Many years ago I was in a discussion with a gentleman whose view of the Gospel was such that it was designed to help his theological team "win". You know, the denomination or systematic which arrives at the Last Day with the most adherents wins something, not sure what. He saw the failure to include a key point of his theology as trafficking in a "false gospel" (the damnable kind) instead of a saving message which once believed transferred a soul from death to life. I informed him that neither he nor the inventor of his systematic distinctive had been hoisted onto a cross for my moral and eternal benefit. I wanted to write up a statement of the Gospel for which he, I, and any other regenerated person would bless God and say "Amen!" This image is a graphical display of that effort. No, it is not clear on everything it addresses but it is clear enough for the sinner.
Feel free to send it on to whomever and wherever. I have an 11x17 vector file PDF if anyone wants a printable version.
For all the detritus that comes through my email with star bursts, rainbows, and puppies, perhaps the message of Jesus Christ would land in the unbelievers mailbox and convict of sin, righteousness and judgment. Or perhaps some believer, who like my friend, can't and hasn't distinguished the forest from the trees and mixes that which saves with all the wisdom or folly of his church, that he would know what he needed to say if he were to faithfully preach Christ and Him Crucified.
4 comments:
This is great. I like what you've added with the second person pronouns under the more abstract statements.
Good stuff.
I see one difficulty: "God...sent (as Father) Himself (as Son)" sounds an awful lot like the ancient heresy of Modalism. Where in the Bible are the relationships between Father, Son, and Spirit ever couched in "oneself" terminology?
Jeff,
You have heard, I suppose, of "one God"?
Modalism has the "trinity" appear consecutively and not simultaneously. As a monotheist (or monolatrist) I do not use the Trinity as a hiding place for polytheism. God, the One God, has as many personal references and pronouns as does any aspect of the Godhead in the Trinity (by which we discover the Trinity in Scripture). He is someone, and as that someone, functions both within Himself and to us with elements of Himself which are, by each of these three being greater than we, persons. He is not a committee. He is not a kind. He is not a substance. He is Yahweh, the Lord God.
Very nicely done (and said). I for one would love the PDF copy. Since publishing email is so risky (or is that risque?) visit my site and leave a comment or go to my contact page so we can exchange info (or post a link)
Thanks.
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