There are some things in life that are inseparable. Bonnie and Clyde. Ice-cream and Summer-time. A smile after a tickle. But the most unlikely of duos may just be grace and sin. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. delivers the latter as the cornerstone of his argument in Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be, A Breviary of Sin. Plantinga takes us on a rollercoaster ride of introspection, focusing on the very things that sever our ties to God and yet clarify the gift of grace.
From the get go he qualifies the relevance of his thoughts by suggesting that we have traded the real definitions of sin for ones of “caloric” crime and watered down euphemisms (x). We find in Plantinga’s words that sin is more than just moral and ethical failure. Every sin has its opposite in the character of God. For Plantinga anything that trashes shalom ordained and perfected by God is in opposition to the way things should be (14). Better put, “In short, sin is culpable shalom-breaking” (14).
But most importantly Plantinga reminds us that grace is not cheap:
But to speak of sin without grace is surely no better. To do this is to trivialize the cross of Christ…and therefore cheapen the grace of God that always comes to us with blood on it (199).
Blood! Blood that washes over every sin. Plantinga shows that while sin may seem like the end; grace is the new beginning. And what a compelling and lovely grace that is!
1 Comment
February 18, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Between you and Pastor Joey, I’ve had a good fill of grace this weekend
Totally awesome. One of my favorite things in life. Which is why it’s tattooed on my wrist.