Christ and His Cross T he gospel is good news of freedom. Yet on its own is a one-sided emphasis. For what the gospel announces, according to the New Testament, is not jut what Christ offers people today, but what he once did to make this offer possible. The apostolic gospel brings together the past and the present, the once and the now, historical event and contemporary experience. It declares not only that Jesus saves, but that he died for our sins, and was raised from death, in order to be able to do so. The gospel is not preached if the saving power is proclaimed and the saving events omitted, especially the cross. Paul’s greatest statements reflect about the origin, content and power of the gospel, and in particular about the centrality of Christ’s cross. “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). From this essentially Trinitarian text three major lessons about evangelism stand out. They concern the Word of God, the cross of Christ and the power of the Spirit.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 01:11:18 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015