Today was a really weird day…
Okay, so after choir, I found myself in Sunday School class and made a little bit of a fool of myself. Got into a heated disagreement with the teacher over the nature of people following their salvation. I took one of my teachers’ positions on the nature of our identity in Christ. A segment of people at our church, it seems, appear to believe in the existence of a dual redeemed-spiritual/fleshly-sinful nature in the believer, and use Romans 7 as their basis. I was asked to leave the class. May God forgive me for not conducting myself with more humility and temperance. I will eat the humble pie given me. God, I felt like such a hypocrite today.
You have no idea how frequently I deal with and fight those thoughts. And how frequently that happens to believers. We need to learn as believers, the measure of potential within us, and learn an attitude of consistency. We also need to give thought to the fact from Scripture is that, once redeemed, we are not this twisted, dualistic person with two natures. This still fallen carnal sinful nature and this spiritual holy nature, both residing inside us. Rather, from Scripture, it would seem, that the sins are erased and we are transformed into a new creation. The blot of original sin and our nature is erased, and we are given a new nature. The nature “in Christ.” We are now reworked trash cans, or poor old sinners save by grace.
Now when the temptation to sin comes, that temptation comes from without, and we still live in the carnal world. However, in the moment of our temptation (which is not the act of sinning), we have a choice. We choose how we are going to respond to that temptation, which is external to us. And we can choose every single time to sin, or not to sin. Every single time. And we can choose to live a life of humility in Christ 100 percent of the time, or we can choose to…whatever the temptation is, to yield to it.
The question is, as my friend Matt Barksdale used to say, when we co-led a bible study, “Whatcha gonna do?”
See this day, I have set before you a choice, living or dying, blessing or cursing. Therefore, choose life. Choose it, every single time.
On another topic…
I am somewhat convinced that some of my friends think I have gone off the deep end, applying to Yale Divinity School and all. Some people have told me to “only go where the truth is preached.” Odd thing about that advice is there is only one place where the truth really is preached, and that is at the throne room of Christ. Others have said, “why Yale? Do you know how liberal it is out there? Do you know how many professors out there are ready to yadda yadda?”
On the other hand, I have had some very supportive people who have said that they always knew this about me, and like the idea of my application. I have always known something since 2001 when Dr. Witek, my British Modernist Poetry professor said to me that I would make a great teacher. I have known I would make quite a fit in the lecture hall, ready to mold the next generation of young minds who were going to go on to become the leaders of the world to come.
To those of you who have supported me, I appreciate your support. To those of you who have questioned my intents or choices, I appreciate your willingness to be honest with me.
I hope we both like what we see, should I get accepted and a good scholarship, on the other side of this experience…
I am so ready and glad to step out into my calling that I can hardly wait another minute, let alone three months to find out if I have been accepted.