"Saved By Grace, But..."

An excellent Q&A from Greg Albrecht, in the latest newsletter from his Plain Truth Magazine...

Q. I agree that we are saved "by grace . . . through faith . . . not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8). But what about scriptures like -- "If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell" (Matthew 18:9)?

I believe I am saved by grace but what about backsliding? Do I stay saved by grace? If so, give me a scripture reference. Don't we have our side of the covenant to keep as well? Don't we have a responsibility to repent? How can we stop sinning? We are not to use grace as a license to sin either -- right?

A. "If your eye causes you to sin . . . . " What does this have to do with salvation by grace? Jesus is merely teaching the principle that two can not walk together unless they be agreed, that unity must characterize our life, that our goal must be single in life. Nothing is said in this passage about "if you do this I will save you but not until."

Backsliding? Do you mean that we can lose our salvation once it is given to us by grace? Is it possible that some will be saved and then become as sinful or even more so than they were before they were saved? The Bible says no. The Bible says that when we are saved we are still in the flesh, and we will still sin (1 John 1:8) but we have now crossed from death to life (John 5:24) and that Jesus now lives his resurrected life in us (Galatians 2:20). If we have been saved we are now alive in Christ -- before we were dead. Dead people can't produce any good works. But those who are alive in Christ are his workmanship, "created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Eph. 2:10). That means that God saves us not because of what we have done or will do, but so that he can do good things in and through us. We are not saved BY works, but FOR works. God then brings forth the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-25). This means that he will produce fruit in us, because he has saved us.

How do you "stay" saved by grace? Our salvation is called "eternal" salvation (Hebrews 5:9). Nowhere in scripture do we read that God gives us conditional salvation. If we need to ensure that we "stay" eternally saved by what we do -- then why is it called "eternal"?

But, don't we have "our side" of the covenant to keep as well? The root of this question is the presumption of equality -- God does something, we do something. Problem. What we do can never, never in a lifetime of good deeds, come anywhere close to the perfect work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Salvation is not a partnership. If Jesus doesn't save us, we are sunk. End of story.

Don't we have a responsibility to repent? Repentance is a gift. We can not repent just because we decide, on the basis of our goodness or initiative that we will repent. We repent because God gives us, by grace, repentance. What we have to do is accept his free gift -- that is what we have to do. And many will not -- because they prefer to pay their own dues, and attempt to earn their own salvation so that they won't be indebted to anyone, including God (for more on this see my new book, "Bad News Religion.")

How can we stop sinning? We have peace and fellowship with God when the blood of Christ covers our sin. So how can we "stop" sinning so that we can be at peace with God? We never stop sinning, as long as we are in this flesh (see Romans 7).

Of course we are not to use the excuse that God will always forgive us and that we are under grace to sin -- Paul does speak to this, specifically in Romans 6:1 -- but to adequately understand that verse you need to start reading in Romans 1:1 and then you will know what Romans 6:1 means. Again, a chapter in my book covers what some call "easy believism."

In Christ,
Greg Albrecht

Freckles

Here's the picture I was talking about - it's my confirmation kid with her foal Freckles. (Shared online with the permission of her parents.)

Karaoke night

It's karaoke night in Litchville. ;) We had our Firemen's Day today. (Last year, before the Community Club called it quits, it was the Fall Fair and was more extensive.) I'm at home right now, and I can hear them whooping it up downtown from here. It's pretty funny, actually - I'm listening to the karaoke from my living room, and no one even realizes it!

I've been busy today. I had to run church errands in Fargo (and pick up my new suit, which I'm very pleased with), and I had to visit one of my incoming confirmation kids in the hospital. I found out this morning that she had an emergency appendectomy Thursday night, after her appendix ruptured. She's doing well, and should get to come home tomorrow.

So I've missed most of the festivities in Litchville today. But I was able to spend an hour socializing in the art and photography show (I've got five pieces on display, including a portrait of my appendectomy girl, which is one of my best pictures yet). And I was also seen at the pancake breakfast this morning, so I did OK. Tomorrow is the community worship service in the park, and I'll obviously be part of that!

