Witness

[darkveggie]

I'm supposed to give a testimony to my youth group on Friday about faith and my life in general. The structure's probably going to change when I actually say the words, but the message is the same, I hope. And so it won't spoil anything if I post it here

Comments

[liljetai]

nice, im looking forward to hearing it tonight :)

[melange_szs]

wish i could hear it tonight! God Bless.

[n0es]

hey yeah there's a question i could never answer about faith... isn't it selfish to do it (good works) for your own salvation?

[darkveggie]

Martin Luther's revolution was based on "The righteous will live by faith."
Ephesians 2:8-9 says,
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
Short answer.

[n0es]

Well, good, I'm a bit Lutheran myself :P

But does faith exist without practicing it? And in what way may it be practiced unselfishly yet socially (i.e. involving anyone else)?

[darkveggie]

Well... faith is de facto (1) active (otherwise it isn't there, or it's dead), and (2) selfless. To me, a lot of my faith means me saying, "I just don't have the answers. God, I'm not smart enough for this. I trust and wait that you will guide me and encourage me, so that whatever I need You will have waiting for me in Your time, and wherever I go You will be with me."

[jwzhu]

Well if you date back to the Council of Trent and the reaffirmation of faith and good works, then there is the Roman Catholic side of salvation. Still, with all the diversity of faiths, even in those divergent from Catholicism (Luther, Zwingli, Calvin themes, and even the slightly more radical anabaptists) there is the central theme of salvation and belief in God. He's there and does care. John 3:16.

[darkveggie]

who in the world is zwingli??? you don't have to answer that... yeah, church theology is too much for me.

[liljetai]

hm, i dont know much, but ive talked to many catholics, and they seem to value good works over faith

[mooncircus]

Jacob is mentioned - have you read The Red Tent? It is the story of Jacob's daughter Dinah, and is actually largely fictional (fictional meaning not taken from Biblical sources). It's very very good, but it doesn't characterize Jacob as a really good person.

[darkveggie]

sounds interesting - i'll put it on my list of books to read after school.
none of the people in genesis are very good people. that's a good point. jacob's a family man - two families. he shows one of them no love. he's estranged from his brother, father, and uncle for periods of his life. he lies, cheats, and steals too.

[darkveggie]

that being said, i still identify with jacob. I wish I could be him sometimes.