Browsing pictures of St. Patrick's Cathedral the other day, I found this aerial view. Notice that the cathedral has been designed in the shape of the cross, with the sign of the cross mediating between heaven and earth.If we are to be spared the punishment of God, the cross of Jesus Christ must stand between us and him. That's at the heart of the gospel. The cross is our shield, in the sense that our faith in Jesus' death for our sins protects us from the eternal consequences of unbelief and disobedience.
The cross is more than protection, however. Faith in Jesus Christ brings not only forgiveness but a restored relationship with God, access to God. We can bring our cares, worries, doubts, and fears to him knowing that he cares for us as our children. The cross is not only a shield, but a bridge.
I love you, O Lord, my strength!
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
- Psalm 18:1-3
5 comments:
Ken,
This is a nitpicky comment and is, I know, in accord with what you believe, but it is not "our faith in Jesus' death" that protects us, but Jesus' death itself. I point this out because many people mistakenly believe that faith itself is the grounds of our salvation rather than being God's means of giving us the salvation won by Jesus. Faith itself is a good work (a fruit of the Spirit) but can never earn heaven or cover sin - this is solely done by Jesus' perfect obedience and death for us.
Yes, I agree with that completely.
For discussion's sake... Do you think it is okay for language to be used in a somewhat flexible way? If so, when? If not, what about those times when Jesus spoke without a clarifying remark, such as, "If you do not forgive others, your heavenly Father will not forgive you." (He could have better explained the connection between regeneration, faith, and forgiveness, but didn't.)
Thoughts?
It depends on what you mean by flexible. As a quick response, seems that flexible could mean:
(i) less than precise or unclear (Jesus teaching in parables to confound those not given to him - ok)
(ii) having multiple interpretations (metaphorical or prophetic language - ok)
(iii) illogical/contradictory/self-refuting (not ok but common in us all)
(iv) intentionally misleading (not-ok)
With respect to Christ's teaching and Scripture in general, I am sure that neither you nor I would dare to suggest improvements! For us though, I think that we need to be particulary careful in written communication because the message can be disected and logical conclusions reached.
Clear communication does not mean that we need to teach every Biblical teaching with equal emphasis in every setting either. I think of people who lead the gospel message to unbelievers with predestination (the decretive will of God) rather than salvation through faith (the precriptive will). On the other hand, I am not comfortable with those who state that God loves every sinner as a sinner, which can only be stated by watering down "love" to mean common grace (being misleading to make the gospel "more palatable"). Sorry for the rambling response.
I am thinking of a combination of "less than precise" and "not always making a qualification."
There are occasions, it seems, when we can overqualify our statements -- making them perhaps more accurate logically, but less accurate emotionally. Again, Jesus said, "If you don't forgive others their trespasses, my heavenly Father will not forgive you!" (Matt 18). It's possible to so qualify this statement to our hearers that it loses its intended punch.
I think it's essential to be theologically accurate, btw. But I find this issue interesting.
Ken
I agree that we dont always need to fully explain everything, but our statements should not be untruthful or misleading. I dont agree that Christ's statement is less than precise (if that is what you were implying) - it is pure truth. Just because it does not involve a treatise explaining the truth (or grace), doesnt make it any less the truth. Anyway, the teaching here seems to be pure law to me. I know that I cannot be perfect in forgiveness and so do deserve forgiveness. Christ was perfect in forgiveness for me! Anyway, good topic to discuss.
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