How to Teach?

I have been preparing for lessons this week for the adult Sunday school class as well as the singles bible study. The greatest challenge that I'm running into is that as I am preparing, thoughts come into my mind that I want to convey to the group. I have been writing the thoughts down as they come, but the problem I am running into is that there are too many. It's like I want to transfer all of the cool things I have learned about the Gospel in one sitting in a 1 hour time frame and it's just impossible.

It's hard for me to accept that there are things that will have to go unsaid. I think of Paul talking to the Corinthians and saying that he decided to preach nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. How simple but how profound! The more I think of it, all of the cool things I have learned about the Gospel have their beginning and end in this one person and event.

I think about the pastors and teachers that I appreciate the most. As I think about it, they don't try to go full speed ahead, blowing through scripture at the speed of light. They tend to take one point from a passage and drive it home, always bringing it full circle to God reconciling us to Himself through the life and mission of Jesus Christ.

I am also discovering the value of preparing prayerfully. The Holy Spirit has to direct me to the things that need to be said. If I just rely on myself, I'm sure to screw it up. I'm sure I've said that before, but now I actually believe it.

Earning Damnation

In a men's bible study last week, someone posed the question "Can we earn damnation?" His answer to this question was "No." His rational was that IF grace through faith - THEN salvation, then the negative must also be true, IF not grace through faith - THEN damnation.

My response to his question would be both yes and no. I agree with him in the sense that we are all born fallen. Hypothetically, even if a person were to live a legally perfect life, their nature would still be fallen and they would still need redemption. In other words, because of the fall, no matter how "perfect" you live, you still need Jesus. (RMNS Ch. 5)

I also disagree with him though, because this hypothetical situation, in which a person lives a perfect life but still needs redemption because of his fallen nature, is impossible. Because it is impossible, the philosophical proposition might not be very useful. I believe that we not only CAN earn damnation, but that every single person on the earth DOES earn damnation.

If we abandon this idea, I think that the biblical process of God reconciling us to Himself suffers. For example, in Romans, Paul paints a picture of condemnation preceding justification. "The wage of sin is death." The knowledge that our sins (not just our sin nature) are worthy of God's wrath is necessary for a proper understanding of our need for a savior. To say that we do not "earn" damnation, is to minimize our role in our own condemnation. Understanding that I am responsible for my own condemnation due to my sinfulness, puts the amazing grace of the cross in proper perspective. (RMNS Ch 1-3 among others)

Therefore, while from the perspective of a purely logical function, to answer "Yes" to the question "Can we earn damnation?" might imply that there is an alternative to "earning" damnation (in other words that there is something that we might do or not do in order to avoid earning damnation) - which would be false; from a practical perspective (and a biblical perspective), I believe that we are to think of our damnation (if not for Jesus) as a product of our own sinfulness and disobedience.

If you can present to me a person who has lived a life free of offence to God, and therefore must be condemned only on the basis of his fallen state, then I may re-think the "practicality" of my position. Even Billy Graham and Mother Teresa, if they get what they deserve, get hell.

We are condemned because we deserve it; we are saved by grace through faith.