What a beautiful and simple truth! Just imagine how different the daily life of believers would be if they fully embraced this reality! It is far too common for believers to hear from the pulpit, “let’s not forget that we all are sinners”. It’s just not true unless they want to revise that to say “once were” instead of “are”. Our true identity is that of a Holy Saint - why dwell in the past. We are new creations and should proudly live from that reality.
Thank you for firm representation and bold expression of this truth!
We do all fall short - we don’t become perfect when we become Christians - the difference is that we no longer PRACTICE sin, and we’re no longer seen as sinners by God - Jesus bridges the gap and God sees us as clothed with His righteousness. As you say, it’s our new reality - adopted into the family of God; translated into his kingdom. Saints/sanctified ones.
I had a fairly recent talk with some Catholic friends. They tried to argue that the praying to saints is no different than asking other believers to pray for you. I disagreed. We then progressed to them praying to Mary. At first I just asked them why they wouldn't go straight to Jesus. He died so they could go straight to Him.
Then I used Jesus's own analogy. We are the bride of Christ. What kind of marriage would we have, if every time we wanted something from our husband, we asked His Mom to ask Him for us? I think that made them think because the discussion ended there.
I just read your comment to my wife - she got quite a kick out of it. I’ve been wanting to write about praying to Mary but it’s such a sensitive and emotional subject that I’ve been trying to figure out how to write on it without unnecessarily offending. I’ll definitely use your take on this - thanks again.
Thanks, Christy - great points. I'm glad you've been able to talk to your friends about this. Maybe they will think about it and come to a better knowledge of Christ.
I'm writing a post about the beauty of marriage and its relevance to the bride of Christ - probably won't publish it until after the holidays. Could I send you a rough draft and get your input?
I guess for some people, all Christians are created equal, but some are more equal than others. I’m thinking that the early Catholic Church began the practice of naming saints to encourage the peasants to live in a righteous manner. Thus, the commoners could look forward to an elevated status in the afterlife that they could never hope to achieve on earth.
What a beautiful and simple truth! Just imagine how different the daily life of believers would be if they fully embraced this reality! It is far too common for believers to hear from the pulpit, “let’s not forget that we all are sinners”. It’s just not true unless they want to revise that to say “once were” instead of “are”. Our true identity is that of a Holy Saint - why dwell in the past. We are new creations and should proudly live from that reality.
Thank you for firm representation and bold expression of this truth!
Thanks for the comment and the encouragement!
We do all fall short - we don’t become perfect when we become Christians - the difference is that we no longer PRACTICE sin, and we’re no longer seen as sinners by God - Jesus bridges the gap and God sees us as clothed with His righteousness. As you say, it’s our new reality - adopted into the family of God; translated into his kingdom. Saints/sanctified ones.
I had a fairly recent talk with some Catholic friends. They tried to argue that the praying to saints is no different than asking other believers to pray for you. I disagreed. We then progressed to them praying to Mary. At first I just asked them why they wouldn't go straight to Jesus. He died so they could go straight to Him.
Then I used Jesus's own analogy. We are the bride of Christ. What kind of marriage would we have, if every time we wanted something from our husband, we asked His Mom to ask Him for us? I think that made them think because the discussion ended there.
I just read your comment to my wife - she got quite a kick out of it. I’ve been wanting to write about praying to Mary but it’s such a sensitive and emotional subject that I’ve been trying to figure out how to write on it without unnecessarily offending. I’ll definitely use your take on this - thanks again.
Thanks, Christy - great points. I'm glad you've been able to talk to your friends about this. Maybe they will think about it and come to a better knowledge of Christ.
I'm writing a post about the beauty of marriage and its relevance to the bride of Christ - probably won't publish it until after the holidays. Could I send you a rough draft and get your input?
This will give many things to think about.
I guess for some people, all Christians are created equal, but some are more equal than others. I’m thinking that the early Catholic Church began the practice of naming saints to encourage the peasants to live in a righteous manner. Thus, the commoners could look forward to an elevated status in the afterlife that they could never hope to achieve on earth.
Thanks for the interesting comment.