early church history for beginners – Jesus @ 2 am blogs and podcast

Understanding the Bible 42: So…Sin Boldly? Paul and Christian Ethics

September 13, 2014September 9, 2014Kirk WinslowOne Comment

If, as Paul argues, salvation is by grace alone (a gift of God and not achieved by any act on our part), what does that imply for Christian ethics? Can we therefore “sin boldly” — indulge our impulses and enjoy the party…? I mean, if all is forgiven in the end, why not make good use of the “Get Out of Jail Free” card??? This was a major question for the early church, particularly as the church expanded into the pagan, Gentile world.

Paul’s response (we look at Rom. 5:18-6:19) is that such a question fundamentally misunderstands the nature of sin! Sin is not to be avoided because of the anger it stirs within God (as though God were a dispassionate judge concerned only with the rules), but because of the harm it does . That is to say, sin is not the party it is cracked up to be – it does not deliver life (but is rather the means of death). Sin is not a good (even a temporary one) that God is denying us, rather a harm that – as a Parent – God is seeking to deliver us from. As a wise friend once said: “Sin is like poison – it doesn’t make you bad, it makes you dead.”

This is a sermon that was originally presented at Canvas (a Presbyterian church in Irvine, CA), July 13, 2014. To learn more about Canvas, click here!

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Understanding the Bible 41: What Must I Do to Be Saved? Or Why We Are All Semi-Pelagianists at Heart

September 11, 2014September 9, 2014Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

Every philosophical and religious tradition has a view on the requirements of membership – what it takes to belong to the community of “salvation.” In early Judaism, for example, membership within “true Israel” belonged to those who were at least: descended from Abraham, circumcised (men), obedient to the food laws and observant of the Sabbath. For Plato, it was a recognition of the superiority of the Forms over the things of physical substance. For many in the pagan world the hope was that living a virtuous life (variously defined) would secure some blessing in the afterlife.

Throughout church history, debates have raged about what makes one “truly Christian” – what distinguishes a disciple Jesus from…not… Is it some sort of prayer? A prayer and moral virtue? Participation in the sacraments (baptism and Communion)? Does one have to subscribe to a particular theological creed? Are there actions (e.g., care for the poor) that are requisite? What does it mean to be “saved by faith”? Why is it always contrasted with being “saved by works”?

In this episode we examine the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians and his famous declaration: “the righteous will live by faith” (Gal. 3:11) and the debate it has provoked across the centuries. In particular we will explore the common (and I will argue, incorrect) Christian belief that one is “saved” by faith…and just a little bit of “works” (over which we will argue passionately!). It was a view first formalized by a guy named Pelagius in the 5th century, and refuted by none less than St. Augustine.

And while Pelagianism was declared heresy by the early church, semi-Pelagianism, became official church teaching…for a while. Later rejected as misrepresenting the biblical view, it nevertheless remains probably the most popular heresy in Christendom.

This is a sermon that was originally presented at Canvas (a Presbyterian church in Irvine, CA), July 6, 2014. To learn more about Canvas, click here!

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Understanding the Bible 40: The Early Church’s Struggle for Unity

September 9, 2014September 9, 2014Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

What happens when you take people from different geographical regions, religious traditions, languages and cultures and tell them they are now “one in Christ” – the family of faith…? As anyone who has ever sat in a church committee meeting will tell you, the answer is: arguments!

Since there has been church, there has been church division – differing theological views, ethical disputes, controversies about the allocation of power and leadership and so on… The question is whether such divisions are best solved by separation (you take you “church” and go one way, I will go the other) or toleration (I completely disagree with some of your positions, but will stay in relationship with you, even if that relationship involves a lot of arguing). To put it in contemporary terms: How much fighting means it’s time for divorce? And what does separation mean when God has declared us to be one?

In this episode we examine the early church’s struggles for unity and Paul’s instruction to those who imagine it would be better to divide than to argue.

This is a sermon that was originally presented at Canvas (a Presbyterian church in Irvine, CA), June 29, 2014. To learn more about Canvas, click here!

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