It is Okay to Pass This Test

-
Kevin DeYoung shares that we can “examine [ourselves] to see if we are in the faith” and conclude that we are. An excerpt:


The thing we often miss with 2 Corinthians 13:5 is that Paul expects the Corinthians to pass the test…So go ahead and encourage one another to examine the heart. Let’s be honest and see if we are in the faith. Let’s test whether or not Christ is in us. But as we put our “in-Christness” to the test let’s not forget it’s okay to give ourselves a passing grade. To God be the glory.

Comments

Steve Martin said…
YUK.

Give ourselves a passing grade???

Isn't that what the Pharisee was doing in the temple, alongside the scumbag tax collector?

And which one went away justified?


I can tell you this much, I have failed in the stewardship of my humanity.

I need a Savior.
Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ who is that Savior!
October 25, 2010
J. K. Jones said…
So, Steve, what do we do with 2 Corinthians 13:5?
November 01, 2010
Steve Martin said…
We certainly don't look to our obedience, performance, good works, etc..


Us Lutheran types look to our baptism (where God acted for us), and to the promises of God.

We look... but at Christ.

And we don't read the Scriptures woodenly to get caught up in all that 'self evaluation' stuff. Those that engage in that stuff are barking up the wrong tree. There is only despair, or pride in that game.

We are the publican on the floor, beating our breats at our failures and asking God for mercy.

You've got all those links (your latest post) to folks talking about Luther and the Reformation. How about listening to a confessional Lutheran speak about Luther and the Reformation and what it means for us?

I think you'll find it worth the brief investment of your time.

http://theoldadam.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/reformation-sunday-sermon/

Thanks, J.K..
November 01, 2010
J. K. Jones said…
Good sermon.

I agree that God justifies teh ungodly (NIV: the wicked) - Romans 4.
November 04, 2010
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Face of Terror

-
Osama Bin laden is dead. Since the rest of the internet is buzzing with opinions on that death, I thought I would weigh in. First, this is not the end of global terrorism. Like the Hydra of old, when one head is chopped off, two more take its place. We still need diligence in our fight against global terror. U. S. and allied Armed Forces still need our prayers. We still need a strong military and intelligence community. We have not yet cut off the Hydra’s immortal head. Second, the way to get to the ‘heart of the matter’ is with Christian missionary efforts. We must reach the people who make up those societies and population segments that produce terrorists . To tell a story I have told here before : Early in the twentieth century, Baptist evangelists preached through rural Mississippi and Alabama with such effectiveness that moonshiners could no longer sell their whiskey: All their customers were getting converted! In desperation, the whiskey sellers hired two men to murder on
Read more

The Canons of Dort

-
I believe that the Canons of Dort are true. This is a statement that came out the Synod of Dort, held from 1618-1619. The Canons of Dort outline the system of theology known today as the “five points of Calvinism.” The problem I have with most “five-point Calvinists” is that the Canons of Dort contain much more than five points. Many explanations of the TULIP (total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and the perseverance of the saints) are gross simplifications of the Canons of Dort. [This is especially true of explanations given by those who oppose Calvinism. It is easier to knock down a straw man than it is to knock down a real man, and so it is easier to criticize an oversimplified Calvinism that the more robust form.] Some of those who teach the “five points” leave out some of the quotes below: This death of God's Son is the only and entirely complete sacrifice and satisfaction for sins; it is of infinite value and worth, more than
Read more

Intelligent Design

-
The Intelligent Design (ID) movement makes much of the argument from irreducible complexity. Dr. Michael Behe has become famous for a simple example, the mousetrap. He points out that the mousetrap will not perform its function without all of its parts. The wooden base, the metal hammer, a spring, a catch and a metal bar to hold back the hammer are all necessary parts. One component by itself will not catch a mouse. Mainstream evolutionary science has a counter-argument. To paraphrase Dr. Kenneth Miller, if you disassemble the mousetrap, each component can serve as something useful on its own. If we take away the catch and metal bar, we have something left that can serve as a paper clip. The spring could make a simple two-section key chain. The wooden base makes a paperweight. Evolutionary processes like random mutation and natural selection can combine and retain the useful parts as the complicated evolves to perform the complex function. The useful parts are combined into the mousetr
Read more