Theology Thursday: Deedless Creeds?
Awhile back, I read a series of books on Judaism. And no, I never seriously considered converting. I just wanted to know more about the Jewish faith. (I have a book on the Talmud I’ve been reading off and on since about ‘05.)
One of the books I read was Dennis Prager’s The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism. Question Four was “How Does Judaism Differ From Christianity, Marxism and Communism, and Humanism?” An interesting mishmash of topics, don’t you think?
But one of the things Prager contrasted between Judaism and Christianity was, as he put it, that Judaism is a religion that “stresses DEED over CREED.”
Meaning that while Christianity defines itself by proper belief, Judaism is defined by proper actions.
Orthodoxy versus Orthopraxy.
(New word for anyone there? Orthopraxy is one of my favorites, and I so rarely get to use it.)
But the fact is that, while the statement vexed me, it had the ring of truth to it, even if only in a general way. Stop a hundred church-goers on the street and ask them what makes them Christians, and you’ll mostly get answers about belief.
But is it all really about belief? Or might there be something deeper? Well, Paul indicates that there is.
In Colossians!
Yes, Colossians, which means I’m blogging about Colossians, and I can cross it off my list!
Colossians 2:6 (NLT):
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
I love the subtle contrast to the two ways he says we grow by following Christ.
First, he tells us to let our roots grow down into the Christ. Notice he’s still not talking about a work we’re really doing. He doesn’t say “Grow your roots down into him.” He tells us to let them grow. Meaning it should be a natural consequence of following.
Likewise, he tells us to let our lives be built on Christ. Notice again that it’s in the passive voice. Not “Build your lives on him,” but let your lives be built on him.
I think he uses these two images to give us a benchmark to let us know if we’re actually following Christ. We should see growth.
I’m finding this pretty convicting. Gotta let those roots grow!
Related Post: Faith Without Works