Near the end of the Apostles’ Creed, we read this phrase, ‘I believe in the Forgiveness of Sins’. This is a core doctrine of Christianity. Christ died to cleanse us from them. I’m not going to talk about sin itself, but instead look at the church’s response to sin in our Modernist world.
Forgiveness is possible in Christianity because there is One who forgives. In the modern secular religion, there is no singularity, but multiplicity of those whom you sin against. So, no matter who ask forgiveness from in the modern framework, there is always an offense; your sins will be continually before you. There will be no one to say, "I will remember your sins no more."
This also makes true repentance in the modern sense an avenue of insanity. That way is broad, and many are on it.
Part of the call of the Christian is go against what the world desires and what our body desires. The Christian life is about going against the grain, not with it. When the Church desires to align itself with the world, what does it have to offer? And for these Christians swept up with the world, where is their satisfaction? For their profits are only death, and in life they are hollow; if one could only see the end, why would they ever start on this path?
The true reality of sinfulness is the starting point of Christianity, properly pursued. Without an acknowledgement of our moral failure, God has nothing to give us. We are too proud to accept any good from His hand. We hide our shame in a locked room in our mind behind the layers of our ragged self-protective attitude and prideful self-delusion.
Until it doesn’t work anymore. God penetrates the flim-flam of the web of lies we tell ourselves, and we stand exposed to His pure gaze. This illuminating clarity is brought on by an inevitable moment of honesty as we see the two roads before us. One leads back to the darkness and the other leads to the most amazing gift of acceptance through repentance. Most of us stand before this choice many times before we gather enough courage to take the plunge, to agree with the Spirit of God that we need the work of salvation.
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Hebrews 4:4~8
Forgiveness is possible in Christianity because there is One who forgives. In the modern secular religion, there is no singularity, but multiplicity of those whom you sin against. So, no matter who ask forgiveness from in the modern framework, there is always an offense; your sins will be continually before you. There will be no one to say, "I will remember your sins no more."
This also makes true repentance in the modern sense an avenue of insanity. That way is broad, and many are on it.
Very good point 👍🏽
Part of the call of the Christian is go against what the world desires and what our body desires. The Christian life is about going against the grain, not with it. When the Church desires to align itself with the world, what does it have to offer? And for these Christians swept up with the world, where is their satisfaction? For their profits are only death, and in life they are hollow; if one could only see the end, why would they ever start on this path?
The true reality of sinfulness is the starting point of Christianity, properly pursued. Without an acknowledgement of our moral failure, God has nothing to give us. We are too proud to accept any good from His hand. We hide our shame in a locked room in our mind behind the layers of our ragged self-protective attitude and prideful self-delusion.
Until it doesn’t work anymore. God penetrates the flim-flam of the web of lies we tell ourselves, and we stand exposed to His pure gaze. This illuminating clarity is brought on by an inevitable moment of honesty as we see the two roads before us. One leads back to the darkness and the other leads to the most amazing gift of acceptance through repentance. Most of us stand before this choice many times before we gather enough courage to take the plunge, to agree with the Spirit of God that we need the work of salvation.
And here I am...
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Hebrews 4:4~8