Afterwords -- glorious freedom
"...that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:21)
June 30, 2023
Dear friends,
Over the past few weeks I've been slowly reading through Paul's epistle to the Romans, using as a companion commentary, Francis Schaeffer's The Finished Work of Christ. If Romans chapters 5 through 8 are the Himalayas of Paul's theology, certainly chapter 8 is Mount Everest!
FROM THIS HIGH POINT we see God's plan for living by the Spirit, who gives us life, leads us, intercedes for us, and helps us. We read of our (and creation's) hope of glory, and the golden chain of salvation from past to future (8:29-30), and the security and assurance of the believer in the care of God's unconquerable love. From eternity past to eternity future we see God at work to bring his people to glory in a new and incorruptible creation. These truths are meant to grip us, and by the Spirit we are called to move forward to this glorious future. Schaeffer said,
"God forbid that we should talk about these things as just cold theological truths. There is a deep calling here to our whole person-to the will, to the mind, to the emotions. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, there is a point of contact between the whole Trinity and the whole person. As moral, rational beings, beings who think and act and feel, we are to experience the reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit in our thoughts, in our actions, and in our emotions. The Holy Spirit indwells us, and He is personal. He is the line of contact, the means of communication between the whole Trinity and the whole person.
"Paul wants us to understand the wonder and glory of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He wants us to do some heart searching as to whether or not we are living up to this highest of callings, this greatest of challenges. And yet at the same time, he wants to give us the greatest possible comfort. For the transcendent God of the universe is the one who in the stillness of the night, or when I have fallen in the mud, takes me by the hand and invites me to call Him 'Daddy' ['Abba']."
-- Francis Schaeffer, The Finished Work of Christ (Crossway, 1998).
Here are some previous excerpts I posted. And here's an article about Schaeffer's crisis of faith: William Edgar writes, “Schaeffer had to know that Christianity was real, that one could experience a true sense of God’s presence.”
A DIGITAL TIMEOUT. Though I love taking pictures and posting them, I've decided to delete my Instagram account. I've become increasingly aware of the effect of algorithms on me, of "likes", of images, and the compulsive scrolling all this produces. Social media, notes Andrey Mir, seeks "to extract more of users' time and engagement." He writes that "Digital media alter not only our physical skills but also our brain’s physiology." Writing back in the 1970s, James Boice once warned, “The chief problem with television is that, for those who watch it consistently, it undermines and eventually destroys the ability to think. This is because it communicates primarily images, not by words, and words are necessary if we are to perceive logical connections and make judgments as to what is right and wrong.” If that was true of television then, it is even more relevant today, with our smart phones, tablets, binge-watching, and social media apps. For me it's time for a time-out, at least for Instagram. (I gave up Twitter long ago, and I'm still on Facebook, which to me is a less compulsive way to keep up with family and friends.)
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! In our polarized society today it seems people either hate America (and her history) or else idolize her, wanting to recapture some great past. There has been much wrong-doing in our nation's history, and I think many of our current leaders (and populace) operate without a strong moral and spiritual foundation. Yet, I am still thankful for the many rights we enjoy, the freedom to practice our faith, our court system, and the balanced accountability which our constitutional government brings. How much longer will we have those blessings? I do not know, but I will yet give thanks to God for this country.
FINAL QUOTE. "If one has to choose between reading the new books and reading the old, one must choose the old: not because they are necessarily better but because they contain precisely those truths of which our own age is neglectful." (C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock)
That's it for this week!
Sandy
Image credit: photo above is view northward of Mount Everest from an aircraft from airline company Drukair in Bhutan, source: Wikipedia. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.