I'm calling it a night, though. I'll fall asleep to the sounds of Smashmouth and Tammy Wynette drifting through the night air. Ha!

Pretend you're at Duke - Get your own FREE IPOD

Alright, so you may not be a freshman at Duke receiving a free iPod music player just for showing up to orientation, but that doesn't mean you have to go without. Click here to visit a site that's offering free iPods as a promotional tool.

Here's how it works:

(1) When you follow the link above, you'll be asked to register with the site. No credit card or other financial info is requested - just what they'd need to ship your iPod.

(2) Once you register, you sign up for one of a dozen or so offers from the companies sponsoring this site. In my case, I decided to take BMG Music up on their 12-for-one CD offer, and am very satisfied.

(3) The final step is for five of your friends to take a shot at their own free iPod. That's what clicking on the link above will do for me: if you sign up, you'll become one of my five.

The company is legit, and has been featured on CNN and in Wired Magazine. Many of the offers are free trials, and you only need to give it a try to collect your iPod - you don't need to stick with the offer past the trial. The companies are wagering that enough people will stick with it to make their investment at least as worthwhile as an expensive television ad.

For me, here's how the cost/benefit analysis breaks down: I'll spend in the ballpark of $56, once BMG's shipping and handling is factored in, and receive 12 CDs that I want along with a $250 iPod, with no further commitment. Read the article, and see for yourself... and when you are ready to get your own new toy, please do so by taking my referral! ;)

Least useful academic "innovation" of the year

Have you heard the one about the university that gave its incoming freshman $500,000 worth of free digital music players as an "academic" investment?

Duke University, in a move that seems more trendy than sensible, has given each incoming freshman an Apple iPod music player. Street value? About $300.

Apparently Duke is justifying this as an academic experiment, and not just a recruiting perk: (1) Students' iPods are engraved with their class (how cute). (2) The devices come preloaded with an address from the president, campus calendars and other information (and a folder with some brochures and a casette is insufficient how?). (3) And - the best line - students will be using these iPods in class somehow, presumably in language and music classes, and to download lecture recordings.

Or, as many upperclassmen (who aren't getting squat) point out, the freebies (which freshmen will be able to keep) will allow the sizable population who already owned an iPod to make a nice profit selling one of their players off and pocketing the cash.

The eggheads at Duke have this idea that outfitting all their new students with music players will somehow result in better academic performance, but will somehow not result in huge numbers of illegally-traded music files passing through the Duke network. Um, yeah. Right, guys.

Of all the ways a college could spend half a million dollars, is providing its freshman with expensive music toys really the best use of funds? Computers, I could see. Handhelds, sure. A music player in every backpack? Give me a break.

But hey, the parties on campus this year will sure be great with all these new DJs cueing up their favorite tunes off of their Duke-sponsored schwag.

Too bad there's no way to track how long those maps, welcome recordings and calendars last on the iPods before they're cleared out to make room for the latest Radiohead song. My ten bucks says they won't make it through orientation week.

Witnesses to what?

Read how the concept of a "material witness" is being abused in the domestic "war on terror" in today's New York Times.

Way to go, adult forum!

Our adult forum just finished its six week study of the issues of homosexual marriage and the ordination of non-celibate gay people - the ELCA's "Journey Together Faithfully" material. It's been a difficult, challenging, and highly rewarding experience for us all, and I want to publicly thank them for their participation in this study with me. I've been impressed with their willingness to wrestle faithfully with this issue, and their growing desire and ability to seek understanding of those with whom they disagree. My hat's off to the six who were there tonight, and for those who couldn't make it but stuck with us on this journey just the same. May God grant us a church full of faithful people like yourselves earnestly seeking his will next summer, when our whole church will grapple with this issue!

Confidential to Jessica

I understand now about the magazine crew, and I'm not angry. In fact, I'm worried for you. If you ever find yourself in trouble and needing a friend, please call me. I'll help you. 701-762-4574. You're in my prayers.

