Speaking of growth, one way that I feel I have grown is to have a more grounded and realistic view of holiness. I was hanging out with my reformed peeps this past Sunday, and know that one thing that bothers me to no end with reformed theology is the constant reference to human sinfulness. Yes, I am a sinner. Can we move past that? And if God's grace is so amazing and powerful, why harp on the fact that grace is unmerited? Sure, in principle, I can agree that I don't merit grace, but what I am ready for is to experience the goodness of that grace. To keep circling around the topic of merit is to miss the point of grace. Doesn't the fact that grace is unmerited a good reason to dump that very qualifier? To quote Arsenio Hall, this is one of those things that make you go hmmm.
But I think a sign of growth is that I can disagree with the underlying rhythm of the sermon but also feel the goodness of being with people who have a genuine love for God and to worship God together. To that I can give a heartfelt Amen. Let's raise the roof for J.C.
More thoughts on holiness to come ...
God's grace is both unmerited and exceedingly good. Perhaps your main complaint is that the latter was not emphasized in the service you attended, rather than that the former was emphasized? Or perhaps it would help to know what you mean by "experience the goodness of that grace."
ReplyDeleteIn any case, three cheers for your last paragraph! :)
It is not so much that the pastor did not say that grace is exceedingly good. He actually did a really good job of that which I was impressed with. My complaint was that the phrase "unmerited grace" seems redundant and undermines the full meaning, power, and impact of the word grace. It feels like a mild version of double speak that George Orwell illustrated so well in the book _1984_.
ReplyDeleteI see your point, but I might suggest on the other hand that the "doublespeak" has the purpose of informing newcomers and reminding the rest of us about this essential dimension of the meaning of the word, especially given that the word "grace" does not generally mean "unmerited" (while it always implies goodness) except when it is used as "theological jargon."
ReplyDeleteI see your point, but I don't know if I would agree with the statement "the word 'grace' does not generally mean 'unmerited'". Merriam-Webster online has the first definition for grace is "unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification". After all, no one name their kids "unmerited grace" :).
ReplyDeleteBut I can see what is doublespeak for me can serve as a necessary reminder for others.
That first definition is what I meant by "theological jargon." When a word is so full of meaning, it's good to unpack it sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI agree that unpacking the word is a good thing from time to time, but in my experience most of the times the phrase "unmerited grace" is repeated in a rote way.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to explain why the rote repetition of the phrase annoys me is if someone were giving me a gift and say "This is a gift, and oh, you don't need to return the gift", which has the unintended consequence of making me think the opposite.