Hi David,
I am happy to clear this up; thanks for asking.
First, I do believe I am accountable to God for how I live, but I admit
that on the question of exactly when and how (and how often?) I will be called
to account, my thinking is in flux. But even if I had a definite idea on that, I
would never accuse you of ignorance for disagreeing with me on a question of
that kind. My charge of ignorance had to do with your statement about Caroline.
Assuming your version of how this calling to account will occur, how could
you possibly know whether you would not want to be "in Caroline's shoes", as it
were, on that occasion? What do you know of her works, or how they compare with
yours??? That's where I thought you were proceeding on ignorance.
I suspect that you MIGHT answer that you can infer
her works from her attitude to judgment. If so, you would be persisting in an
error which has repeatedly been made by a number of you on TT. Caroline, John,
and (less often) I have numerous times tried to make clear that our complete and
unqualified reliance on God's grace and mercy in spite of our sin does not
mean that we are cavalier about such sin or our behaviour. On the contrary--and
I will stop using the plural pronoun lest I put words in anyone's mouth--I know
from my own experience that this reliance on God's unconditional love is just
what nourishes my desire to be conformed to his image, and is what produces
that conformity over time. Fruit is an essential sign of life, of course,
as Scripture also teaches. But what is the fertilizer? GRACE. To whom much is
forgiven, the same loves (and hence gives) much. If I keep reminding myself of
the enormousness and continuity of this forgiveness, it is because that
awareness fuels my love. It is what motivates me to squander my meagre
little bottles of perfume on Jesus.
Debbie
P.S.: I started a post some time ago, in response
to one of yours, which I never sent. It dared to suggest that perhaps the people
who continue to acknowledge sin in our lives do so because we actually look
to a higher standard of obedience than you do.
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2005 12:44
PM
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] More wisdom from Dallas
Willard
>> If all your other writings stem from an equal
>> degree of sheer ignorance, I now know what
>> to do with them. This is a sad surprise.
>
> I don't know what you think I am ignorant of, but my concern is the
> ignorance that Caroline and others might have about God's judgment. What
> about you, Debbie? Do you believe that you will come before Christ and be
> judged for the works you have done? Or is it this belief of mine that you
> consider to be ignorance?
>
> Peace be with you.
> David Miller.
>
>
> ----------
> "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
>
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