Rev. Michael Piazza in Liberating Word says of Romans 8 “…he opens the eighth chapter with a profound and simple sentence: There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. No condemnation. While, if we are healthy, we are keenly aware of our shortcomings, brokenness, faults, weakness and, yes, sins, God does not condemn us. That is what grace means. For the Christian life, repentance is not the starting point as we so often have been told. Grace is the starting point. We do not start from a point of shame and judgment. We start from a point of forgiveness and repentance, and change is our response. Let that sink in for a moment. How often have we tried to change so that God would approve of how we live? How has that worked out? Maybe we have started from the wrong point. You are not condemned. Period. Maybe if we tried responding to grace we might see a bit more of the transformation that the Spirit can work in a soul that is free from self-hatred, guilt and shame. Brennan Manning wrote a book entitled Stranger to Self-Hatred. His contention is that this reality is what distinguished Jesus from everyone who lived before or since him. Maybe it is worth a try.”
Rev. Michael Piazza in Liberating Word says of Romans 8 “…he opens the eighth chapter with a profound and simple sentence: There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. No condemnation. While, if we are healthy, we are keenly aware of our shortcomings, brokenness, faults, weakness and, yes, sins, God does not condemn us. That is what grace means. For the Christian life, repentance is not the starting point as we so often have been told. Grace is the starting point.
ReplyDeleteWe do not start from a point of shame and judgment. We start from a point of forgiveness and repentance, and change is our response. Let that sink in for a moment. How often have we tried to change so that God would approve of how we live? How has that worked out? Maybe we have started from the wrong point. You are not condemned. Period. Maybe if we tried responding to grace we might see a bit more of the transformation that the Spirit can work in a soul that is free from self-hatred, guilt and shame.
Brennan Manning wrote a book entitled Stranger to Self-Hatred. His contention is that this reality is what distinguished Jesus from everyone who lived before or since him. Maybe it is worth a try.”