Saturday, February 19, 2005
Cosmic Salvation?
DrAJ at SmartChristian inserts a new concern into the 'simple gospel' discussion begun by Adrian Warnock. DrAJ quotes part of Romans 8 and then states:
'The Simple Gospel,' that is to say the minimal presentation of the work of Christ that we present to people in order to persuade them to invite Jesus into their lives is but a starting point. The whole gospel, that is Jesus himself, has something to say to us about absolutely ever aspect of our lives. That is the essence of my post about transformation to which Adrian kindly linked.
If we realize that Jesus is the Gospel and everything else is an intellectual formulation for discussion purposes, then His presence will override the heat of the debate and we can find the brotherhood of believers that is born of and supported by the Holy Spirit.
I must take exception with DrAJ on one point though. As I read the Romans 8 passage cited, I do not see an 'organic unity.' Rather I see creation waiting on our salvation -- "...creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God." Personal salvation is the means by which the cosmos will be saved. There is a definite prioritization here.
God gave us dominion over creation. (Genesis 1:28) The road to saving the cosmos is through us. If one wishes to save the cosmos, one must necessarily begin by saving us.
The Gospel of Christ is both individual and cosmic...Adrian responds to DrAJ with a post in which he agrees that the gospel has a broad message, and that there will always be points of disagreement between Christian brothers, and finally he calls for grace on our discussions
We need more grace with each other. May God grant us the ability to be true to his word but full of love for one another.As I have said a couple of times now, I like Jollyblogger's idea that Jesus is the gospel, and the rest of it is a discussion of pedagogic technique and theological understanding. Based on this insight, I can agree with both men.
'The Simple Gospel,' that is to say the minimal presentation of the work of Christ that we present to people in order to persuade them to invite Jesus into their lives is but a starting point. The whole gospel, that is Jesus himself, has something to say to us about absolutely ever aspect of our lives. That is the essence of my post about transformation to which Adrian kindly linked.
If we realize that Jesus is the Gospel and everything else is an intellectual formulation for discussion purposes, then His presence will override the heat of the debate and we can find the brotherhood of believers that is born of and supported by the Holy Spirit.
I must take exception with DrAJ on one point though. As I read the Romans 8 passage cited, I do not see an 'organic unity.' Rather I see creation waiting on our salvation -- "...creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God." Personal salvation is the means by which the cosmos will be saved. There is a definite prioritization here.
God gave us dominion over creation. (Genesis 1:28) The road to saving the cosmos is through us. If one wishes to save the cosmos, one must necessarily begin by saving us.
