Saturday, October 29, 2005
Freedom In Transformation
Arch Van Devender, writing at Theologica, said
This is compounded by the tension of the "already, not yet." God has set me free, but my heart is not so changed. The desires of my heart are still often quite sinful.
It raises a general question for me. Many of the promises of the Cross and scripture are represented as completed in us, and yet the evidence is so to the contrary. So, are those promises really complete? Or is this whole faith thing more of a process than much currently theology likes to state?
Talk about freedom, without tranformation, can be disasterous. I am transformed in a theological sense, but not yet in a practical sense. I feel obligated to constrain my self while I work out my tranformation. That often feels like the opposite of freedom.
This also raises the question about the appropriateness of presching in a manner that can, in a practical sense, result in sin. Should we?
When Jesus sets a person free, He acts through the Word of Truth, by the power of the Holy Spirit, using the instrument of Scripture applied to the life and heart of the individual (either preached or otherwise communicated) to the end that both forms of "bondage" are removed. The person's heart is changed such that the desire to sin no longer reigns as the expression of their will. They now discover that their longing is not for the fruits of righteousness, but for righteousness itself. That which they desire to do is to conform to righteousness though faced with arduous obstacles to overcome. The sin inclinations in their members war against this desire for righteousness but sin has lost its dominion over them.I must confess to being uncomfortable with the language of "freedom" when it comes to my faith. I understand it, I even agree with it, it just makes me nervous. The reason is the one sentence that I highlighted in the quote. Too many people forget that part of the idea.
They are now empowered and unconstrained in pursuing the desires of their heart. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, Jesus said, because they shall be filled. In regeneration the first bonds of slavery to sin are burst and in sancitification and glorification all remaining chains are dispatched also. In every way, the blessings of freedom accrue and a person is fully and finally, "free indeed."
This is compounded by the tension of the "already, not yet." God has set me free, but my heart is not so changed. The desires of my heart are still often quite sinful.
It raises a general question for me. Many of the promises of the Cross and scripture are represented as completed in us, and yet the evidence is so to the contrary. So, are those promises really complete? Or is this whole faith thing more of a process than much currently theology likes to state?
Talk about freedom, without tranformation, can be disasterous. I am transformed in a theological sense, but not yet in a practical sense. I feel obligated to constrain my self while I work out my tranformation. That often feels like the opposite of freedom.
This also raises the question about the appropriateness of presching in a manner that can, in a practical sense, result in sin. Should we?
