In my last post I used some terminology that apparently means certain things to some who have a seminary education, and it set off alarms that I was communicating some big-word ism heretical theology. I regret that because it resulted in a big hoo-ha of a discussion in which I feel like I ended up writing a whole lot of words with little substance. I’m going to try to revisit some of the underlying concepts of my post with different language.
Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him. Colossians 2:6
The gospel that we receive when we become a Christian is the good news that Jesus really lived, really was the Son of God, really became human out of love for us, really became sin for us and thus died (again out of love for us), really lived again, and really asks us all to follow Him to restore our relationship with the Father. We accept that by faith alone. It is a gift of God’s grace, alone. The good news of Jesus has absolutely nothing to do with transfrerring information or a person accepting a host of doctrinal “facts” that one can glean from scripture (but that another could interpret differently and therefore the facts seem more theoretical than factual). If it required such a transfer of intellectual knowledge, I don’t know that many, if any, would be saved. We clearly wouldn’t need to share it at all with children or even young teens or with people who aren’t gifted with the mental acuity to manage or analyze all that information.
No, the gospel is a good news of a reconciled relationship with the King and the Father through His love and the sacrifice made by Jesus. And, just as we receive that good news by faith, we need to continue to walk, by faith, growing in our relationship with Him. As we do we will grow in our factual knowledge of Him as well, because our increased love will increase our desire to obey Him and our hunger for knowledge and understanding of Him, all of which comes from a greater knowledge of the Word of God. So, it is a both/and sort of thing, but it is always driven by the relationship and by love and faith, not by any work, whether of the hand, the mouth, or the mind. It flows from the inside out, not the other way around.
And, significantly, the knowledge that we are to grow in is much more like knowing one’s best friend, child or spouse better than it is knowing more about World War II. You see, the good news is fairly simple. It is that God loves you and He desires that you love Him, too.
I’m not sure if that is clearer, but perhaps you can let me know.
