Saved by His Life by Marco Galli - HTML preview

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SECTION II

THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

 

 

 

In the first section we reviewed the most important theories of salvation, to get a picture, as complete as possible, of the path that has determined the doctrine we have today. In this second section we will acquire some theological foundations, that will serve as “bricks” on which to build a comprehensive and convincing atonement theory. We will address topics such as the incarnation, forgiveness and grace, the new covenant, sin, the law, sacrifice, faith, discipleship and the meaning of eternal life. In particular, we will refer to the words spoken by Jesus, that have a weight that is too often overlooked. Indeed, in recent centuries, much theological construction has been done on Paul's letters, frequently neglecting or considering less relevant the words of Jesus himself. I believe that the process needs to be reversed, that is, we need to put the Jesus’ teachings at the centre of our reflections, and then support and deepen them with the apostolic letters, and not vice versa. If a doctrine does not pass the scrutiny of Jesus' words, it cannot be valid, even if it is apparently supported by another biblical text. Reassessing the words of Jesus is the real theological revolution. In doing so, we have realised that his way of expressing himself was profoundly Jewish, and by delving into the meaning and origin of his words, new and incredible concepts come to life, shedding renewed light on the incredible richness of his message. Jesus was a Jew, raised and educated in a Jewish context, and he based his theology on the texts that we today call the Old Testament, which in his time constituted the entire Bible. If we want to know what filled the thoughts and teachings of Jesus, we have to refer to the Old Testament. There is not an Old Testament God and a New Testament God, or a Yahweh God and a Yeshua God, but it is the one and indivisible God who spoke first through the prophets and then in Jesus. The rediscovery of the Hebrew Jesus will help us to free ourselves from some misinterpretations and give us back a renewed theory of salvation, unexpectedly because it goes back to what it originally was.