A house of cards

My theology of holiness instructor explained that the flesh is not sinful. God created the physical world and it was good.

I pointed out that at the fall, sin and death entered the world. Thus, the physical world was changed.

He asked if a gun was sinful, or a knife.

I said, no, but a gun doesn't have a mind that seeks self-gratification.

What's bugging me is that he's telling these young students that, if only they were sanctified soul and body, they would not be bent toward sin. Excuse me, but our bodies are selfish, and no matter what our circumstances, we still have to restrain the flesh. This body is a temporary tent. The real me, the eternal me, is my spirit, that wants to serve and honor God. The body has a chemical make up that is selfish. "Feed me. Scratch me. Satisfy me." Selfishness is self-destructive when it stands alone, so the spirit has to keep it in check. "Yes, I'll feed you, but no, you can't have that extra candy bar." The spirit has to call the shots, stay in charge at all times. As long as we are in these temporary tents, we have to keep pounding the pegs down tight. Just because we are sanctified, does not mean that the body is going to sit back and say, "Don't mind me. I'm fine. I don't need or want anything." I fear we are setting these students up for failure if we lead them to believe that their bodies will be holy, sinless, --sanctified with one more trip to the alter and a sincere heart.

Can the fence be considered a road?

I spent another five hours today reading. This time I finished Defence of Christian Perfection by Daniel Steele (not to be confused with the smut author of a similar name). Steele is another Methodist writer from the 1800's. The man seemed to be quite educated, but he was so much in defence that at times he seemed argumentative, which in my understanding, is not becoming to sanctification or Christian perfection. Perhaps it was a holy anger; I should not judge.

Though I am still unsure in which field of theories I should place my foot, I was impressed by this statement by Steele (page 107):

"Experiences are God's work and are always orthodox; theories are of man's devising and are sometimes erroneous. The doctrine of Christian perfection in this life, 'the formal principle of Wesley's theology and the inmost spirit and essence of Methodism' (Dr. Warren), may be erroneous, and the doctrine of successive partial sanctifications never extinguishing depravity may be true. By their fruits let them be judged. Let the latter theory be substituted for the former when it has raised up more saintly men and women, and has communicated a mightier upward impulse to our common Christianity throughout the whole world."

Phoebe Palmer

I got the flu bug again, so I didn't get out much today. I spent a good bit of the day finishing a book called Entire Devotion to God by Phoebe Palmer. I have been grappling with the doctrine of entire-sanctification for sometime, and some may say, "Just let it go," but I do want to find peace with this. Is it possible to live, as many claim, sinless?

One reason I chose this book to study was that I knew Phoebe was a radical, but isn't that what "entire" sanctification is? I told an inspirational friend, a seminary graduate, about the book I was reading, and she said, "That'll mess you up." Great, so how is one to find truth without wading through the false teachers? And is there any guarantee that you won't be influenced by them?

Another trusted friend, with a doctorate in theology, referred to Phoebe as a mystic. I looked up the term and found: "a person who claims to attain, or believes in the possibility of attaining, insight into mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, as by direct communication with the divine or immediate intuition in a state of spiritual ecstasy... a person initiated into religious mysteries." Yes, that about sums her up.

So, Phoebe, if I were entirely-sanctified, body and soul, as you claim I can be, would this flu bug not make me so grouchy and impatient?

The Blessing of Advisers

I'm emerging from a 48 hour hibernation. The flu bug bit me hard, and curiously timed, it came the week of a significant decision. I don't like to think of myself as a candidate for self-absorbed depression or a nervous breakdown, but I think I tasted them this week.

I took the job at the Bible School about a year ago, because a friend asked me help with a major remodel project. Meanwhile, I began taking classes. Well, the project is nearly complete, and my supervisor is leaning on me to take less classes this semester. With the pay and moral on campus so low and the opportunity of taking classes diminished, a part of me just wants to walk out, go back to the normal world and work for money again.

One of my friends said, "Now, Brian, don't make a knee jerk decision." That really hit me. As must as I like to think of myself as level headed and consistent, that is what I tend to do, make knee jerk decisions. Thus, I began to get sick. Wednesday I brought the kids home after school, put my pj's on, went to bed and barely emerged until Friday.

It was so bad I succumbed to a foo-foo bath (some in my world think that a hot foo-foo bath will cure all that ales you). The moisturizing bath beads are fascinating, but I found myself studying the mold in the joints of my new tub surround and wondering how long I had to sit there. The answer came soon, as I discovered the plug has a slow leak, so when the water gets down to an uncomfortable level, then you will emerge --about 20 min.

So with no appetite for days, I would return to my bed and pray, "God, give me an answer when I wake up." One of my advisers said, "You have to do what's best for you." That didn't seem like the voice of God. So I went to another wise set of counselors. One of them asked me, "What do you want me to tell you?" I said, "I want you to tell me what to do."

