OneMinuteGospel

“Jesus Came and Will Come Again”

by Dr. Ben Witherington III

Jesus Christ, his person and his work, is the heart of the good news.
• There would be no atonement for all sins—past, present, and future—if Christ was not both human and divine.
• There would be no salvation if the only God-man had not come in flesh, died, rose again, appeared to friend and foe, and sent us the Holy Spirit.
• There would be no kingdom come on earth as in heaven, no positive human future, no everlasting life, no new heaven and new earth if he had not come.
And he will come again to complete the plan.

100 words

I'm honored to have Dr. Ben contribute to my blog. He is the Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. I met him once, when I hosted him to preach at my then-church in Lincoln--maybe 15 years ago. We've exchanged emails on rare occasion. He's written socio-rhetorical commentaries on all the books of the New Testament, and I own most of them and consult with them in my study. I also recommend his "Bible and Culture" blog.

Dr. Ben oiriginally sent me 157 words and invited me to edit it. So I did with some trepidation. I replied with a 100-word version, and he graciously accepted it. I was surprised that his approach to an OMG would be stated negatively, on what there would not be if it weren't for Jesus. But I quickly came to appreciate it. This approach says, "There is no other." As Simon Peter preached, "Salvation is found in no one else" (Acts 4:12).

Next post: Friday, September 8, 2023, "Changing the End of the Story" by Susan Murithi

-st