This distinction is important because essentials are things we don't back down on, whereas we need to have grace towards one another on conviction issues. I am big on grace; I consider it to be absolutely vital to my Christian walk. Since I teach teens in our church, however, it is particularly relevant that E has challenged me with this question, which I paraphrase below:
When does grace become stupidity?
The intent of this question is to divine where I draw the line on doctrinal issues; am I willing to let someone believe something I feel to be wrong, simply because I don't think it's essential to salvation? To be honest, my answer surprised me: grace became stupidity when God decided to save me.
I am old enough, and have seen enough of my own sin, that I have no comprehension why a holy God would want anything to do with me. In human terms, then, saving grace is "stupidity" -- it makes no sense. This sounds insulting to God, though, so perhaps I should call it "outrageous." Let me proclaim, therefore, that all grace is outrageous. If there is even one good reason why God would be good to me, I would deserve it, and it wouldn't be grace. That doesn't mean I'm not saved by grace, it simply makes my salvation outrageous.
If you have ever been wounded in the church (or even without) by rejection from other people, I strongly recommend Philip Yancy's book What's so Amazing about Grace? If we're honest with ourselves, I think we'll find that salvation makes no rational sense, nor do any of the small mercies we receive in our lives. That is grace. And I am persuaded that Christian believers can do more to spread the gospel by demonstrating that grace towards others than we ever could do through preaching and teaching alone.
Perhaps there are others whose callings in Christ require them to challenge mature believers to deeper faith. Perhaps we need people like E to force us to think hard about everything we believe, and not just a few essentials. Even so, I am still so overwhelmed by the grace of God that I can not imagine a need to preach anything more than Christ crucified and risen again (for me? For me!!).
6 comments:
This was great, Dave!
You know I loved that book!!
And you know how thankful I am that we are finally in a church that "gets" the grace thing not to mention the essentials vs. convictions vs preferences!
I will direct people to visit here!
so perhaps grace is something you give others on issues of conviction or confusion (on the other person's part, of course) since grace was given by our Lord despite our (and my) being rebellious jerks.
to answer "when does grace become stupidity?" requires, i think, that one look honestly, perhaps accurately also, at the motives of the grace-giver.
in the case of God's having given us his grace, is it accurate to say that God evinced stupidity for having saved us by his grace, knowing what stupid and stubborn people we be?
the best answer to that question requires an accurate awareness of where we stand in relationship to God. Let's start with God on his throne, and us in the dirt of our sin and misery. Proverbs 17:11 and Job 34:37 are good starting points for that supposition, and not the only supporting evidence. so it is not inaccurate to say that we cannot accurately discern God’s situational awareness on the matter of extending his grace to us.
how then, do we evince stupidity in the matter of grace? by focusing on extending grace in our own wisdom, stupidity rather than being obedient to God in every matter, making conscious choices to extend grace as he directs, which will indeed do far more for spreading the gospel than doctrinal bragging.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 (…and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all…) suggest a purpose for his grace of which we may sometimes be sorely lacking.
re: "essentials vs. convictions vs preferences" what do you see the differences between those three things to be?
I have rules I apply to divide between the various categories, but I find that not everyone agrees. I'm working on a post to explain this as I see it.
Our pastor explains essentials as the core Biblical beliefs/truths. the things that we believe as born again Christians. We have 9 at Grace Fellowship: Dave will probably list each one. They are the things we all agree on that brings unity. They are the things that are not influenced by our culture or our personal opinions. Convictions are things like drinking alcohol as a Christian. Things that are not biblically certain and are somewhat affected by personal experience but are strongly influenced by culture. Preferences (like style of worship music) are NOT biblically ceratin, are somewhat influenced by culture and are strongly affected by personal experiences. (taken from our membership manual that GF hands out to people who are covenant members)
Interesting . . . are those rules found in the Bible?
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