It is Written...

It is written, now it is finished

(The line between the Law and Grace)

According to international statistics there are more than 40 thousand different and separate Christian Denominations on planet earth today…Why? Your guess is probably as good as mine. It is interesting though that THE BODY of CHRIST can’t seem to just get along. Although, surely one would find many instances where Key personalities and even just the influences of ego has led to the establishment of more than a few new/different denominations there is also another perspective. Differencing Scriptural / Theological Interpretation and application. In other words: How we assimilate and apply the apparent fundamental link between the Law (Biblical as related by the Old Testament) and Grace (as revealed by the writers of the New Testament) – Please do excuse my gross over simplification as above but let’s just for the moment suspend all the million and one points of contention that have surfaced over the last 2000 years or so….As I was meditating on this idea and reflecting on my own Personal views – and how those views have in fact alienated me from some other Christians and continue to do so.  Because you see, we don’t often argue theology with those who are unsaved. No, we reserve that special sport for our own brothers (and sisters) in Christ. Does it bind us together or push us further apart? I realise that what am saying is really common knowledge. We don’t all agree about everything biblical, and we have a constitutional right not too, don’t we?! What is the big deal? What if the Link is actually a Chasm – a vast expanse that is so far removed from each other that to try a find common ground would have to be an act of sheer will and a most dangerous endeavour? A trip that many have tried and very few have come back to tell of. What if it really should be our personal expectations/interpretations that ought to be burned?

Sacrilege, blasphemy…?!!!!!

After a time of carrying this question in my heart, I got this:

The Line between the Law and Grace is not a thin border or a quick step….In fact it is more like a three day journey across a desert land – and you will have to DIE there to make it to the other side.

I could probably quote about a dozen different scriptures that explain and explore this statement, but I am not going to do that… you see that is ultimately the point. Many of us are led by the perceptions and interpretations of church leaders, writers, spiritual mentors, TV Evangelists and even a few Wannabe Intellectual Bloggers (that must be my category) The truth is out there…. but when we realise that part of what happened on the cross was also that the TRUTH made His home IN us, then perhaps we should start making our own observations and reflections based solely on THE TRUTH and the real legacy He left behind. Look for Him in every scripture and HE will be found by you. “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…”

Marius Croukamp