the olderer i get the more i realize how arrogant i've been assuming i can know
like if i am god
like if there's only 1 answer
like if i am god ..
maybe I'm just getting senile
recently i was involved in a discussion on the various views on sanctification
the word is related to the greek word for ' to make holy ' or ' to set apart '
the question, then was what does ' sanctification ' mean, and how does one come about it ..
my fundamentalist indoctrination went this way:
positional sanctification - the point at which someone ' accepted Jesus as their personal saviour '
progressive sanctification - the process of becoming holy as the person matures in Christ
kinda like a snapshot vs a video ..
the link here is 1 person's presentation and opinions on the commonly accepted ' 5 views '
http://www.xenos.org/ministries/crossroads/OnlineJournal/issue1/fiveview.htm
..
during the conversation it became apparent to me that this, like most of the stuff i pretend to know, is not so blackandwhite as i would like to think, not like my fundamentalist definition
it's intimately tied up in ' salvation ' as a doctrine
is there really a clear demarcation between the point and the process ?
is there a ' 2nd work of grace ', the person being filled with the Spirit at some point after ' conversion '
( note all the doctrinal words and phrases, which i've italicized,
each one eliciting a series of viewpoints )
is it possible to reach total sanctification whereby we'd never sin ?
it's tied up in redemption and it's viewpoints
salvation and it's viewpoints
( which might well be a referent to the same issue of sanctification )
justification
....
so, here i be, listening to the comments, trying to assimilate the differences in the views
and finding my self notso dogmatic, notso rocksolidsure about what i'm talking about
the old me is dying
as i open my mind to listen
is that a good thing ?
...
and then i hit the heretic's wall
what is salvation anyway
?? ?
wow !
if you'd asked me that a few years ago, i'd lead you on a Romans Road
walk you through John 3, Romans 3 and 6 .. .
and then there would be the ' sinner's prayer '
and i was dead-certain
no argument
and if you argued about it theologically you obviously were not a christian, or you were in error
i was right
.. .
some hours after the mind-numbing, wandering discussion, i asked myself this
if someone asked me ' how ' to become a christian what would i say
now
today
and i stumbled
i had to think
i had to think ?? ?
are you serious ?
..
i came to the conclusion i'd rather someone asked what were the earmarks of a christian, what identifies someone as a christian, what do i look for in a christian
than to ask me ' how ' ..
very very interesting, methinks ..
a close friend told me when i brought this thinking up that they're worried about me, about the potential deterioration of my doctrinal positioning, where i've stood all along
am i lost ?
sitting where i am right now, i'm not sure what to say
i only know that a christian looks much like jesus
and the more like jesus they are, the more of a christian they are
.... . ..... . sorry
the oft-quoted verses like apostle paul's response to the jailer in philippi , ' believe on the lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved ', really should be taken in context ..
i never thought of that before
it was so stringently doctrinaire, why look to context
the Newer Testament is written in the context of israel, judaism and the Christ advent
in those times to ' confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you shall be saved ' was predominantly a Jewish issue, in context (Romans 10)
for a jew to declare jesus as lord, to submit to baptism, was a massive statement, threatening their very life, or causing them to be disowned and disinherited by their parents
similarly, the non-jews were under roman authority
and the apparent similarity between the language of what-would-become-christianity and rome's religion was marked
to say jesus was lord meant caesar wasn't
and rome was no respecter of persons
that was rebellion-in-the-making, and to be squashed forthwith
for us gentiles today it's far, far from that
more like a .... what exactly ??
believe ?
is that like a cognitive thingy
a position
like i'm a republican or democrat ?
or i believe in climate-change, or not ?
i doubt ..
and so i wander
still
still wandering
..
i do know this
the more i resemble jesus
the more i can lay claim to being a christian
so the question ' what does it look like to be a christian ' resounds better with me
and i point you directly to Matthew 5-7
thing is, if you're doing what Jesus taught with the attitude he fostered
then you're loving
and if you're living love you're living Godly
for God is love
.. how then can a person not be accepted by God when they're living a Godly life ..
in fact I'm much more likely to say that person is a Christian than i would under my old self docrine
and if that signifies I'm a heretic, so be it
that's where my head is going. and I'm not sure it shouldn't be ..
when I get to the point where my theology cannot suffer valid testing and questioning, then my theology is my god
God is much bigger than what we say or think about God
and he can handle my fear, my doubt, my questioning, my wandering
he's not intimidated at all
in fact, methinks he rather enjoys the intimacy
even if it's out of my doubt ..
don't you?
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