Salvation

For many, Easter is about joy, laughter, colorful eggs, and chocolate. And also Chocolate. Especially chocolate. It is a day of fun and games. It is a day of fluffy rabbits. It is a day of punching out the nearest kid who almost got the egg that was so clearly yours. It is a day of chocolate. Did I mention chocolate? Because it really involves chocolate. But for Christians, it is more than just a day of fun (and chocolate). It is a day of rejoicing.

Easter is another extremely important holiday for Christians, and goes hand in hand with Good Friday. Easter centers around and celebrates the resurrection of Christ. While Good Friday reminds us of the sacrifice he made, Easter reminds us of the victory and salvation that came after. Whereas before we mourned his suffering, now we rejoice in his salvation. This is why Good Friday and Easter are consecutive. Good Friday reminds us of what he suffered for our sake. Easter Sunday reminds us of why he did it, and what he gained. It shows us both the pain and glory of the cross. Easter is no less important. It is meant to remind us of Christ's victory over the grave. In his resurrection, death lost its sting. When Christ rose from the grave, he rose in victory over sin and death. He paved the way for our salvation. He had paid the price for our sins, and suffered the wrath of His Father for our sake. With the resurrection of Christ, it became possible for men to be saved. We were no longer slaves to sin. We were no longer without hope or prayer. We were no longer separated from God by an insurmountable distance. Christ had paved the way for us to enter into heaven. We rejoice over his victory and his gift to us. Easter is meant to remember this day in celebration. It reminds us of the love of God, and of his power. It reminds us that nothing is greater than God. It reminds us that everything is within his power. It reminds us that we will never be forsaken. He could have left us to suffer our own punishment, and justly so. He could have turned away and forsaken us. He could have chosen not to die and suffer the pain of hell. But He did not choose to do so. He chose to give us a way to stand beside him. When Christ rose from the dead, we rose with him. Easter reminds us that because of God we are no longer dead in sin. That he chose to raise us to life in Christ. He freed us from slavery to sin. He freed us from our crushing debt that could never be paid. It reminds us that because of his sacrifice, we stand. We stand with God. We stand in victory. We stand over sin and death. We stand as free. This is why we rejoice.

You can see why it bothers me that so many people, who profess to be Christian, do not understand the importance of these sermons. They exist for a reason. These are not messages that we should vaguely know about and then forget. These are not stories that you automatically spout off without knowing what they mean. They are core messages and important to fully understand. That is why these holidays exist, to remind us of their importance and give us knowledge of them, beyond simply what we heard in Sunday school. They are invaluable. Easter and Good Friday are not simply two more days that you have to sit in Church for. They are extremely important both theologically, and instructively. So before you complain that you hate church. Before you complain that you do not want to spend all night in a pew. Before you start saying that it is just one night and it does not matter. Remember why they are there, and what they teach.

-BlackFox

(666)

Sacrifice

 Well, these posts are obviously pretty late. But I wanted to do them consecutively without a random assigned post or whatever mixed in (and without having to go way over the word requirement).

So, Good Friday has come and gone another year. For a lot of people, it's just an excuse to get off work or school early. But for Christians, it is one of the most important holidays of the year. Sadly, many people do not realize its importance. Many even expressed annoyance regarding the holiday. Even when people came from a Christian family, I would still hear them complaining about having to go or giving a blatant refusal to accompany their families. It really brought me down a little to hear that, so I decided I would take a week to write about the importance and meaning of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Good Friday is not simply an excuse for your parents or family to drag you into church late at night. It is in remembrance of one of the most central events of the Bible, the death of Christ. Good Friday centers entirely on the death of the cross. It is there to remind us of the sacrifice of Jesus. It is meant not only as a day of remembrance, but of mourning and contemplation. It is not a happy fun holiday. The songs are not ones of joy or ones of cheerfulness. There are no happy decorations or feasts. The songs are normally ones of sorrow or a more serious nature, and the day itself was traditionally one of fasting. The service is often solemn and certainly more serious than most. Here the pastor is less apt to make a wisecrack or break the serious tone. The darker mood is meant to exist. It is meant to remain so that we may fully understand the nature of that day. The story of the crucifixion is often read from start to finish. There are no omissions. The suffering and pain of Christ is giving voice in order that we may remember what he went through. Every scorn, every wound, every moment cut away from His Father is recounted. It is meant to remind us of what he did, and why he did it. It is meant to remind us that he bore his torment willingly, suffered the fires of hell willingly, faced the utter loneliness of being forsaken by the Father willingly, for our sake and our sake alone. It is meant to recount to us the pain and suffering he endured for our sake. The focus throughout remains entirely upon what Christ did. It very rarely shifts to the congregation. It is a time to honor God, not ourselves. We are meant to contemplate the things he suffered, and why he suffered them. He endured for our sake, that we may be saved. We were not worthy. We were not deserving. But God loved us enough to literally endure the torments of Hell. This is a time to look to God with awe at the sheer magnitude of His sacrifice. This is a time for serious thought and realization of our debt to him, and how it was paid. Often times during the sermon, the church will slowly darken as symbolic candles are extinguished or certain passages have been reached. Eventually, the lights in the church will be completely off, and the sermon will end in darkness. You then leave. You do not speak to your friends. You do not make plans to go out for dinner. You leave in silence, thoughts turned above.

