Attending
a class recently, Building on God's Foundation: A New Community,
students were asked to gather into small groups for discussion. Not
one who is overly enamored with cliques, I opted for a table with two
people who seemed to garner no attention, possible outcasts. The
gentleman who was initially sitting with me had likewise followed
suit. The topic of discussion focused on the Story of Nicodemus (John
3:1-21). You know, the narrative between Jesus and the Pharisee who
was confounded about salvation and how he was to reenter the womb and
be born again. As a grown man, at that. Of course, as many of are
wont to do, Nicodemus was looking at this teaching from a temporal
perspective, not recognizing that Jesus was speaking of being born
again by water and Spirit. The common quantifier, of course, being
faith.
Our religious traditions consisted of a hodgepodge. One who subscribed to Pentecostal Protestantism. A Messianic Jew. Of course, yours truly representing Catholicism. And, a fella who had yet to make up his mind about God.
It is curious how the Holy Spirit brings opposites together. Sense of humor?
The groups were given five points to navigate concerning the text. We did not make it past the initial leg of the query: "When Nicodemus asked Jesus about salvation, what does Jesus say?" Silly me, I regularly struggle to stay on task and, in this particular instance, I was curious about what each person thought about salvation from their individual or traditional perspectives. Specifically, does the doctrine of salvation (being saved) consist of a single or continual event?
Yep, for those of you who know how volatile this query can be...well, I sure can pick 'em! This not so little rabbit trail, by the way, was the path in which we collectively learned of our religious differences. But, much to my relief, we each handled our interactions and dissimilarities with dignity. Jesus was proud this afternoon!
As with any mixed bag, our topic of choice fractured into other areas. Of particular interest, I spoke of there being venial and mortal sins, how mortal sins sever the covenant with God. An extenuation of salvation. O yeah, that bunny hop sparked a response from the Pentecostal gentleman. He stood atop his soapbox and professed that "all sin is sin and therefore equally offensive." Hmph! Not being the first time this flawed notion had been heard (such is actually quite popular in this environment), I calmly grabbed my Bible - coincidentally, me, the Catholic, was the only soul at our table to bring the Word of God, go figure - and turned to the following passage: "If anyone sees his brother committing what is not a deadly sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not deadly." In and of themselves, these words indicate different categories of sin. However, to ensure understanding, the text restates itself immediately following the preceding statement: "There is sin which is deadly...." And, again: "All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not deadly." (1 John 5:16, 17 RSVCE). Without a hint of superiority, I asked our Pentecostal friend how he understood the magnitude of those words?
To keep you informed of the other rabbit chasers, the Messianic Jew was on my page. The undecided gentleman simply listened and occasionally asked for clarification. It is so pleasing that we all remained cordial.
The response received was not what had been anticipated. I had really thought that the "all sin is the same" gentleman would recognize the hiccup in his reasoning and embrace what had been clearly placed before him in Scripture. Nope. I am indeed naive. Instead, he seemed to not be deterred and continued to embrace the faultiness of what he had been erroneously taught. Even the undecided gentleman connected the dots; albeit, it is unlikely that the significance was appreciated. I will reach out to him at another time, soon.
With my Pentecostal friend it can only be hoped that the seed has been planted and he is currently wrestling with the logistics.
Later, after the class, I happened upon my evangelical friend and we explored some other teachings. All culminated with the same "agree to disagree" yawn. Unwilling to let this rabbit to hide in the darkness of briers, I am going to slide him scriptural passages which support what we had bumped heads on. Because we had remained genteel and non combative, I am reasonably confident that he will hop away.
On a funny and related turn: While my confused Pentecostal friend and I were engaged after class, a booming voice could be heard in our proximity which was chanting: "Get 'em, you can get him, I know you can...." Initially, the two of us were ignoring the words, perceiving that such vocal encouragements were related to a ballgame airing on the community television. Finally looking up, we both saw the undecided gentleman prompting me to keep on with what I was saying. It is not clear if such was in jest, but he had a big smile and seemed to grasp what was happening.
