Beautiful, Sherman
And as I’m looking into this, I think I will agree with you. I’m finding things in many of these outlooks that I think agree with scripture and with what we know of God’s character. Thanks for an inspiring post.
And RHM,
I love the idea of the story. We hear it everywhere, even from people who haven’t learned it. The Story seems to be written on every heart.
Paidion,
Great essay! I really found it inspiring, especially the part about how we need to press in (by His power) to that high calling. I always felt this was kind of out of sync with the gospel I had heard, and it fits much better this way.
I would comment that even in that part of the church that teaches penal substitution, I at least, have never heard the idea that it doesn’t much matter how you live. They always also taught a high moral standard where I was, in addition to the penal substitutionary atonement idea (however paradoxical that may be). Just to be fair, you know.
The section on aphesis is very enlightening. What a difference a translation makes! Thanks for bringing this to my attention – it explains a lot.
In recent years, I too have discarded the idea that “all you have to do is believe and say a little prayer.” Not because I did any in depth exegesis, because I knew the scriptures well enough to know the “little prayer” wasn’t in there, but really, just because it didn’t make sense. What if you believed the wrong version of the gospel? What if you didn’t believe thoroughly enough? How wrong did the thing have to believe before God would disqualify you. No . . . too complicated. No one would make it that way, or if anyone did, it would only be by mistake.
I’ve always been a little bewildered about the baptism thing, though. Scripture is very clear that we’re to be baptized, but would God disqualify someone just because they didn’t understand about the importance of baptism? Lots of people sincerely don’t believe it’s necessary. Of course, the knowledge that we will ALL make it, along which ever path we end up traveling to Jesus, is a great comfort regarding anyone (ourselves included) who might have messed up somewhere.
The last bit about the body and the Head and all of us being one in Christ and with Him and He with us is my favorite part. It is in Him that we traveled through the dark lands, safe in the mercy seat of the Arc of the Covenant, our Lord, and out again into His marvelous light. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.