Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
We get so caught up in our theological disputes that we sometimes forget those things on which we agree. We actually agree more on sanctification than we think we do. Because of our disputes on salvation, we often forget to notice that we are not always as far apart as we think. One of those areas has to do with choosing to work on our sanctification.
Yes, yes, I know that there are those who post comments to me that we do not “work” on our sanctification. However, let me point out some things that are common among all Evangelicals. Have you ever gone to a conference or a listened to a preaching series that had to do with growth in the Christian life? Now, be honest. How many times have you heard teachings on having a daily quiet time, which includes both Scripture reading and prayer? Let me go farther, in how many of those conferences have you been taught that you need to make a decision of the will to get up every morning early enough to be able to spend at least a few minutes reading Scripture and praying. Many of the evangelical groups even go farther and teach you to record a regular prayer diary that you keep checking to see when God fulfills your prayers.
So, in effect, Evangelicals regularly preach that we make a decision of the will to grow in the knowledge of God. And, not just in theoretical knowledge, but in the knowledge of how God works among us–by way of keeping track of his answers to our prayers. The sticking point is the word “salvation.” Because of the Reformation, those descended from the Reformation deny what they practice in actuality. Just like the Orthodox and Roman Catholics, most of those descended from the Reformation prescribe spiritual practices that are designed to help one grow in the knowledge of God. And, particularly among Evangelicals, Christians are told that they need to make a decision of the will to grow the knowledge of God, even if their emotions try to fight them.
There is little difference between this type of teaching and the type of teaching that many Orthodox and Roman Catholics receive about growing in the grace of God. The sticking point is the word “salvation.” But, I would point out to you that if we leave that word out, then both many Evangelicals and all Orthodox would agree among themselves that one needs to make a decision of the will to engage in spiritual practices that help one to grow in the grace of God.
Mind you, I would argue with Evangelicals that limiting those practices to reading Scripture and to prayer is to unScripturally limit those practices. And, I will also argue that most Evangelicals are somewhat contradictory when they speak about sanctification. Nevertheless, please catch my point. In practice, whatever our formal theology might be, there is a broad agreement that we need to make a decision of the will to grow in the grace and the knowledge of God.
I could cite more areas, but let me simply say that Christians are much closer in various areas of orthopraxy than most of us realize. The sad part is that we are not aware of that closeness and engage in many arguments that might be closer to a solution if we looked at our actual practices and teaching.
I agree with you about having much in common and not noticing because of our differences. What you are saying, however, is that evangelicals have tradition, too. I’m not a very good evangelical in that those things many of them teach have been difficult for me. I wish Protestants would realize just how many traditions they have, and own them as traditions. If a Baptist church does as much as meet every Sunday, that is a tradition.
Protestants have a problem with the term “salvation” because most confuse it with “justification,” and most precisely the point in time when the initial justification occurs, doctrinally speaking. “Working out” is then easily confused with “working for,” and avoided by some groups. I was in a Sovereign Grace Baptist circle that promoted “free grace.” They warred against the idea of any human effort involved in sanctification. They were mostly immature Christians as a result. But they are in the minority in how far to one extreme they take things.
My 2c US adjusted for inflation.
Interesting post. I have heard Dr. Nassif also talk about the different meanings Orthodox and Evangelicals put into the word “salvation”.
As you stated, much of this has to do with the idea of knowing God; but it is also about “abiding” in Christ (from only from Whom we will be able to produce fruit), growing and getting off “milk” (as St. Paul puts it), and having our minds “transformed”.
In regards to, “Evangelicals regularly preach that we make a decision of the will to grow in the knowledge of God.” I cannot recommend enough the JI Packer classic, “Knowing God” for further explainations of that.
Likewise, Scot McKnight over at the Jesus Creed has started a new series. He writes:
“So I want to begin a new series and we’ll use James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love With the God Jesus Knows (The Apprentice Series), as our launching pad to think more about God, to think more about what we think about God, and to bring our view of God into line more with what Jesus taught us about God. I predict this book, and the two more in the series, will become deeply influential books in evangelical churches that want to deepen spiritual formation.”
http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/07/beginning-with-god-1.html
Finally, saw this today from Pastor Mark Batterson over at the Catalyst site, in regards to having our minds transformed (Romans 12):
“If you are relying on a preacher to be fed, I fear for you. Listening to a sermon is second-hand knowledge. It is learning based on someone else’s words or experiences. A sermon is no replacement for first-hand knowledge. You’ve got to see it and hear it and experience it for yourself. It’s not enough to hear the truth. You have to own it. Or more accurately, it has to own you. Honestly, I’d rather have people hear one word from the Lord than a thousand of my sermons. And that happens when you open your Bible and start reading.”
http://www.catalystspace.com/content/print/the_best_decision_i_made_this_year
Yes, we often put different meanings on the same word. That is why I was trying to point out that in practice, we are not as far apart as we think. It is sometimes helpful to look at what we do and say without the theological language.
I can remember reading JI Packer’s “Knowing God” many years ago. He is an Anglican priest, and as such, much of his teaching straddles that famous middle Anglican line of both being Catholic and Protestant. He is well worth reading. I will make sure to look at the other series you mention.
I would agree with Pastor Mark Batterson with one caveat. I would argue that the first-hand knowledge is gained from both reading the Bible and doing the works of God, not from either one or the other.