Beyond Mediocrity Blog

(Image courtesy of https://luxlucet.files.wordpress.com.) The majority of Paul's letters in the New Testament to the church center-in on one thing: Jesus Christ is enough for salvation.  There is no work in the law that any can do in order to be saved. The Mosaic Law was never actually able to bring about holiness - not because the law was bad, but because man was bad, thus incapable of fulfilling it.  However, after centuries of Jewish culture grounded in God's old covenant law, Judaism's moralistic works of holiness were difficult to let go of for many people.  Jesus was, as the Scriptures said, "The stone that made men stumble and the rock that made them fall."  Many could not understand the truth that Jesus had died "once and for all."  Many continued in their works of moral goodness, which is why Paul labored so meticulously with them in explaining to them that the Scriptures they read as a list of rules to become holy were actually full of

(Image courtesy of http://3.bp.blogspot.com.) The phrase "God's providence" is often unheard of today in many Christian circles, although it was once commonplace in the days of the Puritans.  William Bradford wrote of God's providential hand in his  History of Plymouth Plantation , recounting the Pilgrim's peril-filled journey to the New World: "Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean...."  Bradford and the other Puritans of his day were keenly aware of the sovereign will of God in their daily lives. "Self-examination" is another concept that is often unheard of today in many Christian circles.  By very definition, the word means to closely examine and analyze one's behaviors and motivations.  Each of us will greatly benefit from practicing the discipline of self-examination.

(Image courtesy of https://graceincrossville.files.wordpress.com.) "Maternity, the natural biological role of women, has traditionally been regarded as [women's] major social role as well.  The resulting stereotype that 'a woman's place is in the home' has largely determined the ways in which women have expressed themselves.  Today, contraception and, in some areas, legalized abortion have given women greater control over the number of children they will bear.  Although these developments have freed women for roles other than motherhood, the cultural pressure for women to become wives and mothers still prevents many talented women from finishing college or pursuing careers" ("Women's History in America," Women's International Center, 1995). In our hyper-sensitive "freedom of expression" societal way of thinking, this article did not surprise me.  The progressive movements toward increasing liberalism in all areas - including g