The folks over at Be Strong in the Grace have kindly linked to me several times and today I return the favor. Look over the whole site, but check out this insightful post in particular.
Sometimes folks say they get tired of hearing preachers talk about sin and want to hear more about the love and joy of the Christian life. Now there are certainly some churches that do deliver fire and brimstone without letting the message of God's mercy predominate. And that's not good.
But it's important to point out that the joy of Christianity is only found by first paying attention to the seriousness of our need for God's grace in Christ. A person in a cancer ward might get tired of hearing all about those nasty cancer cells and malignancy and radiation and other such unpleasantness. And he or she might express a preference to hear happy stories about health.
Certainly, we want the patient to experience health, but that won't happen if we downplay the malady. Instead, we want to take an honest hardy approach to facing the disease SO THAT we can get on with the healing. Making light of the cancer won't REALLY lead to health. Only a poor facade. God is going to make you feel good (with the Gospel) but only after making you feel bad (with the Law).
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Too Much Sin-Talk?
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5 comments:
Walther makes a great case of this in saying that the Gospel can not exist with out the Law. In the same way as you stated you would not need to be healed if you did not know you were sick.
"you would not need to be healed if you did not know you were sick"
That's a great way to put it, Andrew! Thanks, Pastor, for posting this. The Lutheran church is the first to confront me with my sin and then joyously and happily present me with my Savior. I have had my reason for joy ever since!
Amen! That's why I love the teachings of Dr. Francis Schaeffer. He starts with Genesis because that is where the gospel starts!
As I posted over there, amen to all of the above. I recently blogged some thoughts on sin also. Must be summer, or something in the air. "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."
Ath,
By reducing the seriousness of our sin, we reduce the glory of Christ and His work on the cross.
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