Corrective vs Preventive Theology

A highly recommended book is "David - A Man of Passion and Destiny" by C Swindoll. It was a gift from a friend. The greatest benefit from reading the book is the many lessons that we can apply to our lives.

In chapter 18, Swindoll discussed "Corrective vs Preventive" Theology citing Gal 6:6-8. It is a key message for the "Grace-Doctrine" hearers. It clarifies some of the misconceptions that "Grace Doctrine" hearers may have.

We have emphasized too much on confession and repentance of sins - the corrective effort (1 John 1:9) but very little on the preventive effort - Rom 6.

The whole purpose of God's grace to us is not just the forgiveness of sins but the empowerment to live beyond the passive demands of the laws in victory and doing God-glorifying works (Eph 2:10).

Rom 6 tells us we are set free from sin and become slaves to righteousness (Rom 6:22); spent much time arguing against using grace as a license to sin.

Rom 7 speaks of struggle with the flesh, 7:19 But the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing but ended with the secret to victory - Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Rom 8 gives us the encouragement that God is for us and will lead us through and to victory all the way. The secret is "Grace Power - Christ in Us".

Gal preached against justification by laws and stressed that salvation comes only through faith in Christ. Yet it reminded all that God's laws shall not be mocked - we reap whatever we sow. There is forgiveness for sin but not saving from the consequences of our sin. God's grace enables us to learn and walk through the consequences.

Let's follow after the Holy Spirit and be empowered by grace inside to lead a God-glorifying life. We do not have to waste time committing and then repenting from sins. 

Preventing is not trying not to sin but to pursue righteousness leaving us no time to sin.

Summary:

From Gemini:

Key Points Summarized:

• Misconception of Grace: Many Christians overemphasize confession and repentance (corrective) while neglecting the power of God's grace for overcoming sin (preventive).
• True Purpose of Grace: God's grace is not merely for forgiveness but also for empowerment to live a victorious Christian life.
• Balance: While acknowledging the need for repentance, the focus should shift towards pursuing righteousness and allowing God's grace to prevent sin.
• Key Passages: Romans 6-8, and Galatians 6:6-8 provide a solid foundation for understanding the concept.

By ChatGPT:

Applying this to your context of teaching and interpersonal interactions, the focus shifts from merely correcting wrong behavior to encouraging and empowering others to live righteously. By fostering a preventive approach, individuals are motivated to pursue righteousness actively, reducing the need for corrective measures. This aligns with the idea of leading by example, showing grace, and fostering an environment where righteousness is the goal, leaving little room for sin.

This preventive approach can transform how you guide and teach others, emphasizing the empowerment of grace and the pursuit of a God-glorifying life, rather than merely avoiding wrongdoing.

Obedience Brings Freedom

In John 8:31-34 we have the flow of concepts...

31 If you abide in my word
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
34 everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.

The word 'know' is the original 'ginosko' meaning "to know (by experience, or effort)".

Hence, freedom comes from learning about the Truth (taught by Jesus) and then obeying them by putting them into practice, and then tasting the real experience of freedom. ... Know-Do-Have-KnowMore-cycles to greater and greater freedom.

So we have this interesting truth of "Obedience brings Freedom". Freedom comes not by doing whatever you like but only by following the Truths. Sins and bondage come from disobedience of the truth. If we are trapped in bondage, being forced to do things then we must know that we are following a lie. Discover the truth to reveal the lie and then follow after the truth and you can break free.

This is not difficult to understand. We are built, like machines for an example, to work in a certain way. If we operate not according to our instruction manual, we will malfunction. Only when we follow our operating manual will we find the effectiveness, joy, and fulfillment of life. 

To be free, learn and obey our operating manual - the Bible and receive the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus the reason for this Christmas season.

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ChatGPT provides the following interesting points:

Obedience Brings Freedom

Your insight that "obedience brings freedom" is profound. Freedom in Christ is not the license to do whatever we want but the ability to live as we were created to live. Obedience to God's truth leads to a life of purpose, fulfillment, and true joy, as opposed to the emptiness and dissatisfaction of a life lived in sin.

The Path to Freedom

To break free from bondage, one must:

1. Identify the Lie: Recognize the false beliefs and practices that lead to bondage.
2. Discover the Truth: Engage deeply with the Bible and the teachings of Jesus to uncover the truth.
3. Obey the Truth: Put into practice what is learned, leading to experiential knowledge and greater freedom.