-BlackFox

(600)

Sola Fide (Extremely Short)

Although through faith I shall atone,

my faith is one that's not alone.

-BlackFox (...Oh hush. I hit my word requirement on the first one.)

(25)

Faithful Works

One argument I hear a lot towards Protestants, and specifically the doctrine of sola fide (justification by faith alone), is that it supposedly implies a “dead faith” or faith without works. They argue that if our only justification for being deemed righteous by God is our faith and not anything we ourselves do, then by extension our works do not matter. Therefore, we do not have to actually do anything and do not need or seek to please God with our actions. Thus, sanctification does not occur. In other words, we do not actually change or become closer to God. However, this is not what the doctrine implies at all. While sola fide does state that works do not count towards your heavenly merit, this does not mean that works are considered unimportant or unnecessary.

Firstly, I will address works and their relationship to salvation. Works are not a requirement for justification, they are a fruit of justification. When someone receives the saving grace of God, and by extension comes to a true saving faith, they are a changed person. Their nature that previously only desired sin, has now been altered to seek Christ and to glorify him. Thus, they will now desire to perform good works, and they will desire to please and obey God. Salvation leads to sanctification. However, this does not mean that the works we perform are inherently good. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Everything we do, no matter how righteous it seems on the surface, is tainted by sin. Be it substance, motive, or circumstance. Therefore, nothing we can do will ever possibly count in our favor. Works in a sense, increase our debt of sin when performed by themselves. Thus, they cannot aid us in becoming righteous. Works done through the grace of God exalt him, but they are his doing and not ours. They are not the grounds of our redemption, they are a sign of it. When we are saved through faith by the grace of God, we are saved by something outside ourselves. We are saved by something that is not tainted by sin. This salvation intrinsically transforms us to begin to grow in righteousness, albeit we cannot ever become fully righteous in of ourselves. In essence, sanctification does not beget justification, it is the product of it.

Works are a necessary and inevitable result of a true faith. Put simply, if someone has a true faith then they will perform good works. Our works do not improve our chances of gaining access to heaven, they are not the grounds by which we are declared righteous. However, it is through them that we show our faith and our salvation. We perform good works because God has drawn us to him, he has changed our nature so that we might desire good instead of evil. God does not give one and not the other. It is not possible to have a true saving faith and not perform good works. If one claims to have faith, and does not show it through works, then the faith is not a true one. Obedience and actions follow faith. Works are not meaningless. They are not pointless simply because they do not pave the way to heaven. They support and emphasize our faith. They glorify God. And they are proof of our sanctification. We are saved by faith alone, but not a faith that is alone.

-BlackFox

(578)

A Different Connection

Hallo reader. I hath come to grace thee with an assigned post. Yes, yes, I know. But we all must all make sacrifices for the academic arts.

In this case, we are going to take a look at the current topic we are writing about in class. At present, we are taking a look at the concept of online relationships (And not just the romantic kind. Friendships count too), and whether that connection across screens is a real, or for that matter desirable, one. Now, I normally would advocate actually being with someone as opposed to simply chatting through a messenger or awareness of the potential dangers involved. However… I noticed that very few seemed to look at the value behind that connection. They focused on the dangers and the unknowables, and they expounded upon the hits taken by intimacy and social skills, but few seemed to mention the view on the other side of the window. And, in the interest of fairness and the fact that these relationships do actually have some merit… I, for once, am going to defend them.

