| | I Had Forgotten Holiness
For the last two or three years I was convinced that the most important aspect of God was Love. I would purposely read the Old testament far less because I knew that it has more incidents of God's wrath and judgment. These passages were the ones my Berkeley peers would criticize Christianity with, showing that God is in fact "heartless". I knew the theological answer was that God is not only loving but also just, but I also questioned how God could in fact destroy entire people groups for little apparent reason.
Now I know the issue of Grace vs. Holiness is very apparent in the different sects of Christianity (Reform Church Vs. Emergent Church), but I do not want to make my point upon these distinctions. Instead I want to compare the way I lived my life. My Christian life has been characterized in obeying the 2 greatest commandments: to love God and to love others. But the "love" that I aimed at was mostly a feeling. The Christian life was to feel the presence of God and try to live in it. Now, I still agree that this is a vital part of the Christian life but there was also something vitally missing. It was and is the Absolute Hatred of sin.
In the past, I viewed the sins I committed as one time things that were road blocks in my Christian life. But upon further reflection and revelation I realize that GOD HATES SIN. I realize I am absolutely 100% wretched. I realize that in order for me to continue to grow in Holiness, in Christ likeness, I must understand the weight that my sin carries. It is an absolute offense to a perfectly HOLY God, who has perfectly HOLY laws that I have deliberately disregarded and disobeyed. It is this rebellion that makes the CROSS so amazing. It is not some wishy washy sin that everybody has so it's not so bad. In order to pursue God I must despise my Sin and pursue Holiness; for God is Holy.
Alright, now the disclaimer. This revelation is a personal one and I by no means condone myself or any other man to condemn others of their sin if it is not done in love. I also do not consider myself a converted Reformist or did I ever consider myself part of the Emergent Church movement.
I found this to be very interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuabITeO4l8
But I do not agree completely with Paul Washer, but he does speak a lot of truth.
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| | Posted 1/22/2008 11:21 PM - 56 views - 2 comments
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