As a child I was often puzzled by some things taught to me. I was told that even though we were saved we could never see God because His righteousness would destroy us. However, one of my assignments was to memorize the Beatitudes and one of them said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” And one of the Bible stories I read said in Exodus 24, “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.”
I was also taught that I was saved by grace. But in the next sentence I was told I had to return tithe, keep the Sabbath, not eat certain foods and on and on. Even as a child it just made no sense. The contradictions were rampant. I even was instructed to memorize Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Talk about confusion.
Years later the light bulb came on. My teachers confused the fruit of a Spirit-filled life with works. Instead of understanding that the light of God is a progressive process (The light shines more and more unto the perfect day.) they tried to mesh the old (failed) covenant with the new (successful) covenant. Jesus was revolutionary. He was the light that revealed to us the only way of salvation that works. This did not come easy to the early church. Sometimes we still struggle with it.
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 9,2013
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org