To God be the glory. I have often said that believers need to have the same kind of heart as regards an honest, poor and contrite spirit, as they had when they first were born again - which is an event that results in a manifest change. And which heart i daily need to seek, while growing in wisdom.
David the king said he “behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother,” and as a child one must be, (Mt. 18:3) but “not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.” (1 Corinthians 14:20) And Paul was “serving the Lord with all humility of mind”. (Acts 20:19)
The problem with the institutionalized church, with more form than reality, and which is more alarmed at the pot that boils over than the one that does not even simmer, is not only critically false teachings which such often hold, but even if it does hold to the gospel which disallows gaining eternal life by any merit of works (or that God’s mercy does not “really” require the atonement), it does not preach it in such a way that sinners are convicted of sin, righteousness and judgment, as damned souls destitute of any merit whereby they may escape their just damnation and gain salvation, and so abase themselves as sinners and cast all their faith in the Lord Jesus and His sinless shed blood for salvation.
I often think of Isaiah in cp. 6, whose condition i too much share in heart. In that light one will somewhat understand what “falling short of the glory” means. And as one man said, “I do not think any man could see his sins in the light of the countenance of God and live.” But which makes the need for so great salvation by the great God and Savior realized, and appreciated. Yet how easily it can be to take grace for granted, and not remember the pit from whence one was digged. (Is. 51:1)
Sorry if i should not be doing devotionals here.
Well, don't stop on my account! If more threads went from backbiting to devotion, we'd be better witnesses.
Your remarks about organized religion touch me "in a special way" since, for my sins, I have been elected to the Parish Pastoral Council. I expect to become a Quaker before my term is up -- or maybe a hermit.
(As you know from your Catholic background, "in a special way" is a phrase Catholics use when they don't want to take the time or trouble to figure out in WHAT way. It's one of the first things I learned about Catholic culture. The other thing is that every liturgical season and most holy days must be introduced by the Pastor calling it a "beautiful" season or day. As a would-be philosopher, I wonder, "If they're ALL beautiful, isn't it redundant to mention their beauty? Wouldn't we save a lot of time if we just said, "Hey! It's beautiful! As you were." But they don't listen to me ...)
I have been very blessed in two relevant ways. One is represented by the sign on the pulpit desk in the "practice chapel" at my seminary: "Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel!" And the other is by the wonderful preaching and teaching I've been offered at the two parishes with which I have been associated since I swam the Tiber in 1994.
To me the meaning and the mission of the first is that I want to proclaim first the Love of God -- first the possessive genitive, which will, I believe tend then to inspire the objective genitive.
Years ago a radio evangelist told me that in his experience the normal sequence of events was that his auditors first heard and responded to the Love, and then, after a distinct interval, like a day or two, got a real insight into their sinfulness. I find in my own life that, while part of my adult turning to Christ was a seeking of relief from the pain of remorse, it was increasing confidence in His Love that gave (and gives) increasing understanding of my need to throw myself utterly upon it -- and to long for the coal from the altar to be touched to my lips.
In any event, my paradigmatic sermon traces the sins I assume we acknowledge to a lack of faith, and a resulting kind of spiritual wound or deformation; and then preaches Love to that wound. (Whether I was ever any good at it is another question altogether.)
As for the second, at least where I worship, the pedal point of all the preaching and teaching is "Every good thing is a freely-given gift, nothing is earned by us, and without these good gifts are lives are filth, confusion, and sorrow."
But, I have to say that I do remember one confession when the priest, a ringer from another parish, obviously had read a little too much of "I'm Okay, You're Okay," and way too little of the Bible. That's okay, the efficacy of the sacrament is not lessened if the priest is, maybe, a little jejune.
But my comment, upon further review, is that here was a priest into whom the Gospel had not sunk very far, so that he saw neither the calamity of sin nor the wonder of the remedy, and therefore succumbed to the temptation to minimize both in his counsel.
I think I'll pray for him today.