Starting soon, probably
before the week is out, I am going to launch a series on sanctification. It will, I reckon, consist of one post per week. Each entry will cover one of the primary views on sanctification. In order for this effort to not be too much of a burden to myself, I will format the content in a bulletized fashion with the addition of a key quote, a key verse, and a comment by myself. With each entry, I will withhold the source (denomination, sect or label) of the view I am presenting. The purpose for this approach is for your benefit. You will be prevented from bringing your own biases that get triggered by labels when reading the material. Obviously, you can defeat this if you already know these positions.
The reason I am embarking on this research is, in the first place, for my own edification. Of late, I have been the recipient of much preaching which has had the effect of beating me up spiritually. For weeks on end,I have been told, in so many words, that I am not good enough. I am not mature enough. I am not disciplined enough. That my Christianity is a routine designed just to make me feel good about myself. That I am more like a Pharisee than a Christ follower. That my prayer of confession is a ruse on my part that I employ merely to clear the path for my next bout of selfish sinning.
I need a quick pick-me-up. I would rather be told that I am holy, quite frankly. I had been led to believe that the Bible tells me that very thing. Or does it? Hence my quest.
The second reason for this post is that I believe an overview of this topic could stimulate Biblical thinking on your part, always a good thing. I have the sneaking suspicion that a large part of the modern evangelical church is drifting away from doctrinal issues such as this. Even though this may not be true in the case of any of the readers of this blog, I want to counter this tendency.
Naturally, I have sources for this research. I will also withhold these sources until the end. (Don't want you reading ahead).
9 comments:
Maybe this will help pick you up. Sunday night in our series on I John, Pastor was preaching on how I John is a message to the elect, to be used to bolster Assurance, not a message to the unsaved, to club them over the head with conviction.
Maybe that's not enough detail to pick you up, but you can think about it.
Are you taking a class on said subject as well? Are you back in seminary these days??
Son1 - Great! Feel better already.
Sis - No and Yes,as of this Friday. Will be posting info on this tonight so stay tuned.
I have heard the same sermons as you and I feel fine. They just go through one ear and out the other. You should try my approach stop complaining and spare the theological mumbo jumbo. Beside's we are 21st century American Evangelicals. We are not suppose to think that hard...just have a peace about it. As long as we listen to the still small voice in our heads we'll be fine......On a serious note I look forward to reading your analysis. Is this a sermon series you are preparing to be used during your pastoral internship next semester?
No sermon series. Likely no pastoral internship either. I'm at sem. because I want to learn. We'll see where it leads, if at all.
Despite my attempt at humor yesterday, I too have felt strange about the recent sermon series. It seems as if almost everything that I think should be in the worship service or added to the worship service is being attacked. Should I give up hoping for a more traditional worship service and fall in line with the advancing contemporary style?
I am one that is very suspicious of people begging on the street. Is my suspicion that causes me not to give money to people who are probably concoting a scam a lack of mercy? Should I deny my fear of possibly encourging slothfulness?
I hope a series on sanctification will help answer some questions. I have a few topics I want to address in that vein, but not for a while.
As for a way to deal with beggars, it is very simple. Carry no cash with you. You know, as in "silver and gold have I none . . . ."
A friend at work refuses to hand cash over to beggars on the grounds that to do so perpetuates the cycle.
Another refuses on the grounds that the poor beggar is simply asking the wrong guy. He says the beggar needs to be informed that agencies exist for the very purpose of giving stuff to him.
Would someone define "traditional worship service"? Have we lost what it means to "worship in spirit and in truth"? Or do we really understand what that means. What about getting back to the tradition of tithing...oops, there I go again.
I would start by defining traditional worship by turning to Acts 2:42, which inlcudes the preaching of the Word (Apostoloic Doctrine), partaking of the sacraments, public prayer and fellowship. Throughout history worship has been expressed in many ways. During the middle ages the Church kind of got off into wrong things such as idol worship and resacrificing Christ. During the Reformation the Church rejected many of the bad traditions that evolved over time. Hence restoring the "truth" in worship. It is interesting that the Jesus indicates that true worship is done in spirit and truth. Implying you cannot have one without the other. Many mystical groups throughout the ages sought to emphasize the spirit and lost the truth. The novel may bring excited, however may be way off the mark provided in Scripture.
The Bible also contains many spiritual songs used in worship as well. Psalms is a great resource for how our hymns/songs should be structured. My faverite are those, which contain content that is God-centered exalting and extolling His majestic name and works.
Over the last 400 years their have many traditions developed that are rooted in these biblical patterns. These traditions are rich and fruitful, however can be given a bad name by sinful people that do not have the spirit. Hence they have truth but not the spirit.
Thus, the challenge is not to be stuck in auto-pilot monotonously going through the motions of a rich liturgy. The liturgy is not to blame for this it is the people who spoil it.
Hopefully, this answered the questio or maybe generated new ones.
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