27 June, 2015

5 citations

Whilst writing an essay for a Moore College subject in the past month, I got into reading a book by Vaughan Roberts (rector at St. Ebbe's Church, Oxford in the UK) called True Spirituality. The essay is long submitted (not handed back marked yet *wibbles*) but I just kept reading. Here are some pearlers from the Roberts book, by which I mean, amazingly valuable quotes (or just quotes I liked, or was challenged by).
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"In our contemporary world, and often sadly our Christian world, which tends to devalue singleness, the immediate challenge [for us as believers] is not to think, or imply to others, that singleness is second-best." (Roberts 2011, 88).

"Paul's instruction to widows in verse 39 [of 1 CORINTHIANS 7] applies to all Christians: we should only marry those who 'belong to the Lord'. It surely follows that it is unwise to enter into a romantic friendship with a non-Christian, which, as it deepens, will lead either to the temptation to disobey God in marrying them or to the agony of a break-up" (2011, p.102).

"Christians belong together in a local church as the body of Christ, so the behaviour of each individual has an inevitable impact upon the others, for both good and ill. The Corinthians, therefore, should have realised that their accommodation of serious sin in their midst was bound to have a significant effect, not just on the individual concerned, but on the whole church" (p.63).

"Just as yeast spreads and grows, so sin expands in a church. If nothing is done when a church member is notoriously dishonest in his business dealings...or lives a sexually immoral lifestyle, the impression is given that it does not matter, and soon others are bound to follow, so that the yeast of sin begins to pervade the whole church" (p.63).

"Since Christ, the fulfilment of the Passover lambs, has already been sacrificed on the cross, it is high time Christians do all they can to remove the yeast of sin from His church. Paul commands the Corinthians, 'Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast - as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed' (1 Corinthians 5:7). The implication should be clear for us. Far from turning a blind eye to public and persistent sin in our churches and denominations, we should take it seriously and, where necessary, exercise discipline to ensure it does not spread" (p.64).


Worth considering, especially in light of how permissive our Western culture is by comparison.

L/T.


Bibliography
Roberts, Vaughan. True spirituality. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 2011.