In the Christian Science Bible Lesson November 7, 2011 Issue

You are immortal!

For the lesson titled "Mortals and Immortals" from November 7–13, 2011

By Abby Fuller

Christian Science declares that we are all sinless, joyful, whole, deathless—not sinners—not broken, fallen, or fundamentally flawed. And this week’s Bible Lesson titled, “Mortals and Immortals,” assures us that this former view is how God sees us. As Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48, citation 8).

Much of Protestant Christian theology holds a view of man as a sinner unworthy of love or forgiveness; yet by God’s grace, he is loved and forgiven. In this week’s Lesson, we repeatedly hear the call to righteousness (see Prov., chap. 12, in the Golden Text; Isa., chap. 45, cit. 2; Science and Health, p. 254, cit. 10; and Ps., chap. 33, cit. 9). We are asked to acknowledge who we already are as God’s perfect reflections. This is not an attempt to change something fundamental about who we are. However, we can take the discussion to a new level by recognizing that God’s children, all of us, are immortal, “sinless and eternal” (Science and Health, p. 304, cit. 11).

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans addresses struggles we have with feelings of unworthiness (see chap. 7, cit. 5). Are we listening to the flesh, using dead thinking, or are we listening to Spirit, the breath of God? We are reminded that “in divine Science, God and the real man are inseparable as divine Principle and idea” (Science and Health, p. 476, cit. 7). We can never be fooled by the counterfeit argument of mortality. We are created in God’s image, not broken or sick.