Thursday, February 16, 2006

Old thoughts re-pondered...

Today I was looking through some old notes in journals I've kept. Not personal journals (though I keep those too). These have sermon notes, notes from conferences, quotes I want to remember - that sort of thing.

I have realized something about myself: I take long amounts of time to really "get" certain concepts. You could say that ideas need to "marinate" - or that I'm a "slow learner." Doesn't really matter - but there were a couple things that I wanted to process here.

There's a certain worship scholar (Dr. Wwwwwhat's-his-name) that I have heard a lot from over the past 3 years. Some of that has been through books, some has been in person, and some has been through his influence on other people around me. He says some really good things (which I'm about to mention) - but he also has said a certain amount of things that confused/frustrated me (which will remain unnamed for now).
I have heard him teach twice in person over the past 2 years - and I was reviewing my notes from both of those. A couple things jumped out at me - but I'll share just one thing for the time being.

He was talking about how in early Christianity - people didn't only confess belief in Christ when they were baptized - they also verbally renounced Satan. I think the phrase was, "I renounce Satan and all his works" or something like that. (They also spit to emphasize the point. I love it.) It sounds rather funny at first.

But then he compared it to the traditional marriage vows. You know - the part that says - "and forsaking all others..." And that somehow doesn't seem as ridiculous. I mean - we're all for fidelity and faithfulness in marriage. (He BETTER forsake all others. Shoot.)

And I think there's a point to be made there.

We don't just accept Christ - we also reject Satan. And we reject his control on our life. And we reject sin. How often do we rest so much in grace that we betray the vow we made to accept Christ as Lord or act in a way that is unfaithful to that relationship?

This is all part of a larger thought I've had lately about sin - and how we rarely identify it in ourselves or call it what it is - SIN.

What do you think? How do you react to that idea?

3 comments:

Kara said...

I think we do it much more often than I would like to admit ("rest so much in grace that we betray the vow we made to accept Christ as Lord or act in a way that is unfaithful to that relationship"). I know the times in my life when sin has such a draining effect on me are times when I stubbornly go into sin head first, knowing full well what I'm doing, and justifying it by saying "God's still going to love me, because that's how He is." Totally taking advantage of that relationship...

I am quite certain there are areas of my life that I allow Satan to still hold control over... and that realization in itself sucks... One or two of them because I'm not sure how to give them up without admitting that they're there and I don't want to admit them...

And sometimes it's more that I don't renounce temptation... even when I see it for what it is... which sucks as well...

This is very interesting stuff, Bethany.... I don't think I've ever thought about it so cut and dry and it really is, isn't it? I think it's easier to think of a God who is all loving than a God of whom we should be fearful and respectful and who expects us to "forsake all others." It makes it alot easier to NOT feel guilt or shame... to do what feels good at the moment... to make our Christianity fit into a box but keep our lives our own...

yeah, much too deep for midnight...

This is a bit deeper than you normally post... what are your thoughts? We see a lot of mr what's his name (which I realize is also filtered through your perseption) but what's your reaction to the idea?

Bethany said...

Well, Duchess ;o)

A lot of this post was my own processing - but it is definitely a tendency of mine to think and talk in abstract concepts rather than getting messy applying them in my own life.

So thanks for the nudge towards that. This is your invitation to ask me that question in person...

And Jo - keep marinating - but I'd love to hear your thoughts too...

Bethany said...

Wow Johnna. That's a long comment! ;o) But I asked for it, right?

I think you are getting at something with several of your thoughts. The different ways God has been viewed throughout history - I'm curious what your basis for this is...

Of course we don't always notice sin in our own lives - or we ignore it because of the shame it could bring. But I'd venture to say that 99.9% of the time we know it's wrong. And I am thinking of recurring sin.

However, the idea that we can keep on sinning because God gives grace isn't a new one - it used to make Paul UNHAPPY (see Romans 6).

The biggest thing I was trying to get at is that once we accept Christ, our relationship to sin should be DIFFERENT than it was before. And I forget that...

Talking in person is better, no? Let's do that sometime...