Chapter 5
1. Reconciliation: Are we reconciled to God, or is God reconciled to us, or both? Explain.
(p111-112)
2. How did Jews and Gentiles differ in their view of salvation? How should a Christian
view salvation? (p103-104)
3. What is “kerugma” and what is it made up of according to Scott? Would you agree or
disagree with his position – justify your answer. (p106)
1.) I believe it is totally ludicrous to suggest that God must be reconciled to us despite the argument that Leon Morris gives; we cannot exist without God - we are dependent upon him, therefore going about our lives "letting bygones be bygones" becomes extremely difficult when we realize our very life, the earth we live on, the air we breath, are not ours. They are a gift from the one that we sin against. Therefrom we are reconciled to God into a harmonious relationship.
ReplyDelete2.) The Gentiles sought salvation from the fear of death, purposelessness, the nameless insecurities of life, and the unseen powers.
The Jews were concerned for salvation from the penalty of breaking God's Law.
The Christian should view salvation as a deliverance from sin, its guilt and punishment, and from the separation from God and us as a person.
3.) "Kerugma" according to Scott was the basic core of information the early Christian preachers gave in answering the question, "What must I do to be saved?".
I disagree with the outline on pg. 106 not with what it says, but with what it does not say about Christ being fully God and fully Man, however this wasprobably not known at the time
1.) We are reconciled to God. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."If we fall short of God's glory, it means He is holy and set apart and must reconcile us unto Him. He does not need to be reconciled unto us, and to suggest that He needs to be seems to suggest that He can be brought done to our level.
ReplyDelete2.) The Gentiles sought salvation from the fear of death, purposelessness, life's insecurities and powers which were unseen. The Jews sought salvation from the penalty of God's law. Paul helps us to see through his inquisition of the Philippian jailer that we as Christians should view salvation as being delievered from sin, its guilt and punishment, and from the separation and enmity it brings between God and a person.
3.) "Kerugma" was the content of the evangelistic preaching of the early Christians which they used to try to win converts to Christ.
The only part that I would disagree with as a part of Scott's "kerugma" is that it mentions nothing about the Great Commission. It talks about Christ, and Him giving us the Holy Spirit as a seal for our salvation, but nothing about the importance of sharing the Gospel as is urgently communicated in Matthew 28:19-20.
1.) Jonathan, I totally agree with your comments on this question. Morris' idea that God needs to be reconciled to us is totally out of whack. The One who is our life source and the giver of everything that we need does not need to do anything to be reconciled to us. We are the ones that should be reconciled to Him because we often go astray.
ReplyDelete3.) Jonathan, thank you for noticing this about the chart. This is definitely an important aspect of Christ that it did not emphasize. I do think, though, that they knew that Christ was fully God and fully man. Those who were aware of His resurrection knew that He was not only a man that lived on the Earth, but a God who had the power to raise Himself from earthly things such as death that do not trap the eternal.