Perversion

Another (few) quote(s) from The Subversion of Christianity by Jacques Ellul that I found interesting:

Security is always inevitably bought at the cost of freedom.
There is an exact equilibrium. The more security and guarantees we want against things, the less free we are. What we want is . . . the illusion of freedom.

Grace is intolerable, the Father is unbearable, weakness is discouraging, freedom is unlivable, spiritualization is deceptive.

Jesus tells us plainly that if we simply do as the world does, we can expect no thanks, for we are doing nothing out of the ordinary. We are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. No less. All else is a perversion.

Stability

Below is a quote from The Subversion of Christianity by Jacques Ellul that I found interesting:

I am saved by grace, agreed. But once this is done, it is done, is it not? I enter into a stable, solid state that is foreseeable and unchangeable. But lo! in salvation as in faith or freedom, I do not enter a fixed state. Salvation is not a finished thing. I never hold it. I never own it. It is not an acquired situation. I may lose it (Paul himself tells us so). Nothing is ever finished with God. I am never installed.

Holy Living

My friend Chris recently posted the following quote from John Chrysostom on his blog The Proletariat of God:

For even in these mystical blessings, it is, on the one hand, God’s part, to give the grace, on the other, man’s to supply faith; and in after time there needs for what remains much earnestness. In order to preserve our purity, it is not sufficient for us merely to have been baptized and to have believed, but we must if we will continually enjoy this brightness, display a life worthy of it. This then is God’s work in us. To have been born the mystical Birth, and to have been cleansed from all our former sins, comes from Baptism; but to remain for the future pure, never again after this to admit any stain belongs to our own power and diligence.

Chris summarized this quote as meaning that baptism doesn't mean anything if the life you live after you are baptized doesn't demonstrate that you know what it meant for you to be baptized.

He was reluctant to tell me that this quote was from Chrysostom's Homily 10 on John 1 because he thought I would use it as "fodder" for my arguments with Calvinists so I will simply say what I believe one possible interpretation from both Calvinists and Arminans might be for this quote.

Calvinists may say that somebody who claims salvation followed by baptism at some point in their life but fails to live a life worthy of their calling was never saved to begin with.

Some Arminians may say that somebody who claims salvation followed by baptism at some point in their life but fails to live a life worthy of their calling has lost their salvation.

I believe that if we don't live a life worthy of our calling, then it does not matter whether we lost our salvation (if it is possible) or if we were never saved to begin with. We either serve God or Satan.

I understand that their are many variations within both Calvinism and Arminianism and that the above interpretations will not be acceptable to all. Please offer up other possible interpretations that you may have concerning this issue.

Violent Temptation

The cover story of The Mennonite Magazine on February 20, 2007, talked about the temptation of violence. The article was good and concluded with the following thought:

. . . we will not, under any circumstances, be grateful for the sacrifices of those who, blinded and deceived by the myth of justified violence, kill and die “for us.” Instead we will mourn as senseless and immeasurably tragic their unnecessary deaths and the unnecessary deaths of all they have killed. If and when we are granted short periods of peace and freedom amid the darkness of this age, it is God alone we will praise and thank.Some of us gave up on the gods of Babylon 2,000 years ago. Our eyes have been opened, the brainwashing of this evil age no longer works with us. And for those who continue as before, we feel only sorrow and compassion.

I don't know what else to say except that this is something to think about.

"Half-True Blasphemy" pt.2

I totally agree with Hubmaier's belief that humans have free will. Hubmaier uses a distinction between body, soul, and spirit to explain how this works out. The body desires to do evil and the spirit desires to do good. It is the soul of humanity that is able to decide between the two of them to live according to the will of God or the will of the flesh. This is only possible because Christ has restored humanity to God's original intention of being able to choose between good and evil.

Don't misinterpret me. I am not saying that works save us or that humanity can save themselves by doing certain things. Humanity is totally depraved and unable to save themselves. Due to Christ's restorative sacrifice at Calvary, God has sent the Holy Spirit to draw humanity towards Himself.

Unlike some who believe that election by God is unconditional, I believe there is one, and only one, condition to being saved. That condition is faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that "we are saved by grace through faith". The grace of God is working throughout all of creation. Those who have faith are being saved. God desires all to be saved but there are some who don't have faith. The atonement was unlimited and it made it possible, but not probable, for all of humanity to be saved and restored to their rightful place as worshippers of the one true God.

This leads me to the belief that the grace of God is resistable. This is due to human free will. God desires all to be saved, Jesus died for all of humanity, and the Holy Spirit is at work in all of creation. Yet, some will not be saved because they do not have faith. To me, this means that the grace of God is resistable.

This also leads me to the troublesome conclusion that some people may be saved and then lose their salvation. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are "created to do good works that were prepared beforehand to be our way of life." So, we are saved by grace through faith to do good works. According to James 2:17 "faith without works is dead." We can say a prayer seeking forgiveness but if our life is not changed by this commitment then we are not saved. If we follow Christ's example, in faith, as a servant to humanity then we will be saved. If we cease to believe that God has saved us and that we are called to be shining lights of Christ's love for the rest of humanity then we are no longer saved.