Thursday, May 14, 2009

The "basics" are sometimes the hardest to believe

The quote below is striking to me because I tend to assume people that know about the doctrine of justification actually believe it. But then I realized more clearly that though I know about the doctrine of justification, I have trouble believing it when I am insecure and threatened. I don't thrive on the thought that God has declared me righteous. I wake up feeling He is not pleased.

"Much that we have interpreted as a defect of sanctification in church people is really an outgrowth of their loss of bearing with respect to justification. The importance of this principle cannot be overemphasized. It is a major mistake to think that dead congregations simply need to be more sanctified, when they do not understand the gospel. Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure persons." (Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 212)

Are you a "radically insecure person"? Do you see why?

No comments: