Dual action
"Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it."
"Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever."
(Psalms 34:14; 37:27)
October 31, 2024
Dear friends,
Happy Reformation Day! On October 31, 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther posted ninety-five theses (points to debate) on the castle church door in Wittenberg. These ignited an empire-wide discussion on the nature of forgiveness, faith, grace, and church authority. The contentions of the protesting movement, from which comes the term Protestant, were summarized in the "five solas": sola scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone)." Read more here about what each of these principles mean.
Luther listed his first thesis as, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." Many in his day thought of repentance as being mere "penance", that is, feeling sorry and doing something (prayer, giving, etc.) to balance the books, so to speak. Certain penitential advantages, called indulgences, could be purchased to help others doing time in purgatory. Luther stressed that all of life was about repentance, that faith in the Lord means both turning away from things and turning toward the Lord, every day for the rest of our lives. Repentance is the flip side of faith. We turn from something to Someone.
My recent Bible reading in Psalms brought me to two similar verses, found in Psalm 34 and Psalm 37, printed above. These highlighted to me that our faith in the Lord and his word is a dual-action response. There's both a positive and a negative aspect to moral actions. We turn from darkness to light (Acts 26:18), from idols to the living and true God (1 Thess 1:9), and from the domain of darkness (Satan) to the kingdom of God's beloved Son (Col 1:13). Paul wrote, "Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:9, 21)
Some Christians today may seek to have a life that is all positive (with no negative vibes, no judgment) and some are more negative (always being critical, always finding fault). The truth is, our walk with the Lord is such that we will always be needing to make judgments (primarily about ourselves), turning away from sin and evil, and at the same time embracing good and doing good and promoting what is good. And it's not about some kind of balance sheet. Faith is dual-action -- we turn away from the world, flesh, and the devil, so that we might walk joyfully with the Lord, by the power of the Spirit, to the glory of God our Father. It's not an either-or, but a both-and.
On a slightly different note, I was struck recently about something I read in Ned Stonehouse's biography of J. Gresham Machen (WTS, 1977; Banner of Truth Trust, 1987). Machen, a NT scholar and professor at Princeton Seminary, served as a YMCA worker in France during World War I. When he returned to America, he was dismayed to see so much confidence, even among Christians, about the future of our country in the hands of broad-minded leaders in church and government. There was a rise in liberal thinking, secularism, and patriotism, all at the same time. In January of 1920, Machen wrote to his mother...
"When I turn for refuge to the Church of Christ, I find there exactly the same evils that are rampant in the world -- centralized education programs, the subservience of the church to the state, contempt for the rights of minorities, standardization of everything, suppression of intellectual adventure. At least it destroys my confidence in any human aid. I see more clearly than ever before that unless the gospel is true and there is another world, our souls are in prison. The gospel of Christ is a blessed relief from that sinful state of affairs commonly known as hundred per-cent Americanism. And fortunately, some of us were able to learn of the gospel in a freer, more spiritual time, before the state had begun to lay its grip upon the education of the young." (Gresham Machen, letter, January 28, 1920; in J. Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir, by Ned Stonehouse)
There's a lot to chew on in that statement, but to me it's a reminder that no candidate, and no party, has what is ultimately needed for the social, moral, and spiritual welfare of our nation. Government agencies will not save us; in fact, their seemingly well-intended efforts can make things much worse. That's not to say that one party or candidate wouldn't be better than the other -- I did vote for one over the other -- but it's a reminder that "salvation belongs to the Lord" (Jonah 2:9), whether for individuals or nations. Our elected officials cannot accomplish what only can be accomplished through the advance of the gospel into lives, families, and institutions.
That's it for this week!
Sandy
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.