This book has been on my shelf for a while- actually since seminary (which would make that almost 10 years). Although I have started it a couple times before, I am glad to say I finally finished it. I am also glad to say that it was worth the wait.
The Restless and Reforming Blog posted an article the other day that was a great way of thinking about the connection between justification and sanctification. When we stop trying to justify our sins, we can then be freed to pursue sanctification.
The Desiring God Blog recently posted a list of 12 sins we blame on others. Although I think this list could be expanded indefinitely, it shows us how we seek to justify ourselves apart from Christ, which becomes a barrier to our sanctification. If we trusted in our justification by faith in Christ we would not need to blame our sins on others and could move to address our sins instead.
I’ve had this theory for a few years that the South is really a Roman Catholic culture. I say this as someone who has not grown up in the South which makes me an observer of Southern culture rather than a product of it.
Here are some of the similarities between Southern cultural Christianity and Roman Catholic theology:
This season I’ve found myself drawn into the NBC show, The Biggest Loser. At first I thought it might be mocking overweight people but as I watched the show I found it not only hopeful but helpful.
One of the interesting things I’ve noticed about the show how the participants react when they finally hear their weight. If they gained weight or didn’t lose much they might say, “the scale wasn’t good to me today.” Now there are a lot of factors behind why someone might or might not lose weight but why blame the scale? Because if we can justify ourselves with the scale, it can’t be our own fault.
On the Today show I recently watched a segment about a group of people trying to help people stop complaining. Their website explains why they want to do this:
Your thoughts create your world and your words indicate your thoughts. When you eliminate complaining from your life will you enjoy happier relationships, better health and greater prosperity. This simple program helps you set a trap for your own negativity and redirect your mind towards a more positive and rewarding life.
I have to agree that I would also like to see the world freed from complaining. I agree that it would be a better place without it. At risk of seeming like I am complaining myself, while their goal is admirable their means are fruitless.
//www.statesman.com/life/…519confess.html
All Christians believe that confession is a good thing. But why do we do it? There are a growing number of websites that offer internet confessionals. They claim to help people feel better by gettings things off their chests. Is this why the Bible tells us to confess our sins?
I was thinking about secret sins the other day. These are the worst sins because they are so destructive. When we practice sins in secret they have more power to destroy us because we have no chance to overcome them- since no one knows we are doing them.
Why do sins become secrets? I think it primarilly occurs because of bad attempts at sanctification. Perhaps someone has been “riding” us about something they don’t like us doing. Maybe we are embarassed by getting caught (or almost caught) for the sin. Perhaps we are frustrated that we can’t find the willpower to overcome the sin that we give up. Either way these bad motives for sanctification produce no sanctification at all. Rather than admit our sin and try to overcome it, we want to continue in its comfort and find that it is just easier to do it secretly than stop.
//www.devilducky.com/media/59741/
This is probably one of my favorite episodes of Seinfield- which is probably one of my favorite shows anyway (I think the Soup Nazi is my favorite episode of all time, however). When I first saw this episode I was supremely offended at the subject matter, but eventually I got over my self-righteousness and saw the episode for what it was- a great illustration of how sanctification by effort fails.
There was another thing I learned about myself and my theology from Warfield’s set of articles on Albrecht Ritschl (from Studies in Perfectionism) that is about the link between justification and sanctification.
Ritschl wants to preserve man’s will. This is not only because he is an Enlightment rationalist, but because he wants to believe the he is his own master. For Ritschl, then, sanctification starts when the will has changed upon learning that God does not hold anything against us. According to Warfield, Ritschl believes
…the ethical tast cannot be undertaken or accomplished save under the impulse derived from the religious attitude.
In other words, once we learn the correct religious attitude, we will begin to do right.