As Christians we used to know what we meant when we talked about "salvation" or "justification by faith" or "grace." But now so many different people have defined these concepts differently and we are now in great danger of losing what we once held fast to. Indeed our ministers may be using these words but meaning something other that what we hold dear and want to hold on to. The time has come when we need to define our terms if we can be sure of conveying the precious truths of God's word to those around us. When we speak of salvation we need to say why we need saving, which will necessitate recalling the creation account and the fall of Adam and Eve. We will also need to speak of only Jesus being able to bring about this salvation for all who will believe in Him. It's going to get complicated but it has to be done. We can no longer assume that our congregations understand the words being spoken to them. The new idea is that the good old words should be used and everyone allowed to use there own definition. This is not a road I want to go down. I want my people to know of a certainty what I am telling them.
I have written in previous posts about disasters. In the case of Concorde, decisions by people, plus other factors were directly to blame for the event. In the case of the Penlee disaster it may have been avoided if someone had made a better choice in the time beforehand and as a consequence brave men and the ship's crew and the captain and his family died. 9/11 was certainly the result of wicked men committing a terrorist act, but even in this there was heroism notably by another Cornish man, Rick Rescorla who helped many to safety and left it too late to help himself. In situations like this we see what the human spirit is capable of both good and evil. What of disasters that come on people because of the earth restless movement of tectonic plates. Often people live near volcanoes because the land is rich and fertile and they have the chance of a better life there when the volcano is resting. We cannot blame them for that but sometimes people become complacent...
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