You are either ignorant of, or discounting the honor-shame culture that is the backdrop of the story,
What?! Jesus telling her about drinking the living water and then pointing out the women's major sin and in detail when she asks where to get it, and this means He is trying to validate her as human being capable of worship, rather than above all showing her what she is looking for and needs, but what she needs to repented of to attain it? You do not think above all that the Lord was calling her to repent and receive the living water?
It seems you have subscribed to some specious liberal ethos which marginalizes the wickedness of moral sin, which Christ upheld, including actions. As shown.
and reading it strictly through evangelical holiness theology,
More nonsense. I am reading it as written in Scripture not imposing liberal sin-minimizing tripe onto the text.
using it to justify your works-righteousness.
What?! Justify my works-righteousness?! Where did I ever say justification was thru works, rather than by faith which effects works,but which fruit includes seeking moral purity? Why is the latter apparently so repulsive to you that you must attack and misrepresent what i say in order to do it? Or at least fail to comprehend it?
The encounter in that context means something different in terms of the nuances. Jesus and the woman, being in an ancient near-eastern setting, would not think primarily in terms of guilt, but shame and honor. Jesus is not trying to make her feel guilty per se, he's trynig to unmask her shame, the reason she comes to the well alone. Not so he can make her feel guilty, but so that he can restore her sense of dignity.
Dude, the lady has had 5 (count them) husbands, and is presently living with one who is not even her husband, and evidences no shame in conversing with Christ, but is quite bold, and which is further evidenced in her boldly telling men in her city about Christ, to "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" (John 4:29)
There is nothing here that evidences some embarrassed women who feels shame, nor is there anything about coming to the well alone that indicates this, which is hardly abnormal. (Proverbs 31:1-31; Acts 16:13,14) But regardless it seems you must insist on making this about self-esteem due to liberal animus about pointing out moral sins, such as Christ did.
But which faith is only real and salvific if it is the kind which effects obedience thru the Spirit, and which includes by obeying the moral law regarding actions and carnal lusts, envy, etc., as well as proactively seeking the benefit of other according to the word of God, most importantly but not always most
This is a subtle confusion of Law and Gospel. Your definition of obedience, as Hedrick has pointed out, is not really biblical, instead its an impossible standard that you carelessly judge others by. That makes your stance not that different from the pharisees.
Which is nonsense regardless of what your comrade may have said, for what i said about faith only being real and salvific if it is the kind which effects obedience thru the Spirit, is entirely Biblical, as has been and can be shown, while the marginalization of "obeying the moral law regarding actions and carnal lusts, envy, etc.," is not Scriptural.
And that i am guilty of a definition which presents "an impossible standard that you carelessly judge others by" - while i use the words "seek" and admit i fall short in Godliness - is another lie. But since lying is likely also one of the things that is marginalized as opposed to your self-proclaimed emphasis on showing mercy and compassion, then i suppose it need not both you guys much.
Resting in Christ for salvation while laboring to serve him are not mutually contradictory.
What makes you think we Lutherans don't serve Christ?
Just where do you come up with these things? Is there another poster using my name who invisibly posts things you falsely charge me with? The context was your statement about Christ giving rest as being opposed to what you see me doing.
I am sure there are some Lutherans who serve Christ and many who don't. To varying degrees that is true of other churches. But it is the liberal ethos and its attack on "obeying the moral law regarding actions and carnal lusts, envy, etc., as well as proactively seeking the benefit of other according to the word of God' that is the problem.
I can tell you everybody I met at my church seems to be serving Christ in one way or another. Just comming to church to hear the Word is a kind of service to God. And it's not my place to judge them, and it's not yours either.
But its obvious that you consider it your place to negatively judge me, even as "You would pile burdens upon the weak.." Even by saying that "everybody I met at my church seems to be serving Christ in one way or another" is judging also. For in fact whenever you made an appraisal of what others are doing you are judging them by whatever standard you hold to as defining that.
And which is not necessarily wrong in itself, and Christ did so and commanded it, righteously, (Jn. 7:24) objectively, not as prideful, censorious, hypocritical, but judging ourselves first, and dealing with what we seek to correct in others so we can then correct them. Mt. 7:1-5)
Its too late to add more.
