Society in general & American society in particular is on the decline! On the other hand, it could be argued, it's in better shape than it's ever been! A middle position might be that, in some sense, both of these are true! Society, it is true, has degraded from what it was years ago. With the advances in technology we have seen over the last century or less ( the internet, for instance ) & the ease of broadcasting & marketing, we are witness to the depths of degradation that humanity will fall to in order to satisfy their lusts! On the other hand, we bear witness as well, because of this same advancement in technology, to how far & how fast the Good News of the Creator's enduring Love for His Creation can spread from Sea to Shining Sea!
The Redemption Accomplished by the Messiah of Israel ( Jesus the Christ ) in the first century AD was complete; Jesus did everything that was necessary to bring the Creation back into Communion with the Creator! Though many Christians would differ ( in opinion ) as to the nature & scope of this Redemption, most would agree that it was finished ( like Jesus said ) at the Cross. One might say, in this regard, that redemption is akin to reconciliation; though all were reconciled, not all have reconciled themselves to that fact. In much the same sense, though humanity was redeemed from the sin & death of Adam, not all have accepted that redemption or returned ( repented )!
Can it really be as simple as that, though; can one simply accept the Accomplished Redemption & claim it for their own? Did Jesus, as the Messiah of Israel, actually remove the restraints of sin & death for ALL His Creation, or just a certain portion? To repent & return is necessary, yes, to accept what the Creator has done, but it is fulfilled in & through His People, His Creation! As the Children of our Heavenly Father, having been Perfected in Love, we have been blessed with the enormous responsAbility of fulfilling that Accomplished Redemption! This is not to say that it's all up to us, though this may not be far from the mark; the Holy Spirit of the Living God, our Heavenly Father, works together with our spirit to work out this Redemption in the world around us!
How do we go about fulfilling this Redemption; can we ever hope to change the hearts & minds of those who, thus far, have not been willing to accept it? Well, honestly, the answer is 'YES'! Jesus Himself told His disciples , 'Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater [ works ] than these he will do, because I go to My Father.' To put it bluntly, 'WE HAVE THE POWER!' Like we saw above, as the Spirit ( of our Heavenly Father ) works together with our ( renewed ) spirit, we CAN fulfill this Accomplished Redemption & make it REAL, not only in our own lives, but the lives of those around us!
So, with that Fact established, why haven't WE accomplished this redemption; why aren't WE seeing its fulfillment in society around us?! Well, in the greatest sense, WE are! Just because WE see much of society that shows no sign of being redeemed ( much the opposite, in fact ), WE can be assured that great leaps are being made as we speak! The Spirit of the Living God, our Heavenly Father, IS at work in & through His People, accomplishing in actuality, the Redemption of Society. It is through the Spirit Within that we have the Strength to accomplish this Subversive Redemption.
As we labor together with our Heavenly Father then, let our Gospel be in Living out the Truth of the Gospel in our own lives, rather than just teaching & preaching the doctrines of men! This is not to say that ALL doctrines formulated by men are doctrines of demons, for many are Scripturally sound, but too often, when the focus is on teaching & preaching these set doctrines, the lives of those teaching & preaching don't measure up & so we have the mess that we now see in society at large!
We must be careful to teach & preach correct doctrine, but even more importantly, we must be careful to live out our doctrinal beliefs! We must teach & preach the Good News through our Living; that is True Religion! Much of the reason for the glorious mess we see all around us is a failure to practice this True Religion; oh, sure, it's easy to teach it & preach it, but when it comes to Living it, that ain't so easy; in fact, it's pretty damn hard!
However, let's just do it & Live Gloriously!
Charles Haddon Shank
No comments:
Post a Comment