Theology in a Nutshell

It occurred to me that it might be interesting and instructive to boil down my theology into the smallest space possible and see what it looks like, so here goes:

I have no wherewithal to please God. As badly as I might want to, I do not have what it takes to make Him happy[i]. The fact that I continuously fail to keep His commandments makes this obvious[ii]. Christ alone pleases God[iii]. Therefore, in order for me to please God I must find a way ‘into’ Christ[iv]. The Bible tells me that the only way ‘into’ Christ is faith[v]. It also tells me that faith is not something that I can ‘do’ but is the gift of God[vi] and comes from God by hearing ‘the word of Christ’, which I take to mean the good news of what Christ has accomplished for the world[vii]. So by hearing the good news (continuously) I am being strengthened in my faith, which puts me ‘into’ Christ, and by being in Christ I am pleasing the Father, which frees me to stop living for myself and start loving God and neighbor not because I am commanded to do so, but because I am free to do so[viii].

Simply and completely Pauline. Some will argue that Paul and Jesus preached a different gospel, but I find no evidence of contradiction. Those who do are either not taking Paul literally enough or are taking Jesus too literally. Paul speaks plainly; Jesus spoke in parables so that those without ears never would hear. The life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. That is not ‘doing the gospel’ but hearing the gospel to the extent that I may know as much as I can that he loved me and gave himself for me. That liberates me from any and all slavish adherence to the written code so that I can be as He intended. Pretty simple?

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[i] For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (Romans 7:18-19 ESV)

[ii] …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… (Romans 3:23 ESV)

[iii] … “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17 ESV)

[iv] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27 ESV)

[v] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Romans 3:21-25 ESV)

[vi] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

[vii] So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 ESV)

[viii] Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:4-6 ESV)