4 fingers pointing back at myself

Okay, I know this is a long title, but this is exactly what happened to me at confirmation tonight. The 9th graders were dealing with this question: Why does God send some people to hell? To help answer this question, the youth director began by defining hell as separation from God. He then went on to talk about eternal life. John 5:24 was the first stop. The NRSV says, "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life." The Greek word used for the opening phrase is AMEN. Eternal life is not a future thing, but a present thing. The Greek word that explains this is exei, which means "he continues to have". The translation should then read, "anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me continues to have eternal life." The Greek word for "believe" is pisteuon, which means to rely on, adhere to, or trust in. It's really not simply believing, but relying on and trusting in which gives us eternal life.

We also visited Matthew 7:21-23, which says in the NIV, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!' It's not just simply knowing about, but about knowing intimately. It's not about anything we do, it's about being in relationship with Jesus Christ.

This fit really well with what the 10th grade students talked about this evening. John 15:1-8. The word "remain" is in that passage 8 times. The connection with Romans 12:2 was striking. Being transformed by the renewing of our minds can only happen if we remain, abide, stay in Christ. By sticking close to the vine, Christ is able to cut off the stuff that doesn't bear fruit and prune the stuff that does bear fruit so it can bear more fruit.

Compare this to what I'm learning in Lutheran Confessions about Christ imputing his righteousness onto me. Basically, when God looks at us, he doesn't see our sinful desires and evil deeds, he sees Christ because Christ has bestowed upon us his righteousness. I have a problem with this that I don't know how to explain right now. All I know is that I just wish Lutherans would shut up about evangelicals being all about works righteousness, because from my experience, they're not. They're very much about being in a relationship with God and allowing God to transform them by sticking to the vine. Everything that comes out of that relationship may very well come across as works righteousness, but speaking from experience, it's conviction we have about how we choose to live our life as Christians. On the same token, I wish evangelicals would shut up about Lutherans, though at this point in time I can't explain why. On that one I have 4 fingers pointing back at myself.