From the Morning Scriptures

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

—Romans 15:1-7 (TNIV)

Today Paul continues his discussion of how “strong” Christians should behave toward their “weaker” brothers and sisters in Christ. Note that Paul here identifies himself with “strong” Christians, and urges his fellow brothers and sisters to bear with the failings of the weak. Paul surely cannot be talking about sins here. Instead, the context of chapter 14 suggests that he is talking about those matters on which Scripture is silent (and sin is definitely not a matter on which Scripture is silent).

Paul’s faith in Christ is shining through magnificently again in this advice. “Be like your Master is toward you,” he says. “Build them up, don’t tear them down. Resist your innately proud urge to look down at your nose on your brothers and sisters because you must remember that Jesus bore the hostility of humans so that we can all live forever with God.”

Then Paul also reminds us that Scripture is written, in part, to encourage us as we bear one another’s burdens. This business of humility and having to live in a broken world can be a real drag at times and Paul’s faith leads him to remind us one of the reasons why we read Scripture. It is God’s voice reminding us that a better time is coming. “Hang on,” God constantly reminds us in Scripture. “Don’t lose heart and don’t lose hope. I’ve saved you from your sin and when life beats you up so badly that you forget this, then read my word so that your heart can be refreshed and you can be reminded of your sure and certain hope that is so wondrously expressed in my Son’s death on the cross.”

So here we see two other ways in which faith manifests itself in action: forbearance, patience, and reading Scripture for encouragement to be reminded of our hope that is in Christ.

Laughter as an Expression of Our Faith in God’s Acceptance of Us

God, we believe, accepts us, accepts all men, unconditionally, warts and all. Laughter is the purest from of our response to God’s acceptance of us. For when I laugh at myself I accept myself and when I laugh at other people in genuine mirth I accept them. Self-acceptance in laughter is the very opposite of self-satisfaction or pride. For in laughter I accept myself not because I am some sort of super-person, but precisely because I am not. There is nothing funny about a super-person. There is everything funny about a man who thinks he is. In laughing at my own claims to importance or regard I receive myself in a sort of loving forgiveness which is an echo of God’s forgiveness of me. In much conventional contrition there is a selfishness and pride which are scarcely hidden. In our desperate self-concern we blame ourselves for not being the super-persons we think we really are. But in laughter we sit light to ourselves. That is why laughter is the purest form of our response to God.

—H.A. Williams, Tensions

Do you see faith manifesting itself here in Williams’ piece? For those of us who can laugh at ourselves in a self-deprecating manner, Williams argues that this is our faith shining through. Why? Because it reflects our faith that God accepts us, warts and all. Our self-deprecating laughter also reflects a genuine understanding of the human condition. When we laugh at ourselves, we acknowledge that we are the “cracked pots” we really are and tacitly acknowledge we need God’s help if we are to become the kind of persons he created us to be.

Thomas Cranmer, Anglican Divine, on Faith

The first entry unto God, good Christian people, is through faith; whereby we are justified before God. There is one faith which in scripture is called a dead faith, which brings forth no good works, but is idle, barren and unfruitful. It consists only in believing the Word of God, that it is true. And this is not properly called faith. Another faith there is in scripture, which as the other faith is called dead faith, so this may be called a quick or lively faith. And this is not only the common belief of the articles of our faith [of the Anglican Church], but it is also a sure trust and confidence of the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and a steadfast hope of all good things to be received at God’s hand. This is the true, lively, and unfeigned Christian faith, and is not in the mouth and outward profession only, but it lives and stirs inwardly in the heart. And this faith is not without hope and trust in God, nor without the love of God and of our neighbors, nor without the fear of God, nor without the desire to hear God’s word, and to follow the same in eschewing evil and doing gladly all good works.

Homily on Faith

Here we see the author and architect of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer remind us in a concise but comprehensive way that faith must lead to works.

Dr. Rob Gagnon on the Nature of Real Love

Dr. Robert Gagnon, What Does the Bible Teach About Homosexuality?

An exquisite scholar, that Professor Gagnon, and a very good theologian. In this video, Professor Gagnon argues that real love is more than about emotions, feelings, or letting people have their own way, especially when what we desire is not biblical. The presenting issue here is sexual ethics but this principle applies to anything in life. Check it out.

A Prayer for the Feast Day of St. Mary Magdalene

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

What We See in the Cross

When we look at the cross we see the justice, love, wisdom and power of God. It is not easy to decide which is the most luminously revealed, whether the justice of God in judging sin, or the love of God in bearing the judgment in our place, or the wisdom of God in perfectly combining the two, or the power of God in saving those who believe. For the cross is equally an act, and therefore a demonstration, of God’s justice, love, wisdom and power.  The cross assures us that this God is the reality within, behind and beyond the universe.

—Dr. John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ 226.