To start, I would like to contest the notion that a relationship on the internet - be it friend, family, or romance oriented - is automatically insufficient or unauthentic. Just because you interact with someone consistently online does not necessarily mean that this interaction is less meaningful. Not everyone behind the screen is a serial killer or a pseudo profile. In some very real cases, you can find good close friends online. You can form real connections and real relationships with people. As an example, suppose we arbitrarily define “a real friend” as someone you trust unconditionally. Someone who you are able to lower your defensive walls and be open with. Someone you can discuss painful or personal things with, without the fear of being rejected or injured. If I have a friend online that provides this for me, are they not a “real friend”? Additionally, just because you can physically interact with a person does not automatically make the relationship stronger. People can still be shallow and cruel and unreliable or deceiving in real life. If for instance, I meet a man in real life who lies to me about his name and occupation, is that any different from using a false profile on a dating site? The validity of the relationship is not determined by the medium by which you interact, but the quality of the interactions. And yes being able to actually see or talk with this person - even better if you physically get together - is desirable, but it is not a requirement for the relationship to be genuine. I can still receive support, companionship, and joy from someone online without losing anything. I simply gain this connection in a different way. And for some, this different way is their salvation.

Not everyone is a social butterfly. Not everyone is able to open up or be themselves face to face. Some people need the protective barrier of a screen between them and whoever they are talking too. With it, they feel safe and secure enough to talk with the other person. This other person is someone they will not have to physically face every day in the hall or office. This is someone who has no idea who they are, and who will not associate their actions with their face. It offers greater protection and security from being hurt or rejected. Of course, there are some who will say: “And WHY do they need that barrier exactly? Because it exists! Since they have grown up with it, they have failed to develop any social skills at all! If the internet did not exist, then they would have to learn to interact with people the right way”! This is an argument that continues to mystify me, mainly because I do not see the logic behind it. A lack of existence does not imply a lack of need. This is the equivalent of arguing that a knight does not really need armor, and that having armor has only conditioned him to fight carelessly. If he did not have this unnecessary barrier between him and his imposing foe, he would have had to develop “real” fighting skills. If someone said this, we would call the argument foolish. While it would be true that some people may not need a barrier or that some people may misuse it and become careless, that does not negate the legitimate need for protection and security that many would require. Some of you may feel I am exaggerating here, but I assure you this is not a hyperbolic argument. For some, talking with someone can be just as intimidating as riding into battle. Especially if they have fought that battle before, and lost. There are people who have tried to interact with the “real world” the “right way”, and they have been burned.

And I don’t mean a pathetic burn that you just rinse some water on and brush away. I mean a deep scar leaving, slow healing burn. Burns that stay with you for a long, long time. The people who are burned like this simply do not get back into the social waters. They have been rejected and hurt and ridiculed to the point where they are no longer able or willing to try anymore. To create a friendship, let alone a romantic relationship, you need to have a basic sense of trust in the safety of trying to form one. You need to be secure in the fact that trying to connect with someone will not end in pain and rejection. Not just romantic wise, but in the sense of basic friendship as well. For many people, they no longer have this. I am not just talking about people with “trust issues”, or people who have been bullied or abused, or even people who are outright shunned and alone. They obviously relate to what I am saying, but the obvious or extreme cases are not the only ones that are relevant. I am talking about those people that seem fine or “normal”. People who put on a smile and allow only the socially correct parts of themselves to show. People who can’t be themselves, because their real face is considered weird, or stupid, or childish. People who have stopped reaching out and have started blending in. For them, the internet is a safe haven. It is a place where you can be yourself because you are anonymous. It is a place where you are not trapped in this cycle of interacting with the same people every day. It is a place where you can find someone who accepts you for you. And for many, it becomes the only place they feel they can ever really belong. One point of salvation on the internet is that personality matters more than appearance. You are not judged by how you look, you are judged by how you act and think. It takes away the pain of people associating your person and face with something of ridicule. It takes away the danger of facing those associations face to face. If you fail to connect with someone online, you simply never contact them again. If you fail in a “real life” setting, then you have to look that person in the eye every day you go back to that place. So yes the internet can be dangerous, but it can also be a godsend too. It depends on the perspective you look with. Not everything is as black and white as it may seem.

