tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242710.post3787520423404170552..comments2023-10-31T07:23:17.922-04:00Comments on The Theos Project: Works of the LawJonathan Erdmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04234688186113838474noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242710.post-39053444497872700062010-03-17T10:32:58.613-04:002010-03-17T10:32:58.613-04:00Daniel: a life of faith is more deeply and perfect...Daniel: <i>a life of faith is more deeply and perfectly defined than any outward religious system, because it is defined inwardly, it is defined by love...</i><br /><br />Yes, that seems to be what Paul says as well. He says (a few times) that love is the fulfillment of the law. One gets the sense that the law is largely an attempt to express in imperative language what cannot ultimately be expressed but what must be lived out, embodied towards others, and written on the heart.<br /><br />(Galatians 5:14 is Paul repeating what Jesus says: that the whole law is summed up as "love your neighbor as yourself." Romans 13:9-10 is a similar statement.)Jonathan Erdmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04234688186113838474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242710.post-52779655698467189222010-03-17T10:27:04.357-04:002010-03-17T10:27:04.357-04:00Hi Mustard Seed,
Sorry to be so long in respondin...Hi Mustard Seed,<br /><br />Sorry to be so long in responding to your comment. I have been ill with a nasty head cold that has hung on for something like two weeks.<br /><br />In terms of a <i>transaction</i>, this kind of reminds me of our discussion on my <a href="http://theosproject.blogspot.com/2009/11/evangelistic.html" rel="nofollow">Evangelistic</a> post. In that post, we found ourselves disagreeing on whether or not there are two cliffs. My point there was that Paul's theology doesn't seem to posit the two-cliffs theory. That whatever Christ did on the cross (a "transaction" as you are suggesting here), this brought peace and reconciliation between God and humanity. The point of faith then is not to move us from one cliff (damnation) to the other cliff (salvation), but to recognize that God's unconditional grace and love has already reconciled us, through Christ.<br /><br />So, when I talk about a "transactional" Gospel, or a salvation that is based on "works," I mean to suggest that there is nothing we can do that brings us into a more perfect state of being under God's grace. Not even "having faith." <br /><br />So, I see modern Christianity as sneaking in "works" under the banner of "faith." We are told that God loves us, <i>but we must first</i> (and this is the condition) we have to "believe" in this or that. Or we are told that God wants to save us, <i>but we must first</i> (and this is the condition) "repent" (or "feel guilty for") of our sins. I think people mean well by giving grace and love these conditions, but it still turns grace into a transaction, unwittingly. And there is evidence in the new testament that faith may involve "repentance" (it often does) and faith may involve some sort of "belief" (but it need not). Faith, I think, is much deeper than either repentance or belief. So deep, in fact, that it cannot be defined.<br /><br />All this to say that what I mean by a "transaction" has to do with our response more than it does with the passion of Christ.Jonathan Erdmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04234688186113838474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9242710.post-34434433098423884242010-03-09T14:24:46.233-05:002010-03-09T14:24:46.233-05:00I think maybe that there are more or less equal pa...I think maybe that there are more or less equal parts of "transaction" and "transformation" going on. (another one of those seemingly paradoxical things in the Bible...) But maybe not such a paradox, if we think of it as 'transaction' on the part of Christ, who paid a penalty on the cross and completely finished that work, but 'transformative' on our part, because the change that God is doing in us is something that goes on for our whole lives... <br /><br />Which, now that I think about it, carries on into your thoughts about the Law, because Jesus was actually the only one to keep the Law. But where things get all backwards is when fallen people try to do what only Christ could, whether by trying to adhere to Jewish laws and customs, or any other set of man-made religious (or even non-religious) actions... <br /><br />It does seem less "defined" when compared to creating some religious code, (which seems to be a natural human tendency), but in reality, a life of faith is more deeply and perfectly defined than any outward religious system, because it is defined inwardly, it is defined by <i>love</i>...Like a Mustard Seedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12042371209325559952noreply@blogger.com