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Commentary on "Planning Ahead"
Day 6: Thursday, November 5, 2009
This part deals exclusively with an element of the garment: tassels of blue, having the purpose to remind the Israelites about their status as children of God, keepers of his laws, members of the covenant community.
Negative:
“Though we don’t wear tassels today, we have something so much more powerful: the cross of Christ, which always should bring before our minds the cost of sin, the cost of our redemption, and the promise of salvation for all who, through faith, trust in the merits of Jesus and who “follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14).
Notice that the lesson says the promise of salvation is given only to those who, besides trusting in Jesus’ merits do something else: “follow holiness”. While it’s true that people who are saved from sin are also sanctified, pursuing holiness is not a condition of their salvation. Contrary to what this paragraph affirms, salvation is not promised to those who pursue holiness, but to all who trust in Christ’s merits alone, apart from any requirement of holiness, apart from the works of the law (Romans 3:28; 4:4-6). The paragraph confuses the results of salvation/justification with the cause, or it’s conditions. The cross of Christ reminds us about our failure to be holy and about Jesus’ death who paid the price of our failure and in this way effectively saved us from sin, the condemnation of it by the law, and also its power. It’s not a promise for those who try and succeed in being holy enough, but for those who realize that they are not holy in spite of all their respectable behavior, and trust exclusively in Christ’s life, death and resurrection for their salvation. The cry of the reformation was Sola Fide, a salvation obtained “by faith alone” against a corruption of the gospel which proclaimed God’s promise of salvation based on man’s ability to cooperate with God in his sanctification.
GO TO DAY 7
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