One of the many wonderful aspects about the doctrine of
salvation by grace through faith is that I can get a whole lot wrong in my
theology and still find salvation in Christ. The doctrine, briefly stated, is
that we as guilty sinners bring nothing to a relationship with the Lord. We
bring only our sin, past, present and future. We bring only our wrong-ness. We
accept Christ’s offer of His sacrificial death by faith and His righteousness
is imbued to us. Our life after--- our second life, is one of increasing
obedience to Christ our Lord as the Holy Spirit works with and within our will
so that we would become what we already are considered in Christ--- righteous.
What this means in practice is that though I am saved and growing
in obedience, there are still lots of areas in which I suffer in ignorance or
willful sin. And these don’t negate my salvation!!! In terms of theology, I am
a finite man limited by my own ignorance and sin-stained inclinations. In
short, I get lots of stuff wrong. None of us has our theology 100% correct
because we are all limited by our sinfulness and the very distinction of being
human (i.e. not God). Praise the God who saves in spite of who I am.
Now, this is no way absolves us from the responsibility we
have to change our incorrect notions when confronted by truth just as we are
responsible for repenting of sin as soon as we are aware of it. We cannot sit
back and ignore the teachings of Scripture out of pride, laziness, or willful
sin. When Scripture speaks, we must listen.
When we are made aware, we must conform.
However, in an age when social media allows us the avenue to
posit any number of beliefs, it’s comforting to know (especially as I look back
at my past comments) that my soul is secure in Christ not based upon what I
knew and when, but rather solely upon the righteousness of Christ.
Still, I should probably temper that inclination to update
my status.
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