Righteousness of God, through judgment & Christ
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Here are some thoughts which I have come across recently which are relevant to this discussion this week.
Jonathan Dodson from over at the Resurgence had some good words to say about problem rules & production centered churches instead of faith & Christ centered communities. [Click Here] for the full story.
Karl Barth had this clear insight into the wrath of God.
The wrath of God is the rigtheousness of God—apart from and without Christ.1
Rowan Williams writes in “The Dark Night”:
The dark night is God’s attack on religion. If you genuinely desire union with the unspeakable love of God, then you must be prepared to have your “religious” world shattered. If you think devotional practices, theological insights, even charitable actions give you some sort of a purchase on God, you are still playing games.2
No. 1 — February 4th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
What an interesting article by Dodson… ANOTHER Jonathan!?! Good grief. One of the big hang ups for people looking for Jesus Christ is that the church has painted the picture of sin as a list of “thou shalt nots” like Dodson mentioned. Don’t drink. Don’t swear… How can anyone ever be righteous!?!
I’m learning to change the way I see sin. Sin is the separation or distance between me and God. Sometimes I am very near His heart and feel “in tune” with his will. At other times I can’t understand why He even bothers with me. That ultimately changes the way I see righteousness as well. I’ll never be able to check all the “thou shalt not” boxes, but Christ HAS made a way for me to come close to a righteous God.
Good stuff. Great find, Jonathan P.!