I regularly have to remind myself not to be like the dude in the picture, but to realize that there are many things I do not know and many attitudes I need to change.
Below is something I posted on another blog. It is in the middle of the conversation between various bloggers, but I think it expresses something of my thoughts.
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Joe M made a good point. There are enough Scriptures in the New Testament, including from Jesus himself, that point to judgment including a behavioral component that it should warn us about any interpretation of Scripture that discounts our personal behavior.
Matthew 7:21 – Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,†will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
It is not my intention to get into a Scripture quotation battle, but only to say that St. Paul alone cannot a theology establish when there are multiple quotations from multiple other authors of the New Testament that go against a viewpoint that would see sanctification as faith alone.
Moreover, a viewpoint of justification by faith alone that results in an assurance that regardless of your actions you will be saved leads to a false sense of security. Even St. Paul had to end up writing that justification does not mean that we can sin more or without worry.
In fact, I would argue that it is St. Paul, not St. James, that has been misunderstood. I would further argue that an over-emphasis on the inability of humans has led not to a loving reliance on God’s grace but to St. Paul having to defend himself against the logical conclusion that grace abounds so much that our sins no longer matter as much. He did defend himself, but it points out how easy he is to misinterpret.
It is only when we do hold the New Testament balance that includes both what Jesus said about how he will not lose one that the Father has given him along with what Jesus said about those who say only “Lord, Lord†not making it in that we can come to a firm and balanced appreciation of salvation by grace.
There is no doubt that salvation is purely and only by grace. There is no doubt that we are then called to use our redeemed wills to follow our Lord. It is a false argument to try to state that unless we follow him perfectly then it matters naught. It clearly does matter since our Lord was the one who said that it matters whether you simply speak the words or whether you do the will of the Father.
Forgiveness of our failures was part of what our Lord built into the fabric of the Church, from the Divine Liturgy to the rest of the Sacraments to the indwelling Holy Spirit to the life of the community. It is that forgiveness that provides the wineskin within which we strive for Christian growth and work out our salvation in fear and trembling, which is from St. Paul, not from St. James. But, and here is the warning from Jesus, James, Paul, John, and the author of Hebrews, if we are not striving to grow, even if do so imperfectly, then the forgiveness may not be present.
Now, as to fear, the argument about fear and uncertainty has been wildly overdone as an argument for the five solas. First, both Solomon and St. Paul insist that fear is the beginning of wisdom. That is where we begin but not where we end. St. John is right that perfect love casts out fear. As we grow in Him, fear does give way to love. But, we tend to want to skip that stage nowadays and to explain it away simply as reverential awe. Rather we need to say with Jesus that we begin by fearing him who can destroy our soul so that we may learn to not fear him who can destroy only our body. But, we do not stop there; we go on.
That going on is called synergy. But that is another topic for another day.
The illustration: Justification: “Thank you that I am not like those smug Pharasees” is a good example of how humans ruin absolutely everything.
Nobody is against good deeds. They will benefit our neighbor and ourselves and please the Lord, through Christ. And that makes us glad. But we realize that they are never good enough and gain us nothing with God to the effect that he owes us anything,at all. What we receive from him are free, undeserved gifts.
I love it when those who teach that Christ’s death and resurrection was not sufficient for their salvation, but they must add to it with works, call others Pharisees.
I love it when those who teach precisely the same thing as the Pharisees call others Pharisees for preaching Christ.
I love it when those who would turn the eyes of faith away from the cross to their own works, call others pharisees, for believing that Good works are they too be good should be done out of love for their neighbor and not with the idea that they have to add to the merits of Christ in order to be saved from hell.
I love it when people call people Pharisees for believing they are sinners in need of God’s mercy.
Hm, I see my picture was not obvious. I was poking fun at myself and at my tendencies to be like the dude in the picture who is somewhat out of the mainstream and is obviously praying in a very inappropriate fashion. That picture was to point out that I am conscious of my tendencies to behave as though I know it all, and that I do not like those tendencies in me. Let me see if I can edit a caption that will clarify the picture.
I believe service done for our Father as a genuine spiritual response to His immense Grace…is called FRUITS. Acts done from other motivation, though they be similar to those done in response to grace….are merely WORKS.
I suppose we all have attitudes that need to change. What you wrote under the picture was not at all obvious (to me anyway) from the picture itself, especially given our current debates elsewhere. Thanks for the clarification.