Theology of Oneness

Over the years of ministry, there were many whom I came to know as unforgettable.  I think often of a guy in the St. John Church in Columbus who started coming simply because his wife decided it was time to go back to church.  He called himself an agnostic.  I remember how Jesus finally rubbed off enough on him that he accepted Christ, was baptized, and then led his mother to Christ.  As he made the journey from where he was to where God led him, he often said, "I still have my unanswered questions, but I have put them on the back burner.  I get them off sometimes and figure for awhile, but they no longer require answers."    

While most of us may not have had the agnostic experience, we have all run into things about the Word and the ways of God that leave us with more questions than answers.  Anyone who needs to understand every written word need not begin reading Paul's letter to the Roman Christians.  As we move into the headwaters of chapter 3 and wade into the ever deepening waters of chapter 4, we find ourselves going back to read again hoping for clarity, or grabbing a commentary to see what someone else is saying, or in some cases, quitting completely and going on to something easier to read and understand.    

To read those words, "There is no one who is righteous, not even one..." (Romans 3:10)  causes us to remember the Scripture's theology of oneness.  It is a theology which lifts up characters like Noah, Lot, and the remnant people of Israel.  It seems as if there has always been one, or some who were seen by God as righteous even though the Word in Romans says a different thing.