'After all, what is the "good and evil" about which Christ asks? (2Cor5:10) The "good" is nothing other than seeking God's grace and grasping it; the "evil is nothing other than the anxiety of wanting to stand before God on our own merits, the will to be righteous in and of ourselves. "Repent" - that refers to nothing else than this turning, this complete reorientation away from our own works and to God's mercy and taking our stand there. "Turn back" - to what? To the eternal grace of God, to the One who does not abandon us, to the One whose heart is broken about us, because this God loves us, his creatures, in a way that can never be measured.'
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I'm troubled to consider what standing before God on my own merit would mean. Thanks be to God, that "in my place, condemned he stood" so that I can stand on the merit of Christ.
Amen to that, ESI. There would be no standing for me and I'm grateful that I know that, "in me no good thing dwells'!
I love Bonhoeffer and one can be immersed in his writings for a long time and will benefit and be challenged and stretched to the breaking point and beyond as to what this life in Jesus for us in this world means.
But it's all about grace, and God's grace in Jesus to be sure, and of our standing in that grace through faith.
We have inherent goodness through creation, inherent evil through sin and the fall and goodness restored forever by God's grace/gift to us in Jesus.
Amen, Susan. Great quote. And to what ESI says as well.
I'd better explain my comment just a little here, I think.
Humankind is created in the image of God and though that image is broken or cracked because of sin and the fall, humans retain something of it, I believe, and therefore something of an inherent goodness shown in many ways. Such as caring for others, believing in a concept of right and wrong (even if the philosophical underpinnings differ on that), etc.
But the goodness God restores by grace to us in Jesus is a goodness that turns humankind away from the evil of living as those who are not living in God's will and created design. So what is needed is nothing less than the new creation in Jesus.
Something like all that.
So that it is true, as to this newness, and what humanity was meant to be, there is none good whatsoever, no not one! Only in Jesus is this goodness restored in a complete gift to us by faith in which we begin the process to full and complete restoration of this goodness in Jesus.
One more thing I think I should add as I think about this, lest I be misread or misunderstood:
We certainly are condemned, lost and in darkness apart from this goodness retored by the grace of God in Jesus.
restored (not retored)
(on our way to 100+ comments!) :)
Yes Ted, I agree with you completely.
"We certainly are condemned, lost and in darkness apart from this goodness restored by the grace of God in Jesus.
Great Bonhoeffer quote!! Thanks Susan. And I appreciate your apprehension of the truth "in me no good thing dwells." It is important that we all recognize this about ourselves apart from Christ. It is all about God’s grace. There is not a more significant word in the Bible than "grace".
Hey Susan,
Have you ever tried to put words in italics, use Bold Words or insert a link like Maalie tried to show us?
After some trial and error, I found it actually does work! I could email you what you would simply need to copy and paste if that would be helpful.
Nice quote. Bonhoeffer had a way with words.
He did struggle deeply with Hitler at the time, and the whole assassination of Hitler, and being part of it.
He's a great saint to glean from. Especially if you want to be a genuine disciple of Christ. Tremendous wisdom this man had, and he backed it up as a fine example as a disciple, all the way to his execution by hanging.
sorry i had to delete the last one, i noticed a typo i couldn't live with:)
great post halfmom!
one of my favorite words in the bible (besides grace and what grace means for me) is "shema"
it translates, from hebrew, as both listen and obey - in this text (NIV) as "hear".
Deut. 6:4-5
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
we must both hear and obey the command - love the Lord with our hearts souls and strength.
i love the jewish tradition of hanging a mezuzah on the door - in it is the scripture above from Deuteronomy and it's on the door as a constant reminder to Love God with our whole selves.
What a great explanation of that verse! I'm not sure if that's exactly what it means, but it certainly helps explain it in a way consistent with justification through faith alone.
Have fun at home with Andrew tonight!
Hello me old fruit!
The sun has got his hat on
hip hip hip hooray,
The sun has got his hat on
and he's coming out to play!
Today the big current bun is up in the sky ... yipeee
anxiety? I have NO anxiety at all...
thats the problem... your argument assumes that god exists. if "he" does not- then there is no anxiety.
so- no worries!
its all well and good to read stuff that just feeds your own opinion... but really.. its not logical nor realistic at all...
Then you are a rare man among us, Simon. I have met few, if any, people who do not feel a sense of inadequacy, fear or anxiety. The thought that they even might be held accountable for who they are and what they have, or have not, done is also a source of concern for them across the board.
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