Study 42: "Don't leave your back uncovered"
I shared that this was a difficult study to prepare for, not just because the passages and ideas seemed to be all over the place, but because there were so many areas in which I felt I fell short.
My introductory comment was that we Protestants tend to think of righteousness solely as something we recieve by imputation from Christ (2 Cor 5:21), not necessarily something we seek to develop and achieve through effort. And yet Scripture encourages us to "strive... for...holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb 12:14). If we do not exhibit practical as well as positional righteousness, then, we place ourselves at risk of "losing our salvation" (if you are Arminian), or proving that you were never one of the elect (if you are Calvinist). Hebrews 12:5 and James 1:14-15 remind us that sinning starts in small ways, but then grows to destroy our lives and the lives of many others.
We spent a great deal of time talking about sins of speech mentioned in Col 3:8. "Slander" is to speak about others in a way that destroys their reputation. While what we say may be true (and therefore an adequate defense in a court of law), Christians are called to a higher standard. Our speech must not merely be non-destructive, but gracious and winsome (Col 4:6) so as to appeal to all we speak to. I said that I learned that "tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy". We tried to define what 'obscene' talk was. I think we struggled here - mere mention of bodily functions does not constitute obscenity. We said that there is a certain recklessness in the intent of using obscenity. Obscenity is offensive, and yet habitual obscenity within groups of people can lead to loss of sensitivity to the language we use. This is linked to an inner sense of rudeness and lack of reverence. This is especially true when we take God's Name in vain. Even trivial usage "OMG" should be avoided. God is too great and glorious for us to trivialize His Name.We had a side discussion here about whether it was permissible, or indeed, preferable, for us to speak like non-Christians in order to connect better with them. I said that we must balance the tension of being 'in' the world and yet not being 'of' the world (Jn 14:15-16), but I do not feel we need to resort to intrinsically sinful behaviour to win people to Christ. Paul's oft-quoted desire to "become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some" (1 Cor 9:18) speaks of adaptability of culture, not willingness to compromise his morality.
We also talked about anger and wrath. Commentators tend to describe anger as a settled emotion, whereas wrath speaks of a surge of anger. I forgot to mention that wrath is the Greek 'orge', the root from which we get our word 'orgasm'. The paroxysmal nature of wrath tends to leads to action, and in the case of God's wrath, to judgement. Both anger and wrath can be right and necessary, since God (and Jesus) are routinely described as being angry. God is in fact constantly angry at sin, since this is a feature of His holiness and purity. Ephesians 4:26 tells us to "be angry". We should be passionate in our opposition to evil and injustice. And yet even righteous anger must be limited in duration ("do not let the sun go down on your anger". As fallen people we often let even righteous anger slide into sin and thus given opportunities to the devil. "The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God".
We also spoke about having the right attitudes. "Kindness" (Col 3:12) is the inner desire to do good to others. It contrasts with "malice" (Col 3:8), which is the desire to do harm. "Humility" is not claiming the rights and privileges that belong to us, not insisting on our own methods or desires. "Meekness" is distinguished from weakness in that it is "strength under control". A meek person has the power to defend himself or herself, but does not choose to do so. Weak people do not have this power. "Patience" like "kindness" is a fruit of the Spirit. The patient person not only waits, but does not mind waiting. Patience is an expression of trust in God's ways and timing.
My introductory comment was that we Protestants tend to think of righteousness solely as something we recieve by imputation from Christ (2 Cor 5:21), not necessarily something we seek to develop and achieve through effort. And yet Scripture encourages us to "strive... for...holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb 12:14). If we do not exhibit practical as well as positional righteousness, then, we place ourselves at risk of "losing our salvation" (if you are Arminian), or proving that you were never one of the elect (if you are Calvinist). Hebrews 12:5 and James 1:14-15 remind us that sinning starts in small ways, but then grows to destroy our lives and the lives of many others.
We spent a great deal of time talking about sins of speech mentioned in Col 3:8. "Slander" is to speak about others in a way that destroys their reputation. While what we say may be true (and therefore an adequate defense in a court of law), Christians are called to a higher standard. Our speech must not merely be non-destructive, but gracious and winsome (Col 4:6) so as to appeal to all we speak to. I said that I learned that "tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy". We tried to define what 'obscene' talk was. I think we struggled here - mere mention of bodily functions does not constitute obscenity. We said that there is a certain recklessness in the intent of using obscenity. Obscenity is offensive, and yet habitual obscenity within groups of people can lead to loss of sensitivity to the language we use. This is linked to an inner sense of rudeness and lack of reverence. This is especially true when we take God's Name in vain. Even trivial usage "OMG" should be avoided. God is too great and glorious for us to trivialize His Name.We had a side discussion here about whether it was permissible, or indeed, preferable, for us to speak like non-Christians in order to connect better with them. I said that we must balance the tension of being 'in' the world and yet not being 'of' the world (Jn 14:15-16), but I do not feel we need to resort to intrinsically sinful behaviour to win people to Christ. Paul's oft-quoted desire to "become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some" (1 Cor 9:18) speaks of adaptability of culture, not willingness to compromise his morality.
We also talked about anger and wrath. Commentators tend to describe anger as a settled emotion, whereas wrath speaks of a surge of anger. I forgot to mention that wrath is the Greek 'orge', the root from which we get our word 'orgasm'. The paroxysmal nature of wrath tends to leads to action, and in the case of God's wrath, to judgement. Both anger and wrath can be right and necessary, since God (and Jesus) are routinely described as being angry. God is in fact constantly angry at sin, since this is a feature of His holiness and purity. Ephesians 4:26 tells us to "be angry". We should be passionate in our opposition to evil and injustice. And yet even righteous anger must be limited in duration ("do not let the sun go down on your anger". As fallen people we often let even righteous anger slide into sin and thus given opportunities to the devil. "The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God".
We also spoke about having the right attitudes. "Kindness" (Col 3:12) is the inner desire to do good to others. It contrasts with "malice" (Col 3:8), which is the desire to do harm. "Humility" is not claiming the rights and privileges that belong to us, not insisting on our own methods or desires. "Meekness" is distinguished from weakness in that it is "strength under control". A meek person has the power to defend himself or herself, but does not choose to do so. Weak people do not have this power. "Patience" like "kindness" is a fruit of the Spirit. The patient person not only waits, but does not mind waiting. Patience is an expression of trust in God's ways and timing.
Comments
Post a Comment