Comments on: A Call to Personal and Public Holiness- Online Edition

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 06:04:40 +0000

Thanks Aaron. I think Greg got that point from JP, but I could be wrong. I'm not sure if it was a lecture or actually in print (probably in Love Your God with All Your Mind), but JP does speak at length about the concept of freedom and what it meant to the founding fathers. It was the classical notion of “freedom to.” In the same discussion, he points out that happiness to them meant a life of fullness- not fleeting pleasures. I believe he expands on that in the Lost Virtue of Happiness, but I haven't read that.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 05:51:23 +0000

Good word, Roger. “Freedom” as conceived by the modern American is an interesting concept that is subtly but crucially distinct from the classical sense of the term. In my view, it's all in the prepositions – the classical, biblical (and hence, what should be the Christian) understanding is freedom to, not freedom from.
What I mean by that is: the modern mindset views freedom as liberation from oppression of some sort or another, or “freedom from“. While this is certainly a part of the biblical concept of freedom, there's really more to it than that, an element that is missing today. Often the Bible speaks of this as an ability to do a certain good, virtuous, noble or godly thing – more of a “freedom to” idea. I think JP Moreland has been articulating a similar point for some time, or maybe it was Greg – I can't remember!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:27:03 +0000

I disagree. But this rabbit trail is a distraction from the point of this post and I'm not discussing it further.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:10:47 +0000

Actually, Roger, it was a system of grace due to the sacrifices that looked forward to Jesus. Without that gracious provision, then it would be truly a system of works.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:02:18 +0000

For the record, I never said grace was absent before Jesus. The Law, which was all that the Jews as a nation were given, was a system of works and not of grace.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 18:47:00 +0000

With all due respect and I know that's not the point of this post, but it is an injustice to lay claim that all that the Jews had was the Law (whatever that may mean), and the implication that “grace” was absent before Jesus

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 05:38:54 +0000

My guess: Since all they had was the Law, the Jews realized that they had to live it perfectly. When you're under that sort of pressure, it seems reasonable to take every conceivable precaution to avoid even the possibility of breaking the law. Thank God for grace!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 22:21:23 +0000

“Freedom in Christ is not freedom to do what one wants, but freedom from enslavement to sin- freedom to finally reflect Christ’s holiness as we were created to.” This one sentance says it all.
I have a serious problem with legalism though as legalists always overemphasize the externals. Do thus and such and and you will be right with God. The problem is that thus and such always includes more than God has said and many things I suspect God considers of little importance. How did the Jews get from do not boil a kid in it's mothers milk to keeping meat and dairy in seperate refrigerators?