He did, and a great weight lifted off of me. I'm better now.

Too Hot for a Fourth Grader

We had a PTF meeting tonight, and the kids played in the gym. Heidi was the only one of mine that went, and when I went to pick her up, she was sitting on the stage with a group of boys. As she went to get her coat, two boys came over to me. They stood about ten foot from me. The second grader pinched the fourth grader's ear and said, "Tell him."

The older boy argued, "It's not natural."

"Tell him!"

"Okay..." Then, quick and loud, as if to get it off his chest, he blurted out, "Your daughter's hot!"

How does a father respond to these things? Heidi walked up just in time to hear the proclamation. She tossed her head and laughed. I simply pointed out to the boys, "She knows."

The Value of Middle Schoolers

I love working with tweens. They speak their minds openly, and you always know where you stand with them. I went upstairs at church recently and within 3 minutes I was told that my sweater looked like I was wearing a paper sack and within 5 minutes later another girl told me I looked like I was growing a mullet. One can't take their comments too seriously, but I think, I had my hair cut with in 24 hours, and I haven't worn a sweater since. The truth is, they have more of an eye for these things than I do. So I find it healthy to get exposure to their raw opinions. You win some; you lose more; and you learn a lot.

My daughter is in this tween stage. Some of the outfits she puts on I would not have put together, but before I say too much to her, I try to keep in mind that I may not have a fashion clue.

She still has me dry her hair after her showers. I used to try to convince and teach her to do it herself, but not so much anymore. I've changed. I think I'll dry her hair as long as she'll let me.

Theology of Holiness

Classes start back up again this week, and it looks like I'm taking Theology of Holiness- Grrrrr. I really have to check my attitude on the subject. Pastor Tom tells me that I need to not get angry but listen, so I'm trying to go in with a humble spirit. He has tried to explain this doctrine to me, which is shared by the Wesleyan church, but I haven't embraced it yet (that's putting it lightly).

My statement of faith is that I am a sinner saved by grace. No matter how "holy" of a life I live, I am only made righteous through the work of Christ. All my good deeds and "clean" living are filthy rags, but Jesus Christ alone paid the ransom and made me acceptable to God. I attempt to live a holy life out of loving obedience as one recruited to a team that loves his Savior and neighbors and must work within the rules to help the team be successful.

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Comment:

Chris Sumpter (unverified)Jan 12, 2008: Just out of curiosity, where did you get the phrase "sinner saved by grace"? Because it's not from the Bible. I just did a little search of the New Testament to see if I could find any references to Christians being referred to as sinners. The closest I came was when Paul said that Christ came to save sinners, of whom he is chief. I don't really think Paul was saying that, at the time he was writing, he was the chief of sinners. It seems to be clear that he is talking about his past pre-conversion life. Then I did a search for the word "saints." Christians are referred to 60 times as saints. That doesn't count the times that they are referred to as righteous, sanctified, etc. So, is it more scripturally accurate to say "I am a sinner saved by grace" or "I was a sinner, but am now a saint, by grace"?

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Chris, good observation, but what about...?

Luke 18:9-10

9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector...

Philippians 3:8-10

8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Rom 3:10

10As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;

Rom 3:23 (notice that fall is in the present tense)

23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Rom 7:14-20 (Was Paul not sanctified?)

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing.20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Rom 7:25 (It seems that as long as we are in the flesh, we are bent toward sin.)

23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Isa 64:6

6All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

Rom 3:9

9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.

Phil 3:12-13

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead

The phrase "sinner saved by grace" may not be directly stated in scripture, but you will also not find terms such as: regeneration, Christian perfection and second blessing.

Yes, the believers are the saints, the chosen, the holy preisthood, but we are still battleing the sinnful nature, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

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Comment:

Chris Sumpter (unverified)Jan 13, 2008: Luke 18--Was the tax collector a Christian? No, but when he admitted that he was a sinner in need of mercy, he was justified. Philippians 3--Paul doesn't say that he's not righteous; he just says that he could not have achieved righteousness on his own, but that he is pressing on toward complete holiness. I have no disagreement with that. Rom. 3--In their unjustified state, no one is righteous. But, thank God, when one is born from above they are made righteous, not just had righteousness imputed to them. Romans 7--There are so many different interpretations of this passage that I'm not going to use it to prove one doctrine over another. I can only read it in the light of the general message of Scripture and Paul's particular teachings on holiness elsewhere. I think it is fair to say that Paul was not always sanctified. I don't read verse 25 ff. to say that we must always have a leaning toward sin. I'm not arguing against the phrase "sinner saved by grace"; I don't think the concept exists in the NT. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~