Thursday, February 25, 2010

What are we missing today?

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. At the core of his dispute with the Catholic Church was Luther's contention that salvation was by faith alone, not works of any kind. The declarations made by Luther caused such an uproar that they resulted in the Protestant Reformation.

There are two things I find troubling by this story:

1. From a few centuries after the apostles until the Reformation, one of the key foundations of Christianity, salvation by faith, was lost to much of the Church and not understood.

2. Many of the average church-goers in Luther's day sided vehemently with the Catholic Church. They had been taught that the truth was one thing for so long that it was difficult (if not impossible) for them to consider another alternative.

Why do these things trouble me?

I am troubled because I wonder how many of the things I believe so strongly will be later revealed as untrue. I am afraid that it will probably be quite a few.

Why do I say that?

Because there are too many Bible verses that don't fit in my life yet. For example:

- I still don't get everything I ask the Father for (John 16:23)
- I'm not doing greater works than Jesus did (John 14:12)
- My life is not yet littered with the evidence of the power of God (Mark 16:20; 1 Corinthians 4:19-20)

This lack in my life is a clear message that things are not right. I (and most of the Church) am not walking in the fullness of what it means to be a Christian.

Now, we can come up with all kinds of theologies that can explain away verses such as this. But I am left wondering if, like salvation by faith, we are missing the truth and developing false theologies to justify our shortcoming. Then, our lack of faith validates the false theology we are clinging to.

Maybe it is time to stop coming up with ways to justify our lack and to begin to seek after everything we are promised. I'm willing. Are you?

5 comments:

  1. yes yes Yes!

    Reminds me of a book Francis MacNutt wrote uncovering how the expectation & practice of powerful healing prayer all but disappeared from the church --within 300 or so years as I recall.
    Sadly, I believe it has really crippled the church in reaching and discipling to the ends of the earth-- since who would want to switch their allegiance from familiar gods to one who seems not only foreign but also less powerful?

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  2. maybe it is just as much a giving up the old self and seeking God.

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  3. God moved us to St Augustine Florida to learn those things we have not been walking in yet, exactly those things that you wrote about. It is a journey that only God knows the timing- but we are leaning in and listening and wanting His Kingdom come on earth...How exciting to hear what God is teaching you and us!

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