Old Sandals

III John 1:11
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.

Leaders may not lead. Hollywood stars may not shine. Some are famous because they are infamous.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd. He leads us beside still waters. He is the Light of the world, the radiance of the Father’s glory. He is the Stone which the builders rejected, but is made the chief cornerstone.

Christ is the Path, and Christ the Prize.

II John 1:7
For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Let God be God.  So many things are above your ability to fully comprehend.  Does God desire the salvation of all?  Yes.  Isn’t it true He is not willing that any should perish? Yes. Aren’t we saved by grace, and isn’t it all a gift?  Yes.  Is God transcendent?  Yes.

Is man free?  Sort of.

Let God be God.

I John 5:6-8
And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

There is but one God, but He exists eternally in three Persons.  Divine Majesty!  Divine Mystery!

The Holy Spirit has been given to us who believe as a witness.  Our baptism should serve as a witness to the saving grace of God.  And the blood of Jesus Christ, shed for us, should also serve as a powerful witness that we who believe belong to Him—forever.

 I John 4:10
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

What does the word propitiation mean in the context of this verse, and others like it in the Scriptures?

Propitiation normally carries the idea of appeasement, of placating the wrath or anger of a deity.  Some scholars think this verse and others like it would be better translated by using the word expiation instead.  Expiation is the removal of a problem and carries the idea of cleansing.

Did Jesus suffer to placate the wrath of God, or did His suffering serve to expiate our sins?

Or both?

I John 3:2
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

It is beyond even imagining. We only know that we shall be, we shall live on forever. We’ll maintain our unique identity; it won’t be swallowed up in God, but rather validated and established in Him.

I John 2:28
And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

He is coming again, in power and glory. We have His word on it.

The Word of God, the Bible, along with a hermeneutic informed by sacred tradition, is our only faithful source of truthful revelation.

This is saying that even though the Bible is the final and ultimate authority for Christian faith and practice, it still must be understood. That is, the Bible’s authoritative teaching resides in the message it conveys – not the physical book itself.

How that message has been historically received and understood is where sacred tradition comes in.

I John 1:1-2
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you.

It’s as if John is saying, “Look, I know what I’m talking about.  Trust me on this.  I was there.”

Do I know what I’m talking about?  Do I have a systematic theology?  Should I have a systematic theology?  Is it possible to have a fully systematic theology?  How much should be chalked up to mystery?  Where should the flag of mystery be planted?

11 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Why isn’t the plain meaning of Peter’s words enough for us?  “The Lord is…not willing that any should perish.”  How many Calvinist theologians have endeavored carefully to analyze this verse.  What was Peter really saying?  Perhaps it is better understood that “The Lord is not willing that any (of the elect) should perish.”

If that is what Peter really meant, then why would Peter’s disciples, and their disciples in turn, not have emphasized this in their writings?

II Peter 2:1, 17
There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction… for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

The apostle Peter rails against false teachers throughout this chapter. Their end is swift destruction, everlasting darkness.

And yet the apostle writes these false teachers even deny the Lord “who bought them”. Who bought them! Ransomed them! Surely our Lord died for all men, without exception.

I think I’m Lutheran, in part at least.  This from Mathew Block, at FirstThings:

“Lutherans look to God as revealed in Christ; they do not speculate about unrevealed aspects of God’s will. Consequently, Lutherans affirm only that which they see affirmed in Scripture. Scripture tells us that Christ died for the whole world (John 3:16-17). So we believe it. Scripture also tells us that God desires all people to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). So we believe it. It further tells us that God has predestined those who will be saved (Ephesians 1:3-6). We believe this too. And yet, Scripture tells us that not all people will be saved (Matthew 25:41). This we also believe. We are willing to accept the seeming paradox, that an almighty God who predestines believers to be saved and who earnestly desires the salvation of all nevertheless will see some not saved.”

II Peter 1:9
For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Our sins are remitted, washed away in the waters of baptism. But not ‘ex opere operato’— a Latin phrase meaning ‘from the work worked’— as the Catholic Church teaches. Repentance and faith are necessary, essential. But baptism is the vehicle by which it happens.