"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see." These may be the most recognizable lyrics from any song in history. Certainly, they must be the most famous lines of any hymn. Thankfully, the next verse doesn't say, "Thank God I have my doctrine right, for otherwise, grace is nil. Through the teaching of the one true church, I am forgiven still."
No, the words don't say this, but I wonder how many of my fellow brothers and sisters believe this. It is strange to me that we are so quick to affirm God's grace for moral failure and sin (or at least some kinds of sin), but are reluctant to consider that grace might extend to our doctrinal misunderstandings. What a sad state we'd all be in if we could only be forgiven once the condition of crossing all our theological "tees" and dotting all our dogmatic "eyes" was met. And yet, I've encountered many who seem to hold to just such a rigid and ungraceful understanding.
It may sound as if I'm saying that doctrine doesn't matter or that theology isn't important. I'm not. In fact, the truth that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, is probably the most important doctrine in the entire Bible. It's of an infinite and eternal value. My concern is that it can become all too easy to elevate one element of theology or one doctrinal affirmation to such a degree that it becomes an idol. We might find ourselves worshiping the teaching (or even our misunderstanding of a teaching), rather than the one who gave us the teaching in the first place. For instance, as important as the Bible is, it would be idolatrous to worship the book, rather than the God and Savior that the book points us too. Just as any good thing in creation can become an idol, our religious convictions can function in the same way.
In 1 Corinthians 13, when Paul is reminding the believers in Corinth that even gifts empowered by God's Spirit can be used in quite nonspiritual ways, he tells them that in the present life, our knowledge and understanding is only limited. He says, "...we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end." He goes on to write a few verses later, "...now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."
As important as hope is, Paul says it is not greater than love. And as important as is our faith (both our trust in Christ and the content of our teaching), Paul declares that it too is inferior to love. His teaching is a good reminder to all of us that as soon as we emphasize anything over love, we have things the wrong way around.
I have to confess that sometimes I am guilty of emphasizing God's love, in an unloving way. There are times when I've stressed God's grace, in an ungraceful way. And for that I need grace and forgiveness too. And yes, I need to repent. I say the amen to the words from the 51st Psalm, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me." This beautiful poem says a few stanzas later, "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise." Indeed, open my lips, O Lord, and my mouth will declare your love, and my voice will proclaim your grace. Your amazing grace! How sweet the sound. - Shay
