Lance wrote: > In your own words WHAT DOES TFT MEAN when > speaking of THE VICARIOUS LIFE AND DEATH > OF THE MEDIATOR?
Torrance points out the importance of not looking at the work of Christ as merely external representation. Jesus Christ was not just the leader of humanity to represent us before God. Rather, we must merge with the idea of representation the idea of substitution, thereby understanding the Incarnation as Jesus being fully human, and thereby able to act in our stead, as a human being, doing that which none of us were able to do. When we comprehend his humanity in this way, we better understand his vicarious life and death as mediator, because he truly was acting out of the ontological depths of his being. So in the Incarnation, God comes to us as man, and thereby reconciles us to God through that humanity. I have no problem with this perspective, as it parallels my own perspective for the last 20 years. However, Torrance does tend to go further and were it not for Bill's comments here in this forum, I'm not sure I would have grasped how far he was going with this. One thing Torrance says concerning this vicarious work of Christ is in how he views Christ's baptism, as a baptism of vicarious repentance for us. My initial reaction to this is to ask, "so then if Christ was baptized unto repentance vicariously for us, does that mean that none of us need to be baptized unto repentance?" Also, "if Christ repented for us, and if he believed for us, then does that mean we do not need to repent and do not need to believe"? I know that you guys believe in both repentance and faith, so I must reconcile this by speculating that what you are really saying is that when we do repent and when we do have faith, it comes not from our own selves, but it is a manifestation of the operation of Christ within us. That sounds just fine... I have always looked at all goodness within me as coming from Christ and that without God, there can be no good. However, you seem to suggest that all of this is natural and applies to all men upon their being born into this world, whereas I see that our faith in the gospel as being makes this work of Christ a reality in our lives. I see one of the difficulties that Jesus faced with men was their lack of faith. He was always rebuking their unbelief and hardness of heart. Maybe I just need to chew on this some more and it will sink in. :-) Peace be with you. David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
