The Bible is a book that tells us what God has done (indicative). And because of what God has done, we live differently (imperative). if we flip these we lose the heart of the gospel of grace and and replace it with the gospel of works.
Some thoughts along the way
The Bible is a book that tells us what God has done (indicative). And because of what God has done, we live differently (imperative). if we flip these we lose the heart of the gospel of grace and and replace it with the gospel of works.
This reminds me of this:
“The powerful connection between baptism and death and the visceral resurrection implied in the lifting up of the newly baptized person from the water has been lost, with baptism becoming more an opportunity for the person to ‘witness’ to his or her commitment to Christ – as if baptism were about our commitment to Christ rather than Christ’s commitment to us.
And yet baptism could be the church’s most powerful response – perhaps its only response – to individualism. We who are baptized are no longer our own – we belong to God (Romans 14:7-8, NRSV), and in belonging to God we belong to the other members of the body. To the extent that we continue to grasp for an individualistic identity, it is a sign of our failure to understand and live into our baptism; to the extent that we are still distinct persons (which we are), it is because we are distinct members, with particular gifts, histories, and callings, filled with the identity and character of one who ‘fills all in all’ (Ephesians 1:23, NRSV).
… In baptism, we subject our bodies to both burying and washing, to both death and rejuvenation, uniting the pain of piercing with the relief and restoration of surgery. In the Eucharist, we touch, taste, smell, see, and hear a story that then enters us as food and drink – a story of a body that was pierced and then glorified… Week after week, they allow us to revisit the story of the Christian gospel – another’s death for the sake of our life. But they do so in a uniquely comprehensive way, bringing us the words, images, sounds, tastes, and smells of that story – the splashing of water, the sound of a breaking loaf of matzo, the pouring of wine.”
Andy Crouch
Great thoughts, Jason!
Wow what a great quote. Where did you find that? I’ve been listening to some other things from Andy Crouch. So I would love to know where that’s from.
My friend posted it on her blog. I don’t know where she got it.