Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Some Thoughts on Jesus' Life

Well, I'm overnight at the church with folks who need to not freeze to death, so I don't have Bonaventure to consult. But since I only have one section to go, Bonaventure's conclusion, I thought I would offer some concluding thoughts on Jesus' life.

It says in Paul that those who have faith are saved. But it is interesting that in the Greek he does not say that those who have faith "in" Christ will be saved, but rather those who have the faith "of" Christ. I know most translations say "in", but the Greek doesn't support that, as Richard Hays radically proclaimed in his monograph on Galatians.

What does that mean? What I get from that is that it is those who follow the model of Jesus' faith are those who are saved, not necessarily those who sign a statement of doctrine. Jesus' life is one to have as a model of Christian life. Not just sometimes, but exclusively.

This does not mean, however, that we should follow Jesus' every action literally. We don't need to speak Aramaic, wander through Galilee or preach to crowds. In the New Testament, they saw Jesus' life as having principles of the life of the one who will enter into God's kingdom.

For instance, we should live sacrificially for others, giving up our well-being, even perhaps our very lives for the sake of others.

We should live a life of meeting other's needs.

We should be drawing people to God in word and deed.

We should be kind to others, even if that means saying some harsh things.

We should be ready to change our lives for God's sake.

We should be pure, innocent, but ready to be crafty for God's will to be done.

Of course, it is difficult, actually impossible, to live this way. This is why we need, as humans, Jesus' teaching as well as his life. Jesus taught us to repent, to confess and to turn away from sin. This is a process, not a one time event.

We are to follow Jesus. This means living like Him, living in his footsteps. But if we make a misstep, then we turn back. The Christian life is direction, not perfection.

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