CNN.com - Scholar says he's found John the Baptist's cave

Thanks, Jason! CNN.com - Scholar says he's found John the Baptist's cave

Confirmation 2004-2005

I'm posting this as a link for any of my confirmation parents who missed the first orientation meeting, or who'd like a second look at the slideshow from that evening. I've put the PowerPoint presentation on my site (no need for anything more than a web browser to view it). Just click here: Confirmation 2003-2004

Earworm - AAAAARGH!

Ever since our music and worship committee meeting Thursday night, I've been battling the worst case of earworm I can remember having in ages. For those of you not in the loop, "earworm" is the word for a song that gets stuck in your head.

And what was the offending song, in my case? "Go Down Moses." You know the one: "When Israel was in Egypt's land - let my people go!" It's been driving me absolutely bonkers. They say that women, musicians, and slightly neurotic people are more prone to earworms than other folks... wonder what that says about me?

I think I've managed to drive it out now... Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is in there now. Alas, the best way to get rid of one earworm is to replace it with a (slightly) less offensive model.

*whistling* Don't worry. *whistling* Be happy...

The Left deceives, too

Lest you think it only gets my goat when conservatives lie and deceive the public for political gain, I'm posting this article about Kerry's stem cell whoppers. He's wrong on so many counts (not just the science, but also about Bush's supposed "ban" on the science) that you have to wonder whether anyone in the Democratic party is even paying attention.

Revelation of the Nerds - The religion of stem-cell research. By William Saletan: "In his radio address this weekend, Kerry blamed Bush's stem-cell restrictions for 'shutting down some of the most promising work to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's.' With the salesmanship of a faith healer, Kerry dangled promises no responsible scientist would countenance. 'At this very moment, some of the most pioneering cures and treatments are right at our fingertips, but because of the stem-cell ban, they remain beyond our reach,' said Kerry."

NY Times: Military Tribunals Uphold Detentions of 4

Big surprise - the first four "enemy combatants" to have their cases heard before a military tribunal have had their combatant status upheld. Considering that the tribuals depart in almost every way from the Supreme Court's ruling that foreign nationals being held in Gitmo "receive notice of the factual basis for his classification, and a fair opportunity to rebut the government's factual assertions before a neutral decision maker," and "unquestionably [have] the right to access to counsel," it's no surprise at all that the rulings have gone against the detainees.

Eric M. Freedman, a law professor at Hoftsra University who has assisted in the representation of some detainees, is quoted by the Times as saying: "'The government is treating a historic loss in the Supreme Court as though it were a suggestion slip."

Thus the Bush administration continues its strategy of openly defying the authority of US courts (even the Supreme Court) to challenge its policies in the so-called "war on terror."

Newsweek: Al Qaeda's Pre-Election Plot

A terribly important article. Al Qaeda's Pre-Election Plot

The Stern Effect?

The Seattle P-I reports on an unforeseen trend in presidential politics: the Howard Stern effect. Turns out that the morning radio shock jock, who has a huge corner on the male 20-50 year old market, also has a more politically significant demographic - 4% of the people who are likely to vote are swing voters who listen to Howard Stern. And Howard Stern has been using a good chunk of his air time blasting George W. Bush and promoting John Kerry.

Stern's undecided fans appear to give his views credence... it seems they consider him a "straight shooter." In a close election, capture an additional 3-4% of the vote could make all the difference. Will Howard Stern crown John Kerry as he did Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rudy Giuliani? Stay tuned.

Is your SUV street-legal?

A fascinating revelation: Slate columnist Andy Bowers discovers that large SUVs are actually forbidden on the city streets of many communities! Although as a Californian he focuses on that state, he points out that laws restricting vehicles of more than 6,000 lbs. to designated truck routes are common throught the country. (Minneapolis and Edina have such laws, as a matter of fact.) And more than a few SUVs manage to cross that threshold.

The laws, of course, are written in recognition of the fact that large vehicles cause increased wear and tear to city streets. At the time such laws were passed, only commercial vehicles would have run afoul of such a regulation; now many passenger vehicles violate it every day, and have you ever heard of a ticket being issued to an SUV driving on city streets?

