Redemption

In the penultimate chapter of Engaging God’s World, Plantinga discusses the integral belief of redemption. One of the most interesting of Plantinga’s ideas was what he said about the purpose of the Ten Commandments. Plantinga calls these Commandments “a set of requirements that people have to fulfill not in order to get rescued by God from slavery, but because they have been rescued.” This is important for a number of reasons. First, it shows that we don’t obey God in order to be rescued. That would be a works-based faith, one which reformers like Luther and Calvin worked so hard to abolish. Second, it shows that God loved us first, saved us, and we ought to return His love by living for Him. Like the Heidelberg Catechism says, our following of God’s Law is simply a response to His love for us. Another reason Plantinga gives for the Ten Commandments is to protect us. This is true today, but I found the example Professor Ribeiro gave in class yesterday especially true. During the Bubonic Plague, a group of Jews living in Europe were kept safe because of the laws of cleanliness the Torah decreed.

I also like what Plantinga said about the “double grace” that God grants us. The first part is justification. This means that those who believe are right with God, and are sinless in God’s eyes, because of the work of Jesus Christ. That doesn’t require anything from us. The second part of “double grace” is sanctification. This is significantly more difficult (for us). Sanctification is the long-term process by which we become a little holier every day. To accomplish this, we must spend time in God’s Word, reach out to those in need, and purify our thoughts constantly. Sanctification will last our entire lives, and while we can never be perfect here on earth, that is exactly what we must strive for.