One of the books that we have been going through as a group is Repenting of Religion by Gregory Boyd. This book is really good and there is so much good stuff packed into a book that to explain it all would take hours. I am finding some of this stuff really challenging to me and my thinking. I am finding it hard to get my head wrapped around all the deep, yet simple truths. It is really incredible. It is so good! So good like warm cornbread and chicken! So without further a-do: here is an excerpt from Chapter 5 Love and Religion (p. 96). The beginning quote is from another person Jacques Ellul and the rest that follows is from Gregory Boyd.
‘The revelation of God in Jesus Christ is against morality. Not only is it honestly impossible to derive a moral system from the Gospels and the Epistles, but further, the main keys in the gospel- the proclamation of grace, the declaration of pardon, and the opening up of life to freedom-are the direct opposite of morality. For they imply that all conduct, including that of the devout, or the most moral, is wholly engulfed in sin….As Genesis shows us, the origin of sin in the world is not knowledge…it is the knowledge of good and evil..
‘In the Gospels Jesus…gives us his own commandment “Follow me,” not a list of things to do or not to do. He shows us fully what it means to be a free person with no morality, but simply obeying the ever-new word of God as it flashes forth…We are as free as the Holy Spirit, who comes and goes as he wills. This is freedom…is the freedom of love. Love, which cannot be regulated, categorized, or analyzed in principles or commands, takes the place of law. The relationship with others is not one of duty but of love.’
‘The New Testament is not about ethical behavior, it’s about a radical new way of living. It is about life lived in surrendered union to God though faith in Jesus Christ. It is about experiencing the transforming power of God’s love flowing into and through a person. It demands a form of holiness that is far more exacting than any ethical or religious system. This kind of holiness can never be achieved through behavior. It has to be received by grace. Jesus’ ministry and the whole New Testament undermine our ethics and religion in order to position us to humbly receive this empowering and life-transforming grace.’
‘The revelation of God in Jesus Christ is against morality. Not only is it honestly impossible to derive a moral system from the Gospels and the Epistles, but further, the main keys in the gospel- the proclamation of grace, the declaration of pardon, and the opening up of life to freedom-are the direct opposite of morality. For they imply that all conduct, including that of the devout, or the most moral, is wholly engulfed in sin….As Genesis shows us, the origin of sin in the world is not knowledge…it is the knowledge of good and evil..
‘In the Gospels Jesus…gives us his own commandment “Follow me,” not a list of things to do or not to do. He shows us fully what it means to be a free person with no morality, but simply obeying the ever-new word of God as it flashes forth…We are as free as the Holy Spirit, who comes and goes as he wills. This is freedom…is the freedom of love. Love, which cannot be regulated, categorized, or analyzed in principles or commands, takes the place of law. The relationship with others is not one of duty but of love.’
‘The New Testament is not about ethical behavior, it’s about a radical new way of living. It is about life lived in surrendered union to God though faith in Jesus Christ. It is about experiencing the transforming power of God’s love flowing into and through a person. It demands a form of holiness that is far more exacting than any ethical or religious system. This kind of holiness can never be achieved through behavior. It has to be received by grace. Jesus’ ministry and the whole New Testament undermine our ethics and religion in order to position us to humbly receive this empowering and life-transforming grace.’
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