressure to preach and teach and motivate folks to obedience by addressing the naked will with raw commandments.’ David W. Torrance considers, ‘Probably the great majority of sermons preached are telling people what to do’. Christian identity tends to be defined in terms of “Yes, I made a decision for Christ” or “I follow the teachings of Jesus” or “I attend church regularly”.
SELF ABSORPTION
“This emphasis upon our own, independent religious activity leads to ‘frustration, failure and a lack of the real joy of the Lord’. ‘Because of this focus on ourselves,’ David W. Torrance regrets, ‘there is frequently in the Christian life a lack of assurance of salvation so that we are not really set free to serve!’ The remedy to this situation is the Torrance’s’ claim that our being and action is irreducibly bound up with Christ.”
THE ‘EARNERS’
“The Torrance’s theology offers a valuable corrective to the tremendous burden placed on people today by preaching and teaching that, whether blatantly or subtly, “throws people back upon themselves” to earn their relationship with God and to try to achieve by their own efforts the kind of person that they ought to be.” (1) The unfortunate thing about attempts to ‘earn Christ’ is that we are still in debt.
ONE WITH CHRIST
The best ‘doing’ starts with ‘being’ by which we mean being one with God in Jesus Christ. Christ is our life through atonement and actualised by incarnation. By His Spirit in our flesh Jesus becomes us so that as individuals and together we are His Face in the world.
(1) Radcliff, Alexandra S.. The Claim of Humanity in Christ: Salvation and Sanctification in the Theology of T. F. and J. B. Torrance (Princeton Theological Monograph Series Book 222) (p. 3). Pickwick Publications, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
