Miroslav Volf, Free Of Charge, chapter 5

I can’t report from tonight’s Lent group, because it was cancelled due to a shortage of available group members. But chapter 5 is probably my personal highlight from the book so far, so instead of reporting some group reflections, here below are my notes from my favourite part of the chapter. (And it was hard just to select one part.)

The Place of Repentance (pp 181-186)

If forgiveness is unconditional, does that dispense
with repentance? No: forgiveness is social; it isn’t simply about making the offended
party feel better. The offended party forgives, but the gift of forgiveness is
only truly received by repentance. Otherwise it gets stuck in the middle.
Repentance is not a condition but a consequence of forgiveness. When we have
done wrong we find it hard to admit our fault, but the fact of unconditional
forgiveness makes repentance possible.

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Miroslav Volf, Free Of Charge, chapter 5

I can’t report from tonight’s Lent group, because it was cancelled due to a shortage of available group members. But chapter 5 is probably my personal highlight from the book so far, so instead of reporting some group reflections, here below are my notes from my favourite part of the chapter. (And it was hard just to select one part.)

The Place of Repentance (pp 181-186)

If forgiveness is unconditional, does that dispense
with repentance? No: forgiveness is social; it isn’t simply about making the offended
party feel better. The offended party forgives, but the gift of forgiveness is
only truly received by repentance. Otherwise it gets stuck in the middle.
Repentance is not a condition but a consequence of forgiveness. When we have
done wrong we find it hard to admit our fault, but the fact of unconditional
forgiveness makes repentance possible.

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Quote Of The Day: Oswald Chambers

From Valuing the ordinary – an extract from Vicky Calver’s book Illusions Of Grandeur comes this quote from Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost For His Highest (October 21st reading):

We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises – human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus.

It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God – but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people – and this is not learned in five minutes.

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Quote Of The Day: Oswald Chambers

From Valuing the ordinary – an extract from Vicky Calver’s book Illusions Of Grandeur comes this quote from Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost For His Highest (October 21st reading):

We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises – human nature and pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain magnificently. But it does require the grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus.

It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God – but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people – and this is not learned in five minutes.

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Science And The Bible

The Evangelical Alliance have reprinted in two parts (here and here) a lecture by Ernest Lucas on Science and the Bible, with particular reference to the first creation story in Genesis. He deploys Augustine, Calvin and Galileo against both Richard Dawkins and creationist fundamentalists. Well worth reading.

(You may need to sign up to the EA’s Leaders-Digest to access the site.)

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Miroslav Volf, Free Of Charge, chapter 4

Continuing my weekly reflections from my Lent groups that are studying this book:

I think the common feeling from last night’s discussion is, he could have said it so much more simply. Due to the late arrival of our book order, yesterday evening was the first session where the group had been able to read the chapter ahead of the meeting. Although how many completed the chapter is a debatable point. It certainly seemed to them and to me that this is not written at as popular a level as you might expect for an Archbishop’s official Lent Book. Even I had to re-read one or two sections to grasp what Volf was saying, and I have two theology degrees.

Essentially the message was an orthodox Christian view of forgiveness via atonement, holding onto substitutionary atonement and satisfaction while not divorcing the Father from the Son. But the use of technical theological language didn’t help. The good thing fo me was I had to be on my mettle to find easy ways to explain substition, satisfaction, untion with Christ and imputation. I think people understood my explanations. My concern is how daunted or discouraged the group will be for the final two weeks.

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Is it biblical to speak of a ‘personal relationship with Jesus’?

Challenging article here:

Leadership Blog: Out of Ur: Pimping Jesus 2: Is the language of “a personal relationship” biblical?

Not quite sure what I think of this on a first read – it has implications for all the ‘intimacy’ language so beloved of the Vineyard movement and others, some of which is based on a dodgy reading of the Song Of Songs.

But I suspect the article is a hyperbolic over-statement in some respects: it’s not entirely fair to speak of the ‘absence of Jesus’ in the light of the Pentecost, for example. The silence of Jesus, maybe. Which is not to say I disagree completely with the call to recover the language of lament from the Psalter. The writer is making an important point, but maybe the pendulum has swung too far.

What do you think?

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