Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . ." (Genesis 1:26).
One of the most commonly accepted doctrines in Christendom is the doctrine of original sin, the belief that sin is in human nature. It is so embedded in human nature that even the remission of sin found in Jesus Christ cannot eradicate it, for it continues to be passed along to the children of Christian parents.
It seems to me that a doctrine that makes the sin of Adam a more powerful dynamic than the redemption and pardon found in Jesus Christ is suspect. If the doctrine of original sin is such an obvious teaching of Scripture, why is it that the earliest creeds of the church, the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed, did not teach it? Because the earliest Christians still held an Apostolic view of the fall; they understood the difference between guilt and consequences. We do not bear the guilt of Adam's sin, but we share in the consequences, two of which are these:
1) When sin entered the world through Adam's disobedience, he passed from a state of innocence to a state of personal accountability. We share in that consequence.
2) When Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden, they no longer had access to the tree of life, thus their physical death was a forgone conclusion. We share in the consequence of physical death too, for the same reason.
If there is something in the make up of a human being that is passed from one generation to another, it is original righteousness--we are created in the image of God. Though all humanity has fallen into sin, following the desires of the flesh, the wisdom of the world and the seduction of satan, the image has not been blotted out! Beings created in the image of God have great nobility! Beings created in the image of God have a great responsibility! Beings created in the image of God have a great Savior!
The doctrine of Original Sin is a doctrine of death. The doctrine of Original Righteousness is a doctrine of hope!
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
THE REAL WASHINGTON
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22).
One of the disadvantages of being dead is that those who are living can make any kind of person out of you that they want. Evidence can be bent enough to make the dead person into the image that the historian chooses. So it has been with the life of our first President, George Washington*. There have been historians who contended that Washington was a deist and not a Christian because he did not speak of Christ very often. He did not speak of Christ often, that is true, but when he did it was powerful. Proclaiming the first Thanksgiving holiday, Washington said,
It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.
In an address to his soldiers he said, To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.
Powerful stuff!! His words represent the thinking of the great majority of our founding fathers!
Washington's personal motto was, Deeds not words. He was a doer who did not spend a lot of time talking. What our deeds say is the real truth about who we are. When Henry Lee, interestingly, the father of Robert E. Lee, gave Washington's funeral oration, he said about him,
First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. To that we say, AMEN for he was our first and best president.
Remember, Washington's birthday is the 22nd.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
* Much of the information in this devotion I owe to the research of Peter A. Lillback, Ph. D. and the History News Network of George Mason University, 2-12-07.
One of the disadvantages of being dead is that those who are living can make any kind of person out of you that they want. Evidence can be bent enough to make the dead person into the image that the historian chooses. So it has been with the life of our first President, George Washington*. There have been historians who contended that Washington was a deist and not a Christian because he did not speak of Christ very often. He did not speak of Christ often, that is true, but when he did it was powerful. Proclaiming the first Thanksgiving holiday, Washington said,
It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.
In an address to his soldiers he said, To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.
Powerful stuff!! His words represent the thinking of the great majority of our founding fathers!
Washington's personal motto was, Deeds not words. He was a doer who did not spend a lot of time talking. What our deeds say is the real truth about who we are. When Henry Lee, interestingly, the father of Robert E. Lee, gave Washington's funeral oration, he said about him,
First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. To that we say, AMEN for he was our first and best president.
Remember, Washington's birthday is the 22nd.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
* Much of the information in this devotion I owe to the research of Peter A. Lillback, Ph. D. and the History News Network of George Mason University, 2-12-07.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
ALEXANDER CHOSE SIDES ON VALENTINE'S DAY
. . . baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. . .(I Peter 3:21 NIV).
When my grandson, Alexander, was baptized on Valentine's day I was thinking, "Now Alexander has officially chosen sides." In a sense, Alexander has been a Christian all of his ten years of life. He has Christian parents who have taught and modeled the teachings of Christ his whole life long. Ninety per cent of the time, when there is congruence between what the parents say they believe and their actual behavior, the children will adopt the parent's faith. That is the way it is with Alexander. But, on Valentine's Day, Alexander made it official. In baptism he made the pledge to serve our Lord Jesus Christ and to trust our savior, Jesus Christ, for salvation.
The term that is translated "pledge" is also translated "answer" in other versions of the Bible. Giving an answer or making a pledge are essential in making a vow or a covenant. In this case, in baptism, one swears by the blood of Jesus--the covenant is signed in the blood of Jesus and sealed in the Holy Spirit. Alexander now has all the blessings of the New Covenant available to him. He now has all of its responsibilities too, that of living a life of service to Jesus Christ.
