Wednesday, November 08, 2006
We Cannot Save Ourselves
In fact, I don't think salvation is the heart of the issue.
I do not link to The Broken Messenger enough. Brad does some great Godblogging there. This post is a prime example of that great blogging. Consider this:
Brad says it this way:
We set out sights so low anymore, we seek to get them to church, or get them down the aisle, but God wants more and we should too. It's not a shower this thing we call Christianity, it is so much more.
More, the only way we can bring others to it, is to go there ourselves.
Related Tags: salvation, transformation, conversion, relgion, genuine faith
I do not link to The Broken Messenger enough. Brad does some great Godblogging there. This post is a prime example of that great blogging. Consider this:
So it's little wonder that Jesus is looked upon as mere stain remover. We've fallen in the mud and Jesus wipes us clean. The mud is external, and so Jesus wipes it away so that we can go about our lives. We have good hearts. We always have good intentions, and we sin because our good hearts and intentions are merely hijacked by the devil.This strikes at the heart of the difference between mere religion and genuine faith. Mere religion "wipes us clean" (we think) but genuine faith transforms us - it reaches in and rips out our corroded hearts, then builds anew a shiny new heart - one that is righteous and pure.
Brad says it this way:
So we grab hold of Jesus just long enough to drag ourselves to some like-minded congregation to get our consciences cleared from our sins in order to justify our wagging tongues that freely and responsively move to every form of foolish gossip, off-handed sarcasm, and high praise over every intricately crafted piece of plastic, metal or fabric that pleases us, but could careless when it becomes paralyzed the moment a conversation hints at the possibility of an opportunity to preach the Gospel. We flatly reject the notion that our reflections of Jesus are vain superstitions. We rebuke the idea that we've never loved him because we are captive by our addictions or because we are never inspired by him, inclined to him or take delight in his beauty, power or grace. We resist the notion that sin is so pervasive that even our thoughts are subject to accountability. We abhor the idea that we will have to suffer for God because of our faith. We fear the idea of sharing our profession with a co-worker, unbelieving family member or friend.I long ago gave up trying to bring salvation to those around me - I seek, actively, to try and find a way to bring others to the point where they encounter transformation.
We set out sights so low anymore, we seek to get them to church, or get them down the aisle, but God wants more and we should too. It's not a shower this thing we call Christianity, it is so much more.
More, the only way we can bring others to it, is to go there ourselves.
Related Tags: salvation, transformation, conversion, relgion, genuine faith
