Having, at different times of my short life, been part of the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church and the evangelical free church, I often consider and tussle with the different beliefs they each hold, and ponder what each might teach the others.
We refer to 'born again' Christians, as those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ as God, as man, and as the only way of salvation. This blog has grown out of a need to understand what exactly I believe, and how I wish to live out my beliefs. If asked pointedly what my denomination is, I would probably say I was an evangelical Christian. However, more and more I am reluctant to be 'pigeon holed'.
I fear it would be easy to throw the baby out with the bath water and then justify our actions. I think it is almost certain we will be shocked to meet in heaven, people who on earth would not have tagged 'evangelical', or 'baptist' or otherwise. I think some will be Roman Catholic, some Mormons, some people who we thought did not faith because they felt unable to attend worship with others. Some will be people, who if we are honest with ourselves, we thought God could never forgive.
I have to be careful how I say this, because it would be easy to misconstrue my meaning, but I think I have become narrow in my understanding of what following Jesus and worshipping the Trinity must look like. As a Catholic I personally was not saved, but that is not to say I haven't since learnt a great deal from those who were part of it, such as Ignatius of Loyola and his habit of finding God in all things. I no longer worship at in the Church of England, but I benefited much from the rich pattern of the church year, of liturgy and passion for social action.
All of these things I have begun thinking through, whilst continuing to work full time in secular employment, meeting with very normal people who rebel against God, who love me and challenge me and who occasionally frustrate me as much as I do them! Real life is the best classroom.
I plan to work through some of these thoughts, about liturgy, music, theology, prayer, inter faith dialogue, and to see where they take me. Feel free to join me on the journey, and to share your thoughts, even if you don't think I will agree with them.
I think you're right that many people will be surprised by who we see in Heaven. I hope to be, because it means that more have found God, and found life.
ReplyDeleteI would probably have stopped short of saying Mormons, but it's an interesting question. At the end of the day, it is Jesus who saves, not a particular church. The question is, to what extent do beliefs, teachings, traditions (and in the case of Mormons, most likely fabrications) and who we follow on earth interfere with our eternal destination.
Hopefully, much as iron sharpens iron, you'll find that the people you speak to will bring you closer to God, and you them.
Happy to share my thoughts with you as you journey, and look forward to hearing yours.
I think I should have been clearer when I mentioned Mormons. I was using them as an example of a well known label, but perhaps they are not the best choice. My thought was that people can call themselves by one name or another, and when we read that word, we make certain assumptions. So for instance, if some one says they are Roman Catholic, my brains first response would be that they are not Christian. However, there are a large number of people who would say they are RC, but don't hold to many of the teachings of the church that are not in the Bible. What then?
DeleteThanks for your comment - this is something I have been wrestling with for several years, particularly the last one, and I have been really encouraged that people are willing to discuss these things.
Yes, although right doctrine is important, we're saved by grace through Jesus, and that can work out in all sorts of surprising and unexpected ways, including saving by grace alone people who don't believe in grace alone!
ReplyDeleteAnd there are rich resources of wisdom and truth from outside evangelicalism... We need to weigh everything by the Bible rather than accept or reject it uncritically just because it does or doesn't have the right label.
Caleb, you're absolutely correct. My profound fear until very recently was that if I strayed too far from the reformed tradition that I would get burnt, but also that if I sort advice from friends on looking further afield that I'd be considered a heretic.
ReplyDeleteThere are some aspects of all the churches I have belongs to that I miss, and it is working out what is worth hanging on to, and what would not be helpful. Having discussed things with a couple of close friends, I decided I would approach things with 1 Thess 5:19-22 "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil."
I really appreciate both your comments, and Pete's, mostly because it gives me confidence to keep thinking about these things with people who will keep me accountable to God's word.