Have you publicly pledged, on Christ's terms, not your own, your trust in and your service to Jesus Christ? Alexander has.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
When my grandson, Alexander, was baptized on Valentine's day I was thinking, "Now Alexander has officially chosen sides." In a sense, Alexander has been a Christian all of his ten years of life. He has Christian parents who have taught and modeled the teachings of Christ his whole life long. Ninety per cent of the time, when there is congruence between what the parents say they believe and their actual behavior, the children will adopt the parent's faith. That is the way it is with Alexander. But, on Valentine's Day, Alexander made it official. In baptism he made the pledge to serve our Lord Jesus Christ and to trust our savior, Jesus Christ, for salvation.
The term that is translated "pledge" is also translated "answer" in other versions of the Bible. Giving an answer or making a pledge are essential in making a vow or a covenant. In this case, in baptism, one swears by the blood of Jesus--the covenant is signed in the blood of Jesus and sealed in the Holy Spirit. Alexander now has all the blessings of the New Covenant available to him. He now has all of its responsibilities too, that of living a life of service to Jesus Christ.
Have you publicly pledged, on Christ's terms, not your own, your trust in and your service to Jesus Christ? Alexander has.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Lincoln & Darwin, Their 200th Birthday
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . . Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" (Genesis 1:1, 26 RSV).
The great emancipator, Abraham Lincoln, and best articulator of the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin, share the same birthday, February 12, 1809. A quote from each man is revealing. In them we see the implications of the logical consequences of their different faiths.
First, a quote from Lincoln's second inaugural address, spoken near the end of America's costliest war, the Civil War:
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds . . .
Now a quote from Darwin found on Google's Brainy Quotes:
At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace the savage races through out the world.
The legacy of Lincoln is that the preserved Union became best nation in the history of the world. Treating people, no matter who they are, as God's creation and worthy of love, had a great deal to do with America's strength and goodness.
The legacy of social Darwinism is grim. Sigmund Freud, Margaret Sanger, Hitler, Stalin, etc. followed the logical conclusions of social Darwinism and the result has been a story of pain, blood and death.
Oh yes, Darwin was a man of faith. Though his disavowed faith in the God of the Bible, he adopted faith in nature, about which knowledge is not absolute. I'm sure that when he met God, who has absolute knowledge, there was weeping and gnashing of teeth!
Which birthday do you want to celebrate?
Grace&Peace,
Tom
The great emancipator, Abraham Lincoln, and best articulator of the theory of evolution, Charles Darwin, share the same birthday, February 12, 1809. A quote from each man is revealing. In them we see the implications of the logical consequences of their different faiths.
First, a quote from Lincoln's second inaugural address, spoken near the end of America's costliest war, the Civil War:
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds . . .
Now a quote from Darwin found on Google's Brainy Quotes:
At some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace the savage races through out the world.
The legacy of Lincoln is that the preserved Union became best nation in the history of the world. Treating people, no matter who they are, as God's creation and worthy of love, had a great deal to do with America's strength and goodness.
The legacy of social Darwinism is grim. Sigmund Freud, Margaret Sanger, Hitler, Stalin, etc. followed the logical conclusions of social Darwinism and the result has been a story of pain, blood and death.
Oh yes, Darwin was a man of faith. Though his disavowed faith in the God of the Bible, he adopted faith in nature, about which knowledge is not absolute. I'm sure that when he met God, who has absolute knowledge, there was weeping and gnashing of teeth!
Which birthday do you want to celebrate?
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Monday, February 09, 2009
WHAT IS SELF-CONTROL? 2
Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable (I Corinthians 9:25).
John Tierny, New York Time columnist, wrote an article called, For Good Self-control, Try Getting Religious About It.* In it he cited research done by the Universities of Miami and Maryland which confirmed that religious people do tend to be more self-controlled than nonreligious people.
Why is that? Faith gives us purpose to live in a certain way so that we can live intentionally rather than simply being victims of our feelings, impulses and urges. Faith not only restrains us from negative behaviors, it motivates us to do right behaviors in spite of our feelings. Much of what is called "depression" is simply a lack of self-control. Faith gives us a reason and it gives us a resource to get up and get going. The dynamic of the Holy Spirit is essential to the formation of self-control in our lives--the fruit of the Holy Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:23)!!
Faith in Christ does not mean that self-control problems will vanish, but it is the necessary first-step to a life of real purpose and fulfillment.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
John Tierny, New York Time columnist, wrote an article called, For Good Self-control, Try Getting Religious About It.* In it he cited research done by the Universities of Miami and Maryland which confirmed that religious people do tend to be more self-controlled than nonreligious people.
Why is that? Faith gives us purpose to live in a certain way so that we can live intentionally rather than simply being victims of our feelings, impulses and urges. Faith not only restrains us from negative behaviors, it motivates us to do right behaviors in spite of our feelings. Much of what is called "depression" is simply a lack of self-control. Faith gives us a reason and it gives us a resource to get up and get going. The dynamic of the Holy Spirit is essential to the formation of self-control in our lives--the fruit of the Holy Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:23)!!
Faith in Christ does not mean that self-control problems will vanish, but it is the necessary first-step to a life of real purpose and fulfillment.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Sunday, February 08, 2009
WHAT IS SELF-CONTROL?
