Faith and Works

Chapter 4: Christ Has Set Us Free

“Possibly the most tragic state of existence is to be free yet live in bondage. If you deny yourself the opportunity to live free once you have been made free in Christ, you are actually denying the power of the cross of Christ.” – Brent Crowe

This chapter centers on Galatians 5, in which Paul discusses the concept of Christian freedom and the ways we can hinder our own freedom when we become too concerned with abiding by rules rather than seeking to serve and glorify Christ. Crowe writes, “As with Paul’s original audience, many of us trust in our own morality as a means of justification,” but “we can never be good enough” (65). Rather, “Our freedom has nothing to do with human achievement and everything to do with Christ’s sufficiency” (65). Crowe bases much of his writing on the writings of Luther and the emphasis on salvation by grace alone, through faith. Because our salvation is dependent on Christ’s righteousness and not on our own, it is folly to allow our striving to live by laws undermine our calling to live by love.

·      The Big Idea: Controlled by the Spirit, or the Flesh?

Crowe reminds his readers of the definition of freedom he has been building throughout this book: “The big idea of liberty is not that you operate by what feels natural or that you are without a strong regulation. Nothing could be further from the truth, because we are always to be controlled by the strongest of regulators – ‘by love’” (67).

·      The Vice List: Works of the Flesh

This section described the characteristics of behaviors that are opposed or contrary to the Spirit of God, as described in Galatians 5:19-21. According to Crowe, the majority of these vices actually portray external behaviors that “can contribute to the breakdown of community” (69). As Christians, we must seek to act in ways that build each other up, rather than harm each other.

·      The Virtue List: Fruit of the Spirit

Crowe explains that there is significance in the idea that Paul distinguishes “works of the flesh” from “fruit of the Spirit.” This is because “works puts an emphasis on human ventures, fruit speaks to God’s divine empowerment” (70). These traits are more internal, less tangible – because it is through the power of the Spirit of Christ working in us that our lives can display any righteous external behaviors

Chapter 5: Asking the Right Questions

“Possibly the most tragic state of existence is to be free yet live in bondage. If you deny yourself the opportunity to live free once you have been made free in Christ, you are actually denying the power of the cross of Christ.” – Brent Crowe

In this chapter, Crowe outlines the “how to believe” grid he alluded to in earlier sections of the book. Rather than attempting to provide cut and dry answers to all of our ethical dilemmas, which would of course be impossible, Crowe calls upon “an age-old method that Jesus utilized to help his followers navigate the issues of life: the art of asking the right questions” (75). Crowe writes, “There is nothing quick about defining your beliefs,” encouraging his readers to fully engage with moral decisions by filtering them through the concepts we know to be foundations of the Christian faith. I think the best way to summarize this “grid” is to include the main questions Crowe writes about in the rest of the chapter.

11.  Is the decision within the moral will of God [as revealed in biblical commands]?

22.  Is the decision being made in the attitude of Christ (Romans 15:1-13)?

33. Is the decision being made under the control of the flesh or the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:13-26)?

44. Will the decision have a positive spiritual impact on self (1^st Corinthians 6:12; 10:23-24)?

55. Will this decision addict or enslave (1^st Corinthians 6:12)?

66. Is the decision consistent with the rule for Christian living [that we filter all of our decisions through the idea of serving others]?

77. Will the decision hurt a fellow believer spiritually (Romans 14:13)?

88. Will the decision have a positive spiritual impact on fellow believers?

99. Does the decision go against conscience?

110.  Will the decision disrupt fellowship and damage relationships within the community?

111.  Will the decision damage reputation?

112.  Will the decision remove focus from the big picture of God’s Kingdom (Romans 14:17-19)?

113.  Is the decision being made out of a selfish heart? Will the decision offend?

114.  Can the decision be imitated by others who understand their freedom?

115.  Is the decision being made in light of the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

116.  Will the decision glorify God (1^st Corinthians 10:31)?

I found these questions to be insightful and helpful – and very practical, for the most part. Especially when it comes to issues like gender roles in church leadership, marriage, etc., I think having this kind of “grid” through which to view each particular situation is a stronger, more careful approach than trying to decide on an absolute moral stance on the entire topic in general. I also appreciated these questions because they seem to provide a holistic manner of determining ethical perspectives on issues – incorporating the different sources of authority we’ve discussed in this class: experience, reason, tradition, and Scripture (of course). Here, Crowe is not saying that our ethical dilemmas all have a direct Biblical answer, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make decisions that are God-honoring and beneficial to our communities.

In previous chapters I had been a little bit disappointed by the lack of detail I saw in Crowe’s writing, but I think now that I’ve gotten to his more original analysis rather than his more expository section, I am starting to see more of what I appreciated in the messages he presented at the conferences I went to. I think that this has been the most successful chapter of the book, so far, because it accomplishes what Crowe set out to do in the first place: to offer guidelines for how to believe (rather than imperatives about what to believe) within the overarching concept of the freedom we have in Christ. I agreed with his statement that the central rule of Christian living is that all of our actions must be filtered through the principle of serving others first – essentially, to abide by “the greatest commandment,” to love God and our neighbors.

Having given this premise, Crowe has prepped his readers for the chapters to follow, in which he discusses the particular “elephants in the room.”