Doubao:

The idea that freedom is derived from knowing and adhering to the truth as taught by Jesus is compelling. It emphasizes that true freedom is not about unrestricted license to do as one pleases but rather about aligning one's actions with a set of guiding principles and truths. The "Know-Do-Have-KnowMore" cycle proposed suggests a continuous process of learning, applying, experiencing, and further deepening one's understanding, leading to an increasing sense of freedom.

The comparison to a machine operating according to its instruction manual is quite insightful. Just as a machine functions optimally when used in accordance with its manual, humans are suggested to thrive when they follow the spiritual and moral guidelines provided in the Bible. This view implies that disregarding these instructions leads to malfunction or bondage, similar to a machine operating outside its prescribed parameters.

KP#19 Strategy - Plan to Succeed

All project begins with a plan - either in the mind or best layout on paper (or soft copy in computer).
There is the old saying that “a failure to plan is a plan to fail. This is emphasized twice by Jesus in the Parables of "Building a tower" and "Waging a War" in Luke 14:28–33.

The Steps are:

1. sit down - spend the effort
2. count the cost
   a. for the total project
   b. make sure it is enough to complete and to overcome the obstacles- Luke 14:28, 31
3. If not, Come out with alternatives to complete the project - Luke 14:32
4. Commit all your resources in fulfilling your plan (eg Calling by God) - Luke 14:33
   Half-hearted commitment is not able to bring success.

Never start any new thing without counting the costs for completion. The most basic is the total commitment of heart to learn, to think , to source, and to overcome any obstacle in the way. Apply the Kingdom Principles to your business.

Next:Focus & Priority

Advanced Doctrine - Covenant of Grace

In the posting Laying of Hands, we covered the 6 basic doctrines. The 6 doctrines only take 2 verses to cover. What is the advanced doctrine that Paul wanted to cover and spend the entire book of 13 chapters of Hebrew to do it? (There are dispute about who the author of Hebrew was. Most believe it was Paul.)

I think it is the "Doctrine of Grace" or "The New Covenant of Grace". The 6 basic doctrines are actually covered in the Old Testament. The new, more excellence Covenant, the once for all and eternal, the desires and aims of the OT, is accomplished and brought about, by Jesus Christ, the true Great High Priest.

We need to spend lot more time understanding and living out this new covenant of grace. Paul went through great extent explaining the why and how for our benefits that we may focus on Christ, empowered by Christ, put our faith in Christ, run and complete the race before us, following our leaders, encouraging and loving one another, doing God glorifying works to testify the goodness and love of God, and enter into the rest and rewards that Christ has gone before us to obtain for us.

The details are in the mind map Growing Up in Grace.

A comparison of the old and new is shown below:

	Old	New
mediator	High Priest	Christ
with	Animal Blood	His Blood
frequency	Every Year	Once for all
effect	cannot perfect the conscience Heb 9:9	purify our conscience Heb 9:14
result	dead work	God glorifying work
justification	obey the Laws	By faith in Christ's work
purpose	payment for sins	payment + new life
power	no power	Grace Empowerment CIU
effort	manual - follow the laws	Laws within Heart & Mind

Be-Do-Have Repeat and Grow

In "Be-Do-Have" of Grace Based Doctrine I wrote about the grace-based doctrine of be-do-have and the conventional performance-based doctrine of have-do-be.

In this post, I want to bring up the reinforcing effect of doing and have-ing on the be. By doing so, we get to understand our identity better. Having strengthens our faith and gives us confidence in our 'be-ing" that was there originally. This is growth. Big accomplishments are achieved through repeated small steps.

If we do and we don't have the success of "have" then we need to check on the method and process of our do. 

• Did we have the right motive?
• Did we hear God correctly?
• Did we have the right methods,?
• And very often, did we give time for the effects to be seen.
  The seeds that germinate inside the earth, growing its roots are not seen until the stem and leaves sprout out of the earth. Being persistent and patient is a quality of maturity, especially towards people. On the other hand, we must be alert and flexible to adopt a new strategy if the situation has changed. Life has such interesting variations that make for real joy and challenge in living.

Reconciliation- A Better Term for Salvation

In an earlier posting, Salvation Re-visited - Relational View we said that salvation is actually about bring people back to God. A shorter term for the rebuilding of relationship between two parties is 'Reconciliation'.

Death is not cessation of life but disconnection from God. Man rejection of God resulted in amity between God and man. It takes Jesus' substitutional death on cross to remove this amity. However, while Jesus makes possible the way back to God, it is still up to man to choose to be reconciled to God. It is a free will decision.