Forgiveness after Baptism
11/17/92
Jesus died for our salvation. His merits are infinite and more than enough to forgive our sins. But these merits are applied to
us over our whole lifetime, not once for all upon belief in Christ.
I still don't understand. The merits are applied over our whole lifetime? This just does not square with John 3:16 and 5:24. I
realize the danger of singling out one or two particular verses of the whole New Testament, but these two are so clear and
certain.
The Church is the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim 3:15), not the Bible, and especially not a selection of one's
favorite texts.
You mean the Church is a higher authority than the bible?
Dear Scott,
With respect, there is nothing in John 3:16 and 5:24 which even deals with the Lord's provision for people who fall into sin after baptism. That he did make provision for us who sin is clear from many scriptures, among them: Proverbs 24:16, Jeremiah 8:4, Ezechiel 33:11-20, John 20:23, James 5:14-16, 1st John 5:16.
Our sanctification in Christ, suggests 2 Cor 3:18, is process, not a single, grace-filled event. Such an event is but a beginning. process is lifelong. 1st Peter 2:2 speaks of "growing into salvation." What is growing has not yet reached fulness. 2nd Peter 3:18 again says, "GROW in grace". Life in Christ is often ups and downs. Revelation 2:4-5 and 3:2-3 show Christ rebuking lax Christians and recalling them to their first fervor. He does not abandon Christians who sin.
The vicissitudes of the spiritual life need grace, and grace is available AS NEEDED if we turn again and again to the Lord in faith and prayer. If we search the whole Scripture under the guidance of the Body of Christ, which is the Church (Col. 1:24), we will not read our favorite verses while tuning out the rest of the Word.
In college, I had a professor who used to growl at us very often: "If you want the right answers, you have to ask the right questions." With respect, "Is the Church a higher authority than the Bible?" is not one of the right questions.
Church and Bible are not two rival authorities, competing for our allegiance. Rather, the Bible cannot be (and was never by God intended to be) understood apart from the Church community that produced it in the first place. The Holy Spirit inspired, first Jewish then Christian believers, members and leaders among the People of God, to write the Scriptures, drawing upon the community's traditions as they did so.
The Community of the New Testament, however, was not and is not a common, garden-variety community. It was and is CHURCH, the Body of Christ, Members of Christ the Head, the Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem. Its foundation is Jesus Christ, not a book. The book (or rather books) were produced by the Holy Spirit within the Church for the Church's use in proclaiming Jesus Christ. History shows that, used apart from the Church, the Bible produces a bewildering spawn of denominations instead of the unity Jesus prayed for. This is not the fault of the Bible, but of those who reject the Spirit-filled guidance of the Church in using the Bible.
Sincerely in Christ,
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