I was listening to one of my favorite songs tonight and was buoyed by it’s strong and faithful lyrics:
“In Christ Alone”
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou MusicIn Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.(bolding mine)
Suddenly it occurred to me that this is my faith. By faith alone, through Christ alone. And suddenly I realized that I’m done with all the pondering on whether or not I could remain a Catholic. I can’t. The problem is that really, deep down, I’m a Protestant.
There is much I will always admire about the Catholic Church. I love traditions that bring peace in times of chaos. But ultimately, at the core of everything, my faith is in Christ alone. And not only am I at peace with that, but I feel real joy because of it.
And this is not to condemn the Catholic Church or Catholics. But the most scholarly, well read, educated, and faithful Catholics I know all have something they want to change. I wish them the best. Now the question is, where do I go from here?
I don’t know where you go from here… I am at a point where I am trying to figure out where I stand, too, much like Molly and others.
I see you said you feel you are protestant, but have you ever looked at the eastern orthodox church? Anyone have any thoughts on that? I am looking into that, among other things, and praying for the Lord’s guidance.
Hi Anne. You know what? I don’t think you need to “go” anywhere. You’re a Christian and you just found that your place is in Christ; that’s all that matters! The only issue in regards to labels that you need to worry about is possibly which church you go to now.
That hymn has been on my heart today. . .
“I don’t think you need to “go” anywhere. You’re a Christian and you just found that your place is in Christ; that’s all that matters!”
That is beautifully said. . .
*huuug*
And the Lord IS leading you in His path of righteousness, for His name’s sake. Praying for peace and joy and wisdom for you tonight.
Oh, that’s exciting (your discovery). It’s very exciting to stand on Him. And scary. And freaky. And wild. And more.
For me, the question is now where is a community of God-lovers that is a fit for me? As much as I respect the Catholic and the Orthodox, I’m leaning away from them being a good fit for me just as much as I’m leaning away from Evangelical/Fundy groups. It’s been really frustrating and I’ve felt very homeless. Though only recently—prior to that, I really enjoyed belonging “nowhere” (half the time not going anywhere, half the time visiting here or there or overthere)…
I needed it after 8 years of being a “pastor’s wife.” I can’t even explain it, but it was just HEALING to the extreme. But after a year of it, it was like an alarm clock went off and all of a sudden everything in me said, “Find family.” So…
I found a Quaker group a few weeks back and…well…it felt like home the very first moment. NOTHING has felt like that…I am so shocked. I have just loved the meetings and, even more shockingly, my KIDS love it! My oldest said, “Mom, this is the best church we’ve ever gone to in my whole life.”
All the research I’m doing about Quakers (which is a lot—I love that sort of thing) is turning up a few “hmmm’s” here and there, but no “deal-breakers.” I know I won’t find anything perfect this side of heaven—I just want something that “fits.”
All of that is emphatically NOT to say go join the Quakers. I really don’t think it would be a good fit for many people. I’m just trying to say that it seems like it might really bit a fit for *me.* Which is the point: there is a “family” out there that will be a good fit. It might be a little home group, it might be the Catholic Church after a year of taking a break, it might be a big huge evangelical stadium, it might be something emergent, heck, it might be the Independant Fundamentalist Baptist, for all we know. *grins*
What I think is cool is the finding (or re-finding) of Jesus.
Everything after that point is just frosting.
Anne, I’ve been where you are. (Not Catholic specifically but realizing that I wasn’t a certain denomination.) I will pray for you as you move forward.
Anne – May God continue to guide and bless you (as He has promised He will) as you continue to seek the truth and His righteousness.
Not too far off topic – that is my favorite hymn of all time. I love Keith Getty and his philosophy of hymn writing. And that hymn is his best.
My very good friends Joe and Abigail McKinley had all of the people in attendance at their recent wedding sing this along with the couple as a reminder of the true Cornerstone of a solid marriage. It was just fabulous. If you’re interested in an account of this amazingly God-honoring wedding, you can check it out on my blog at http://richgelina.blogspot.com/2008/03/focused-on-christ-on-self.html. If you’re further interested in the wedding itself, which was beautiful and meaningful, click on the “McKinley Wedding” topic to read the rest of the posts about it.
Anne – keep looking to Christ. Men are always fallible – God is not. He’ll never let you down.
“Are you tired, burned out on religion..come to me and I will teach you the unforced rhythms of grace…”message bible Matt. 11:28
God is able!
Sharon
I’ll never forget a man from our church choir. Nice man, works hard helping out with the monitors and such, but we really don’t talk much. After we rehearsed that song, and as we were leaving choir, he told me to look up the lyrics, and that I’d be very encouraged by how theologically sound that song was, and how focused it was on Christ.
I agree that it’s one of those hymns set apart for it’s full and beautiful expression of truth. It’s like an excellent photograph that has everything in the proper perspective and good depth of field.
Where do you go from here? Time will tell, but for sure your studies in the word will confirm your beliefs.
Some time ago I wrote a blog post on why I am anathema. These are the canons of Trent that Scripture (especially John’s writings) does not agree with:
http://graceindelible.blogspot.com/2007/09/i-am-anathema-yes.html
We may know that we have eternal life. That’s what the Bible says.
Anne,
Where do any of us go from here? We go with Christ by faith. How? To grow in Christ and in faith, we turn to the scriptures. The Bible is such a wonderful gift to us. Just as it says in the book of Hebrews, and I’ll paraphrase a little, God spoke to the men of old through angels and prophets. In these last days, he spoke to us through his Son. The scriptures from Genesis to Revelation tell us about Jesus, God’s only Son, and Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15).
To know the scripture is to better understand Jesus. To better understand Jesus is to better comprehend God our Father. Through this knowledge, the Holy Spirit transforms us to think like God thinks. He modifies our behavior so that we become more and more like the Son of God, which is God’s perfect pleasure for us.
As you continue in the faith and are committed to God’s Holy Word, you’ll be discerning about which church is the right fit for you…one where the congregation also honors God’s Word and where people genuinely love each other.
From here, you’ll join other believers and await expectantly for Christ’s return when we will all be changed the moment we see his wonderful face.
[...] that just cause your heart to sing [...]
Hi Anne!
I need to come read here more often. I like it.
Such an odd coincidence.
The date on this post is during the week I was away at church camp, at which I first heard the song you posted. I loved it! Such powerful, beautiful, Christ-glorifying words!
In past conversations we have had about the great and glorious truths of God, I was thinking inwardly “Anne sounds just like a protestant on these matters.” I’ve even told my pastor in conversations that you were more protestant than some protestants I know! So, my heart is singing with you, and I am not truly surprised, my dear sister in Christ.
I will keep you in my prayers as you seek the Lord’s wisdom and strength on where to go from here to His glory.