Nothing but the Blood of Jesus
Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Cooperate • Jan 03 1:59 PM US/Eastern • By MARK SHERMAN • from the Associated Press:
"Once-powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud... 'Words will not ever be able to express my sorrow and my profound regret for all my actions and mistakes," Abramoff said, addressing the judge. "I hope I can merit forgiveness from the Almighty and those I've wronged or caused to suffer.'"
Ain't gonna happen, Jack.
Bad theology happening here. You can never merit God's forgiveness. It is His to give, but not yours to earn. The act of God's forgiveness resides entirely, utterly within God Himself. The entire bundle of what collectively constitutes our salvation does not rest in ourselves, but in His freely chosen actions on our behalf. If, in his sovereignty, God chose to withhold His forgiveness from us, there is absolutely nothing we could do. We would be toast. And He would be just. And He would still be God.
Thankfully, for those feeling a bit toasty right now, God has, of his own free will and goodness, decided to do something about our predicament. He has thrown out a LifeSaver named Jesus Christ. Jesus, also of his own free will and goodness (really sounds like the spittin' image of His Dad, doesn't He?), has offered his life for ours. A Life for a life. God has thrown out the LifeSaver, but it's up to us to accept it. We must reach up, with arms of faith, and accept the free gift that is offered.
Here's the thing that most people don't get. Not only do our sins get in the way of a relationship with God, but so do our efforts at merit and righteousness! Our efforts to approach God by our efforts to approach God get in the way of a relationship with Him that has been secured through a better means.
How many exhausted Christians have been brought to this point of "giving up" -- it's hard to do, and, it seems to me, there are strains in Roman Catholicism that actually encourage self-effort, which actually work against receiving the gift as a gift. Example? I would say a man who has just walked up 100 steps on his knees to get to God (and I've seen this) is farther from God at the top than he was at the bottom. He would have been better to have just abandoned Himself to the mercy of God at the bottom of the stairs. "O wretched man that I am! Have mercy on me, a sinner!" (And it would have been better for his knees, too!)
The once-proud but humbled Peter understood this when he said, "But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved... (Acts 15:11). It's interesting. Christian truth is not just "true", it is "humble". It is not just rational truth; there is a moral character associated with it. There is a humility associated with Peter's confession that is integral to its truth-value.
The apostle Paul also understood this when he said in Philippians 3 (NKJV):
I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Not having... my... own... righteousness...
Paul's comment echoes that of Isaiah (ch. 64), "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags".
Filthy rags and rubbish (also translated dung) -- we're in the same ballpark, here, Jack.
Ah, the hymn-writers said it best, in a way that outlasted a thousand sermons (if only I could do the same!)
Nothing in my hand I bring - simply to thy cross I cling...
Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me...
What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus!
NbtBoJ!
I hope Jack gets to hear this.
"Once-powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud... 'Words will not ever be able to express my sorrow and my profound regret for all my actions and mistakes," Abramoff said, addressing the judge. "I hope I can merit forgiveness from the Almighty and those I've wronged or caused to suffer.'"
Ain't gonna happen, Jack.
Bad theology happening here. You can never merit God's forgiveness. It is His to give, but not yours to earn. The act of God's forgiveness resides entirely, utterly within God Himself. The entire bundle of what collectively constitutes our salvation does not rest in ourselves, but in His freely chosen actions on our behalf. If, in his sovereignty, God chose to withhold His forgiveness from us, there is absolutely nothing we could do. We would be toast. And He would be just. And He would still be God.
Thankfully, for those feeling a bit toasty right now, God has, of his own free will and goodness, decided to do something about our predicament. He has thrown out a LifeSaver named Jesus Christ. Jesus, also of his own free will and goodness (really sounds like the spittin' image of His Dad, doesn't He?), has offered his life for ours. A Life for a life. God has thrown out the LifeSaver, but it's up to us to accept it. We must reach up, with arms of faith, and accept the free gift that is offered.
Here's the thing that most people don't get. Not only do our sins get in the way of a relationship with God, but so do our efforts at merit and righteousness! Our efforts to approach God by our efforts to approach God get in the way of a relationship with Him that has been secured through a better means.
How many exhausted Christians have been brought to this point of "giving up" -- it's hard to do, and, it seems to me, there are strains in Roman Catholicism that actually encourage self-effort, which actually work against receiving the gift as a gift. Example? I would say a man who has just walked up 100 steps on his knees to get to God (and I've seen this) is farther from God at the top than he was at the bottom. He would have been better to have just abandoned Himself to the mercy of God at the bottom of the stairs. "O wretched man that I am! Have mercy on me, a sinner!" (And it would have been better for his knees, too!)
The once-proud but humbled Peter understood this when he said, "But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved... (Acts 15:11). It's interesting. Christian truth is not just "true", it is "humble". It is not just rational truth; there is a moral character associated with it. There is a humility associated with Peter's confession that is integral to its truth-value.
The apostle Paul also understood this when he said in Philippians 3 (NKJV):
I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Not having... my... own... righteousness...
Paul's comment echoes that of Isaiah (ch. 64), "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags".
Filthy rags and rubbish (also translated dung) -- we're in the same ballpark, here, Jack.
Ah, the hymn-writers said it best, in a way that outlasted a thousand sermons (if only I could do the same!)
Nothing in my hand I bring - simply to thy cross I cling...
Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me...
What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus!
NbtBoJ!
I hope Jack gets to hear this.
posted by BallBounces at 10:25 PM
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