new church life: march/april 2017
In summary, then, as the Lord
said after He healed the blind man,
“For judgment I have come into
this world, that those who do not
see may see, and that those who see
may be made blind” (John 9:39), or
again, “I have come as a light into
the world, that whoever believes in
Me should not abide in darkness”
(Ibid. 12:46); or yet again, as He
told Pilate before His crucifixion,
“For this cause I was born, and
for this cause I have come into the
world, that I should bear witness to
the truth.” (Ibid. 18:37)
The Lord did not come to
provide a sacrificial atonement to
an angry God for the sins of the
human race; He came to teach, and
to facilitate a truly free and rational,
internal, human relationship with
Himself as our God so that we can
understand Him and be inspired by
Him and co-operate with Him no
matter what the physical conditions
The Lord did not come
to provide a sacrificial
atonement to an angry God
for the sins of the human
race; He came to teach,
and to facilitate a truly
free and rational, internal,
human relationship with
Himself as our God so
that we can understand
Him and be inspired
by Him and co-operate
with Him no matter what
the physical conditions
of our lives may be.
of our lives may be.
In short He came to prepare us for heaven – not with a ticket to get in but
with the love and wisdom we need to live in peace and harmony within the
laws of His heavenly order.
The Rev. Michael D. Gladish is pastor of the Washington New
Church Society and School in Mitchellville, Maryland, where
he lives with his wife, Virginia (de Maine). He has been a
pastor in Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia; Los Angeles,
California; the Olivet New Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
the Calgary New Church in Alberta, Canada; and the Dawson
Creek Society in British Columbia, Canada. He was Executive
Vice President of the General Church in Canada and is regional
pastor for the Southeastern United States.
Contact: [email protected]
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