Husband, father, and Anglican priest living in the North Georgia Mountains. Sermons, reflections, and articles promoting the "Ancient Faith for Modern Times". Subscribe below to get the latest posts in your inbox.
The second son warns us that religious language can become a shelter from obedience. We may know what faithful Christians are supposed to say. We may know how to speak about forgiveness, generosity, prayer, holiness, service, and love. The question is whether our lives are following our confession.
That is what grace does. It does not merely forgive the old life and leave us sitting where we were. It calls us into a new one. Christ calls before Matthew follows. Christ gives before Matthew proclaims. And the same Lord still calls sinners today.
Christ calls before Matthew follows. Christ gives before Matthew proclaims. The Church likewise cannot generate faithfulness from within herself.
Last week the problem was receiving mercy and refusing to extend it. This week the problem is receiving grace and then resenting God when he gives grace to somebody else. We are comfortable with grace until grace interferes with our accounting.
The final word is not our endurance. The final word is grace. Paul received his ministry from the Lord Jesus, testified to the Gospel of grace, and then entrusted the Church to God and the word of his grace.
On Wednesday we learned that the Church is not ours. Today we learn what Christ intends his servants to do within the Church that belongs to him: not replace the saints, but equip them; not gather the Body around themselves, but help the whole Body grow into Christ.