Like a city breached, without walls, is one who lacks self-control (Proverbs 25:28).
A quote attributed to Rupert Brooke says, "The worst of slaves is he whom passion rules." After reading a little about his life on Wikipedia, I believe his wisdom resulted from his own personal battles for self-control.
One of the greatest expressions of love for God, humanity and self is simple self-control. Those who possess self-control are trustworthy and dependable. They can keep in check obsessive, compulsive and unacceptable behaviors. The one with self-control is one who is able to hold over-emotional responses in check as well. Fear, anger and selfishness always bring about destruction and sorrow and seldom work for the benefit of anyone, including one's self--it is hard to have enduring relationships and gainful employment without self-control.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
A quote attributed to Rupert Brooke says, "The worst of slaves is he whom passion rules." After reading a little about his life on Wikipedia, I believe his wisdom resulted from his own personal battles for self-control.
One of the greatest expressions of love for God, humanity and self is simple self-control. Those who possess self-control are trustworthy and dependable. They can keep in check obsessive, compulsive and unacceptable behaviors. The one with self-control is one who is able to hold over-emotional responses in check as well. Fear, anger and selfishness always bring about destruction and sorrow and seldom work for the benefit of anyone, including one's self--it is hard to have enduring relationships and gainful employment without self-control.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
GRACE EVENTS
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly . . . (Titus 2:11-12).
As a Christian counselor, one of the assumptions I make when a person, a couple or a family comes with a problem is that God is already at work in their lives. God has created us. Jesus has died for us all. God has not abandoned those whom He loves. The problem itself can be a grace event that prods a person to change and to grow. We think of grace in the terms of being made safe from God's wrath, but salvation is much more than that! Salvation also means becoming spiritually complete, whole and healthy servants of God. Grace is the environment in which we live. It is how God brings about healthy and good change into our lives. Therefore, when we have problems we should think of them as grace events. Problems are grace events not because God caused them, but because He alone is the One who can bring good out of our worst problems. That "good" being the change, growth and maturation of those He loves.
Thinking about our problems in this way helps us recognize the solutions that God opens up to us.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
As a Christian counselor, one of the assumptions I make when a person, a couple or a family comes with a problem is that God is already at work in their lives. God has created us. Jesus has died for us all. God has not abandoned those whom He loves. The problem itself can be a grace event that prods a person to change and to grow. We think of grace in the terms of being made safe from God's wrath, but salvation is much more than that! Salvation also means becoming spiritually complete, whole and healthy servants of God. Grace is the environment in which we live. It is how God brings about healthy and good change into our lives. Therefore, when we have problems we should think of them as grace events. Problems are grace events not because God caused them, but because He alone is the One who can bring good out of our worst problems. That "good" being the change, growth and maturation of those He loves.
Thinking about our problems in this way helps us recognize the solutions that God opens up to us.
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Monday, February 02, 2009
WHO IS PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT?
Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham (Luke 3:8).
I do not know very much about Clare Herbert Woolston except that he has the same name as a shirt-tail relative of mine and that he was a preacher in Chicago during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Also he authored the words to a little children's song that we used to sing in Sunday school when I was a little boy, Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and Yellow, Black and White, all are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. I imagine that serving the Lord in a city like Chicago proved to be the source of inspiration for this little song.
How is it that anyone who trusts in the God of Bible could have ever thought that God loves one race more than another? I am familiar with some of the reasons given, but they all ring hollow. God is concerned about what is in a person's heart and character. Least of all is he concerned with the color of their skin; it is not an issue with Him!
Genocide is evil, yet there is a slow genocide that is against the unborn, and particularly, the Black unborn. Blacks make up a little less than 15 percent of the American population, but Black babies account for 36 percent of the abortion total. God weeps just as much for an unborn black baby who was denied the gift of life as an aborted white baby. Which one of them might have been a future President?
Grace&Peace,
Tom
I do not know very much about Clare Herbert Woolston except that he has the same name as a shirt-tail relative of mine and that he was a preacher in Chicago during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Also he authored the words to a little children's song that we used to sing in Sunday school when I was a little boy, Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and Yellow, Black and White, all are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. I imagine that serving the Lord in a city like Chicago proved to be the source of inspiration for this little song.
How is it that anyone who trusts in the God of Bible could have ever thought that God loves one race more than another? I am familiar with some of the reasons given, but they all ring hollow. God is concerned about what is in a person's heart and character. Least of all is he concerned with the color of their skin; it is not an issue with Him!
Genocide is evil, yet there is a slow genocide that is against the unborn, and particularly, the Black unborn. Blacks make up a little less than 15 percent of the American population, but Black babies account for 36 percent of the abortion total. God weeps just as much for an unborn black baby who was denied the gift of life as an aborted white baby. Which one of them might have been a future President?
Grace&Peace,
Tom
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
