Dan Gorry
Dan was one of two people to win the very first scholarship to come to C3 College in 2004, moving down at the age of 17. He completed his Diploma and moved back to become C3 Currumbin’s youth pastor.
A few years later he began his Bachelors through Vision Online College, and then completed his Masters in Arts, specialising in Leadership through the Leadership Collective under Dr Richard Green. He is currently serving as the Lead Pastor at C3 Currumbin.
Already / Not Yet
One of my more passionate areas of Soteriology is helping people discover the joy in the ‘already/not yet’ of their Salvation. I feel this one area, if understood and personally applied, has a profound impact on how a believer ‘works out their salvation’. Luther calls it Simul justus et peccator; simultaneously righteous and sinner. So let’s have a look at what it could mean for us today. It is seen most clearly in Heb 10:14. ‘ For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.’
ALREADY. The moment someone puts their faith in Jesus’ finished work of the cross, they ARE justified, forgiven, a new creation, adopted, regenerated, atoned, etc. They ARE a child from this one moment. They cannot be loved or accepted any more than they are then. They are POSITIONALLY PERFECT.
NOT YET. Although their newly created heart hates sin (as they understand it put the God they love on the cross), they still must wage war on it. John Owen says ‘ Be killing sin, or it will be killing you’ . Let’s not limit sin to the actions of drunkenness, adultery, stealing, etc. Sin is, and has been since Gen 3, the desire to BE LIKE GOD . To sit on the throne of our own heart and do what we want when we want. We MUST fight this sin daily by laying down our lives and taking up our cross. This shows we are NOT PRACTICALLY PERFECT. This is our ‘not yet’.
Although John Wesley does push the idea of Christian Perfectionism, his disclaimer seems to align itself with the ‘already/not yet’ idea, when he clarifies, ‘I do not expect to be freed from actual mistakes, until this mortal puts on immortality. I believe this to be a natural consequence of the soul’s dwelling in flesh and blood.’ ( Wesley, John. A plain account of Christian perfection. Hendrickson Publishers, 2007. Pg 53).
So, may we rejoice in what Christ has already done in us that gives us a relationship with our Father NOW, while pushing into Him to allow His Spirit to continue to shape and sanctify us.
God bless,
Dan Gorry