simul justus et peccator

Speaking as a person of faith there are definitely trends in religion that seriously peeve me. There is a widespread tendency within Christianity in America to try to classify everyone as either saint or sinner. This in turn leads to overly pious attitudes of I'm better than you. We see this played out everyday, especially now that we are entering a drawn out presidential election campaign. Abortion or pro-life. Stem cell research? Gay marriage? A recent editorial article on CNN.com discussed the fact that Christianity in America has become defined in the minds of most Americans by a small group of issues. Even within churches these attitudes playout as some are shunned for voting for a particular political party over another, as if how you vote defines your relationship with God. And its not just voting, there are many things that contribute to this classification system.

All of this brings me to the title of this blog "simul justus et peccator" which is latin for "simultaneously saint and sinner." We are all flawed more than we could possible imagine and we are also loved more greatly than we could ever comprehend by God. There is not either/or as a follower of Christ. When we enter into that relationship with God we become both/and. We are both friends of God as the catholics define a saint and a person corrupted by sin. For far too long the church has gone about its business as if saying a prayer to aknowledge God's presence is all that is really needed. Once the prayer is prayed everything is ok. Except its not. Aknowledging God is important. But the story, the journey doesn't end there. Mankind has rejected our creator, we have chosen our own ways over His. But God's love for His creation is so great that He is constantly working to not only redeem us from our sin but also restore us to what he originally intended.

We are all bearers of God's image. We are all fallen. How come we cannot accept that when we classify as either saint or sinner we reject God's restoration in our own life. I am messed up and the moment I begin to think otherwise I return to that initial rejection of God's sovereignty in my life by placing myself first and foremost. I am not God. I am not perfect. None of us are so lets stop acting like a bunch of pious pigs that have made ourselves our own functional saviors and embrace the fact that when we are simultaneously saints and sinners because we are still undergoing God's acts of redemption and restoration in our lives.