Perhaps more than one seed has been planted? Is it too optimistic to hope that a small crop of fruit is on the way? Yahoo! As a result, your prayers are needed so that not only will their hearts be receptive, but that I will be open to the Holy Spirit's guidance so so as to not do any adverse damage. Thank you.
A great appreciation must be extended to all of the apostolates (ministries) and individuals who provided the resources and encouragement to share and defend Jesus. This is apologetics. I am indebted.
Marana tha
Our religious traditions consisted of a hodgepodge. One who subscribed to Pentecostal Protestantism. A Messianic Jew. Of course, yours truly representing Catholicism. And, a fella who had yet to make up his mind about God.
It is curious how the Holy Spirit brings opposites together. Sense of humor?
The groups were given five points to navigate concerning the text. We did not make it past the initial leg of the query: "When Nicodemus asked Jesus about salvation, what does Jesus say?" Silly me, I regularly struggle to stay on task and, in this particular instance, I was curious about what each person thought about salvation from their individual or traditional perspectives. Specifically, does the doctrine of salvation (being saved) consist of a single or continual event?
Yep, for those of you who know how volatile this query can be...well, I sure can pick 'em! This not so little rabbit trail, by the way, was the path in which we collectively learned of our religious differences. But, much to my relief, we each handled our interactions and dissimilarities with dignity. Jesus was proud this afternoon!
As with any mixed bag, our topic of choice fractured into other areas. Of particular interest, I spoke of there being venial and mortal sins, how mortal sins sever the covenant with God. An extenuation of salvation. O yeah, that bunny hop sparked a response from the Pentecostal gentleman. He stood atop his soapbox and professed that "all sin is sin and therefore equally offensive." Hmph! Not being the first time this flawed notion had been heard (such is actually quite popular in this environment), I calmly grabbed my Bible - coincidentally, me, the Catholic, was the only soul at our table to bring the Word of God, go figure - and turned to the following passage: "If anyone sees his brother committing what is not a deadly sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not deadly." In and of themselves, these words indicate different categories of sin. However, to ensure understanding, the text restates itself immediately following the preceding statement: "There is sin which is deadly...." And, again: "All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not deadly." (1 John 5:16, 17 RSVCE). Without a hint of superiority, I asked our Pentecostal friend how he understood the magnitude of those words?
To keep you informed of the other rabbit chasers, the Messianic Jew was on my page. The undecided gentleman simply listened and occasionally asked for clarification. It is so pleasing that we all remained cordial.
The response received was not what had been anticipated. I had really thought that the "all sin is the same" gentleman would recognize the hiccup in his reasoning and embrace what had been clearly placed before him in Scripture. Nope. I am indeed naive. Instead, he seemed to not be deterred and continued to embrace the faultiness of what he had been erroneously taught. Even the undecided gentleman connected the dots; albeit, it is unlikely that the significance was appreciated. I will reach out to him at another time, soon.
With my Pentecostal friend it can only be hoped that the seed has been planted and he is currently wrestling with the logistics.
Later, after the class, I happened upon my evangelical friend and we explored some other teachings. All culminated with the same "agree to disagree" yawn. Unwilling to let this rabbit to hide in the darkness of briers, I am going to slide him scriptural passages which support what we had bumped heads on. Because we had remained genteel and non combative, I am reasonably confident that he will hop away.
On a funny and related turn: While my confused Pentecostal friend and I were engaged after class, a booming voice could be heard in our proximity which was chanting: "Get 'em, you can get him, I know you can...." Initially, the two of us were ignoring the words, perceiving that such vocal encouragements were related to a ballgame airing on the community television. Finally looking up, we both saw the undecided gentleman prompting me to keep on with what I was saying. It is not clear if such was in jest, but he had a big smile and seemed to grasp what was happening.
Perhaps more than one seed has been planted? Is it too optimistic to hope that a small crop of fruit is on the way? Yahoo! As a result, your prayers are needed so that not only will their hearts be receptive, but that I will be open to the Holy Spirit's guidance so so as to not do any adverse damage. Thank you.
A great appreciation must be extended to all of the apostolates (ministries) and individuals who provided the resources and encouragement to share and defend Jesus. This is apologetics. I am indebted.
Marana tha
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