Part 2

Before I move on to blog my way through Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell, I thought I would finish up a few thoughts that I had left over from my previous post. This is pretty direct and will probably be a reoccurring theme as I read more emergent leaders writings. On a side note, I found myself intrigued by some of the arguments made in Jesus for President- particularly not being slaves to a media culture and seeking out the "cultural relevance" of the church for its own sake. This, I believe, puts them at odds with lots of people both traditional evangelicals, emergent church leaders, and even some atheists that demand that we "change or die".

Without further ado. . .
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Those who cannot reconcile the image of the crucified Christ with that of the sword bearer that divides - those unwilling or unable to see and embrace the apparent contradictions must examine the full text to get a full picture of the God we serve. War and peace, wrath and love, the death of Death, and the union between God and Man are all central to the faith Christians hold in common. Those unwilling to do this find themselves alienated, and without correction will not come to fully understand the true depth, breath, length, and width that the Cross of Christ communicates to this defiled world. In the cross, Christ, our fully human, fully God, gave himself as a propitiation for us, making atonement for the sins of those who would come to believe in him. God is not angry with us. His wrath has been satisfied and Christians are saved from that wrath, not into comfort or safety, but into good works by the power of the Holy Spirit. If he had not done this, we would not be able to approach a God who, because of his holiness, would have consumed us as straw thrown into a fire. Not only does he save us from the wrath of God, but Jesus is raised from the dead for our justification: All authority is given to him and he intercedes for the sins of his elect and for the exaltation of the Church universal. This Church would divide the world, and sunder it with the message of Revolution and Redemption - separating the sheep of his flock from the goats, uniting the profane with the holy by justifying his enemies, walking two miles and heaping hot coals on their emeies heads in perfect love, and hardening (not softening) the hearts of the establishment with God's perfect symbol of Grace and Wrath and Redemption - The Cross of Christ; this the basis of faith, the catalyst of hope, and the foundation of all true community.