It is easy to tell people to get over things like this. It is easy to say they have issues. It is easy to say they need to grow up and deal with it. It is easy to say they just need better social skills. It is easy to say that if they would only do “x” then life would be so much better. It is easy to tell them the only friends or loved ones they have found are not “real” because they only speak with them online. It is easy to say these things when you have never been in that situation. But when you have been in that situation where being you means being alone, or even when you know someone who has, those things become a hell of a lot harder to say.

-BlackFox

(1420)

Model Christain

I go to church on Sunday,

I wear my smartest clothes.

My smile is bright and very gay,

and my devotion shows.

I offer up the proper tithe,

I never take His name in vain.

I tell my children not to writhe,

so from the sermon they will gain.

I know exactly when to stand,

I know when I must join in song.

I never call the sermon bland,

nor do I say it is too long.

I'm always early, never late,

And I know when to laugh and cry.

The pastor I will not debate,

for my shepherd knows more than I.

Yes I am the model Christian,

who follows my saviors law.

And I challenge you who listen,

to name even a single flaw.

What is that? What did you say?

The sermon? What was it about?

Why church has been over since yesterday,

But something quite moving no doubt.

-BlackFox (...with a short post again. *twirls flag*)

(160)  

Personally Overboard

Today, my sister shared with me the existence of the Personal Promise Bible. Apparently, you can order a personalized Bible from them. They will go through and replace words or phrases in scripture with your name (and potentially a great number of things). Granted I have never actually seen one of these, but I have learned enough about them to understand it works to make scripture more focused on the individual. For instance, you might find “For God so loved John Smith, that He gave His only son...”. Or perhaps “By which He granted to John Smith....” etc. etc. In all honesty, this appears to be a great example of why we should never let marketing near the Word. For instance, they only replace positive things. Like how God saved us, or what he has done for us, or what he has revealed to us. This shifts the focus from our own sin and mortal failings to how awesome we are and how much God loves us. Which completely downplays one of the main messages of the Bible. Now, if we had some negative sentences in there, it might be more balanced and interesting. I personally think this Bible could be very greatly improved with the additions of such gems as “And to John Smith he will say 'depart from me, I never knew you'” or possibly “If John Smith looks at a woman with lust in his heart he has committed adultery with her” or, and this is my personal favorite, “Woe to you, John Smith! It would have been better for you if you had never been born!” But that's just me.

Now, some might praise this concept. After all, we want people to have a personal connection with God yes? And the Bible is a message to each of us yes? Well, yes and no. The Bible is a message, but it is a message to all of God's children. It is the word and law of God. The message of the Bible is not, and should not, be about us. It is not centered around us. It is not solely for us. The Bible serves the purpose of spreading the Good News and the word of God. The subject, and the focus, of the Bible is God. It works to direct our attention upwards to God, to focus on him and not ourselves. This kind of trinket is an extremely narcissistic way to make it about us. Instead of showing the crucifixion and the sacrifice of the Lamb as a selfless atonement for the sins of all, it becomes an action by which to save us specifically. Not the world, not our congregation, not the neighbor down the street, but us personally. It is a way to say, God did all this for ME. God gave his life for ME. God is always there for ME. ME. ME. ME. God is still there, his works and actions and words are still noted, but it has become self-focused. It has ceased to be solely about God. By merely inserting our own name, even in what might be seen as inconsequential places (i.e. you will not see “In the beginning, John Smith created the heavens and the earth” nor will it say John Smith died for our sins.), it still shifts our thoughts and attentions inward. It takes away for the impact and distance and span of the crucifixion. It takes away from the justice and power and love displayed by God. It takes away from his sacrifice and what he has done for us. Yes the Bible is a message to all of us, even the individual. And yes, we should not be detached from scripture when we are reading it. But there is also a limit to how focused on the individual it should be. There needs to be a balance, and quite frankly the Bible currently posses an effective one. It is very possible that God did die for John Smith, but he also died for a great many others as well. We have no place as the focal point. We are nothing special. We have done nothing to deserve such attention. We have no right to steal the focus from its rightful place. There is a reason the Bible is written as it is.

-BlackFox

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