Thursday, October 7, 2010

Salvation by the Sword (as written by an Original Orthodox Rebel)

The following is the September 24th entry in the Oswald Chambers devotional Daily Thoughts for Disciples. It is taken from Chambers' book The Philosophy of Sin. Here he says (in far better and simpler language) what I tried to say in this post.

The first thing in salvation is the element of destruction, and it is this that people object to. With this thought in mind, recall what our Lord said about His own mission: "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword." Our Lord reveals Himself as the destroyer of all peace and happiness, and of ignorance, wherever these are a cloak for sin.

It sounds like a startling and amazing thing to say that Jesus did not come to bring peace, but He said that He did not. The one thing that Jesus Christ is after is the destruction of everything that would hinder the emancipation of men and women. The fact that people are happy and peaceful and prosperous is no sign that they are protected from the sword of God. If their happiness and peace and well-being and complacency rest on an undelivered life, then they will meet the sword before long, and all of their peace and rest and joy will be destroyed.

 

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