Husband. Father. Anglican Priest.
Michael and his angels truly fight, but Revelation itself identifies the decisive ground of victory: the blood of the Lamb. Angelic warfare serves the victory of Christ; it does not supplement it. Michael is not a second savior standing alongside Jesus.
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.