Some would argue that it's an outdated law; Bowers argues (and I agree fully) that 6,000 lbs. is 6,000 lbs. The damage done by a big SUV is no less than that done by the UPS truck. The laws were put in place so that those causing the additional wear and tear to the roads would be fined to cover that damage. Why should that be any different now?

But these are personal vehicles, not commercial ones, you object! Not so, in most cases. That's because the feds allow up to $100,000 of a heavy truck's cost to be written off as a business expense, if its owner claims to use it all or primarily for work. Tax advisors, as Bowers points out, are careful to advise their clients to get big enough vehicles to qualify for this ridiculous benefit, and thus many doctors, lawyers and politicians drive around in three-ton trucks, claiming a full write-off because the vehicles are "business" expenses. OK, so if these vehicles are commercial for the purposes of avoiding taxes, they're surely subject to regulations intended to keep heavy commercial vehicles off residential roads!

Very interesting observations, all around. Will local officials have the cojones to really enforce these laws? Doubtful. The political pressure would be so strong that they'd cave, and simply amend them to exclude SUVs. Meanwhile, these behemoths will tear up the roads just as much as any other large vehicle, their drivers will reap all kinds of tax benefits, and you and I will be taxed to fill the potholes.

Whither habeas?

From Slate

Prisoners' Dilemma - How the administration is obstructing the Supreme Court's terror decisions. By Phillip Carter: "In its Rasul decision, the Supreme Court recognized the Gitmo detainees' right to file a writ of habeas corpus in federal court. But the high court never said this had to be a meaningful right to habeas corpus, nor did it define the practical parameters of such a right. Issues like the right to counsel and the proper location for habeas corpus suits were left to the imagination. Not surprisingly, the administration has seized on this ambiguity to resume its post-9/11 legal offensive in the courts. The essence of the legal strategy is to litigate every single procedural and technical issue to the full extent of the law, using the vast resources of the Justice Department to delay judicial action as long as possible. The implicit purpose is clear: to delay justice so that detainees can be held and squeezed for intelligence. "

They Knew

An incredibly damning article from "In These Times" takes on the question of whether the Bush administration knew beforehand of the cracks in its case for war in Iraq. To this day officials insist that they were merely making the best decisions possible based on what they now recognize as faulty intelligence - how can Bush and his administration be responsible for a breakdown in the CIA, the FBI and the DIA?

This article, linking every point to a published source, documents that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and other administration officials deliberately misled the American public, repeatedly quoting (and, in Cheney's case, continuing to this very day to cite) evidence which they knew to be discredited or uncertain with a bravado that is terrifying.

And Americans have let them get away with it. Absolutely amazing.

I have no doubts that history will show George W. Bush to be among the worst presidents in American history - one who lied to the American people, leading them into war under false pretenses, and consequently tarnishing America's reputation badly among our allies, and very nearly for alienating for good those who already mistrusted us.

The article concludes:

"To be sure, neoconservative pundits and Bush administration hawks will continue to blame anyone but the White House for these deceptions. They also will say intelligence gave a bit of credence to some of the pre-war claims, and that is certainly true.

"But nothing can negate the clear proof that President Bush and other administration official officials vastly overstated the intelligence they were given. They engaged in a calculated and well-coordinated effort to turn a war of choice in Iraq into a perceived war of imminent necessity.

"And we are all left paying the price."

BBC NEWS: Digital memories survive extremes

Ever wonder how tough the little memory cards you feed your digital camera, Pocket PC or MP3 player are? The BBC reports on a test by Digital Camera Shopper Magazine that put five different cards through the just about the worst real life could hope to throw at them.

The cards survived being boiled, trampled, washed, and dunked in coffee and cola. After being smashed with a sledgehammer and nailed to a tree, two of the cards were still able to yield at least some data to experts.

Now we need one of these clearly insane journalists to run the same battery of torture tests on a roll of 35mm film!