Argument 3.
It would be a mistake, of course, to discuss morality without discussing Christology. We are baptized “into” Christ. We become a part of his body on earth. We are transformed by the Spirit into his likeness. Therefore, acting/becoming like Jesus is moral. All else is positive.
What did Jesus do on earth? Preached the good news of the kingdom of heaven, did works of compassion, and gave his life to serve those he loves. This is moral. All else is positive.
(Rom 6:1-5) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
We use this as a proof text on baptism, but we overlook the reason Paul actually wrote it. Paul says in baptism we died with Jesus and so are resurrected with Jesus. This assures us that we’ll be resurrected at the end of time. Continue reading
RVL tells the story of being in class in a Jewish university. The rabbi taught the Parable of the Good Samaritan, as taught by Rabbi Yeshua (Hebrew for “Jesus”), and he declared this the greatest parable ever told! The Jewish students who heard the parable, many of whom had just heard it for the first time, were astonished and amazed at the teaching.
We continue to consider RVL’s lessons on how to think as the First Century Jews thought, that is, with an Eastern point of view. (“RVL” is what his students call Ray Vander Laan and how he often refers to himself.)
