Slideshow image

Articles 9-16 of the 39 Articles concern our separation from God.  Here is their paraphrase, and as you can see I’ve combined several together:


Articles 9. & 10:  Sin (missing the mark of God’s holiness) is the fault and corruption of every human.  Humans are inclined to do evil contrary to the Spirit of God.  It is through the grace of God in Christ that we can do good which pleases God.
 
Articles 11., 12., 13.,  & 14. We are righteous before God only by the gift of forgiveness and salvation through Christ.  We cannot “earn” our way to God’s kingdom.  Our works, no matter how good, are not good enough to allow us to approach God in God’s holiness – however, God delights in them as the fruit of our faith.  We need to be careful that we don’t become arrogant or self-worshiping due to the works that we do.
 
Articles 15.  & 16. Everyone misses the mark of God’s holiness, except Christ alone.  This is the only way in which the humanity of Christ is separate from that of our own.  Jesus the Christ is the lamb without blemish.  The rest of us offend in many ways, and we must own that.  Whether we have been baptized or not, we are still subject to missing the mark of God’s holiness (i.e.: sin),and must return to Christ again for forgiveness after each time.  We must not be arrogant that we are “better” than others because we have been baptised and they have not – rather, we must be humbled by this blessing in which God has explicitly accepted us into His family, and strive to follow His path of love and forgiveness.

 

Everyone misses the mark of God’s holiness in some fashion, and when we do that, we are encouraged to return to God and re-align our lives around His desire, His path.  To change from whatever the harm-causing behaviour was, to one of healthfulness.

 

How have you missed the mark of God’s holiness this week?

 

May God encourage you in His love as you ponder these points.

 

+David