1969 Vashon Class Alumni Search

Growing in Righteousness

Scripture is one of the most important aspects of our Christian spirituality.

God has chosen to speak to us through His Word. Rather than waiting around to hear the voice of God, we can turn to Scripture and hear God speaking to us.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us first and foremost that Scripture is God-breathed. This means that it is inspired by God. This makes Scripture unlike any other book. God divinely inspired human authors to write these letters.

More than that, Scripture has the power to radically change our lives if we read it and live it out. Paul tells us that Scripture is able to teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us in righteousness. All of these things are happening when we choose to engage in God’s Word.

When we read God’s Word, we should be attentive to what God is communicating to us. He may want to correct some of our behavior, convict us of choosing our own way instead of His, or teach us something about Himself.

All of these things are so that we can continue to live in a way that pleases God.

As we read Scripture and do what it says, we grow in living righteously. We are also equipped for the good works that God wants us to do.

Engaging with God’s Word is the primary way that God equips us for the life He planned for us.

What ways can you continue to build a habit of reading God’s Word every day? Consider how you can better live out what God’s Word says so that you can grow in righteousness and accomplish all God wants for you.

https://1drv.ms/w/c/96da4983d5a94e86/EUpJKpD1H7hOiL0C_lij4hgBUmLmEtusnlW_LWsRw9-sOQ

1drv.ms

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “DRINK DAMNATION” ON OURSELVES?
Suppose that someone does drink “unworthily.” Suppose that someone carelessly eats the communion bread without repenting for abusive behavior towards other members of the body. What will happen? Will they be damned—lost eternally in hell, without any hope of forgiveness?
If we keep reading, the question answers itself. Paul writes,
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment [krima; “damnation” KJV] on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged [i.e., examined] ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged [krinō] by the Lord, we are disciplined [paideuō] so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Yes, this is a serious warning. No, we should not brazenly approach the Lord’s Table when we are sinning against others in the body. But the krima(“judgment” ESV, “damnation” KJV) that someone eats or drinks on himself is not automatic damnation to hell. It’s the judgment of the Lord’s paideia (discipline), which has our final salvation as its aim.
When the KJV was translated in 1611, the first sense of “damnation” was “condemnation” (OED). It could also be used of public disapproval or sentencing to hell, but notice that normally additional modifiers are needed, like “damnation of hell,” “eternal damnation,” and so on. Other texts in the KJV that use “damned” or “damnation” that are equally misunderstood include Romans 13:2 and 14:23. Language changes, which is why, as the Protestant Reformers understood, we need new translations to avoid unnecessary barriers to understanding God’s word.
The krima (“judgment” ESV, “damnation” KJV) that someone eats or drinks on himself is not automatic damnation to hell. It’s the judgment of the Lord’s paideia (discipline), which has our final salvation as its aim.
Reading 1 Corinthians 11 in light of Hebrews 12 is enlightening. In fact, I turn to Hebrews 12 more than any other passage in Scripture when counseling believers who lack assurance and struggle with anxiety over their spiritual “performance.” Hebrews 12 explains how believers should think about and respond to the Lord’s paideia (discipline):
“the Lord disciplines [paideuō] the one he loves” … God is treating you as sons. … he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
If we brazenly eat the body (the bread) while despising the body (church), God will discipline us. That discipline may be very painful. In Corinth, God allowed some to become physically ill: “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Cor. 11:30). But the purpose of this judgment is not our final damnation; it’s our final salvation! Paul plainly says, “when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world” (1 Cor. 11:32). To cite Wesley again, “ye eat and drink” (not ‘damnation:’ a vile mistranslating of the word, but) judgment, temporal judgment.”
Christians should examine their hearts before they come to the Lord’s Table and repent of any sin in their lives, especially towards other members of the church, so that they can avoid unpleasant discipline. But if they go to the Table and are disciplined by God, it is because God is trying to bring them to their senses. He does not want his disciplined sons and daughters to give up, he wants them to repent, stand up straight, be healed, and keep pressing on in their lifelong pursuit of holiness. Since God’s discipline means that he is a loving Father who is serious about our holiness, Hebrews 12 continues,
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Sadly, many believers have had the last part of Hebrews 12 pounded into them (“strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord”) before they have ever understood the first part (God is a father who lovingly corrects, not casts out, his children when they stumble on the highway of holiness).
In light of this, hasten to the Lord’s Table! Come with joy! Receive the gift of God in the bread and wine! Join the church in its happy anticipation of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! And if you are disciplined, remember that it comes from the hand of a loving Father who, like kind earthly fathers, disciplines his children (even the stubborn ones) for their good.