QC and SG accountability (14/6/19)
I was blessed by the Church Camp! I learned that marriage is not (just) for the husband and wife, but to demonstrate God to a watching world. Marriage is evangelism. We are observed as we share ministry and share our homes with both Christians and non-Christians. There is the challenge to intentionally open our home more and more for this, and to 'adopt' those who may not have Christian parents.
Home is the most difficult place to be a Christian! Home is not just a place to 'be ourselves' where we drop our masks. It is training ground for godliness. We need to speak gracious words to one another at home - words each of us does not deserve.
I was reminded too, how little I know of Joyce's giftings and abilities and how I should be intentionally helping her develop them.
I remember Herbert speaking about the blessing of Ephraim ("God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction") and Manasseh ("God has made me forget all my hardship"). I was also struck by his illustration of how as Christians, we walk in the light, not as the world walks, groping and stumbling in the darkness. There should be no fear and no excuse to live as God has called us to.
We dealt with 2 questions: one was what we should think of Pope Francis' directive to rephrase the Lord's Prayer ("Lead us not into temptation") into “Do not let us fall into temptation”. John Piper gives an excellent response to this move here: :https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/reading-the-bible-upside-downs://and here: Does God lead us into temptation?I think for us that we should be careful when we pray something as familiar as the Lord's Prayer that we have clear ideas of our petitions.
Over the supper table we also asked whether it was better for a believer to worship in a Roman Catholic church if there was no alternative church. I said I could not be dogmatic about this, but that in view of the whole theological framework of a Catholic Mass and the departure from Scripture as the final authority, I would not be comfortable going regularly to a Catholic church. The situation is different if a Catholic joins us, since we have the opportunity to show the distinctions between Scripture and church tradition and can then engage in evangelism. But I think that it is better for someone who is a non-believer to be in a Catholic church than no church at all, since there is at least exposure to Scripture.
We also considered how it was that God (Jesus) needed to propitiate God (The Father).
Propitiation is necessary because God as a just and holy Judge, cannot overlook sin. The price for sin must be paid before relationship can be restored. It is necessary for a holy God to initiate the process of salvation, and it is necessary for a man to pay the price for the sin of mankind. Jesus, one Person with two natures, is then uniquely qualified to be the one who pays the Father on our behalf.
2 Cor 5:18ff ("God...through Christ reconciled us to himself .. 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.") helps us glimpse how salvation is a Trinitarian work. God does not work against Himself, but works within Himself to accomplish His will to save man.
We had a belated celebration for Selwyn's birthday!
Home is the most difficult place to be a Christian! Home is not just a place to 'be ourselves' where we drop our masks. It is training ground for godliness. We need to speak gracious words to one another at home - words each of us does not deserve.
I was reminded too, how little I know of Joyce's giftings and abilities and how I should be intentionally helping her develop them.
I remember Herbert speaking about the blessing of Ephraim ("God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction") and Manasseh ("God has made me forget all my hardship"). I was also struck by his illustration of how as Christians, we walk in the light, not as the world walks, groping and stumbling in the darkness. There should be no fear and no excuse to live as God has called us to.
We dealt with 2 questions: one was what we should think of Pope Francis' directive to rephrase the Lord's Prayer ("Lead us not into temptation") into “Do not let us fall into temptation”. John Piper gives an excellent response to this move here: :https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/reading-the-bible-upside-downs://and here: Does God lead us into temptation?I think for us that we should be careful when we pray something as familiar as the Lord's Prayer that we have clear ideas of our petitions.
Over the supper table we also asked whether it was better for a believer to worship in a Roman Catholic church if there was no alternative church. I said I could not be dogmatic about this, but that in view of the whole theological framework of a Catholic Mass and the departure from Scripture as the final authority, I would not be comfortable going regularly to a Catholic church. The situation is different if a Catholic joins us, since we have the opportunity to show the distinctions between Scripture and church tradition and can then engage in evangelism. But I think that it is better for someone who is a non-believer to be in a Catholic church than no church at all, since there is at least exposure to Scripture.
We also considered how it was that God (Jesus) needed to propitiate God (The Father).
Propitiation is necessary because God as a just and holy Judge, cannot overlook sin. The price for sin must be paid before relationship can be restored. It is necessary for a holy God to initiate the process of salvation, and it is necessary for a man to pay the price for the sin of mankind. Jesus, one Person with two natures, is then uniquely qualified to be the one who pays the Father on our behalf.
2 Cor 5:18ff ("God...through Christ reconciled us to himself .. 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.") helps us glimpse how salvation is a Trinitarian work. God does not work against Himself, but works within Himself to accomplish His will to save man.
We had a belated celebration for Selwyn's birthday!
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