Guest Post

Once dead. Now alive. Christ reshaping people.

What's the gospel in seven words? We asked theologians, pastors and others both to answer this question and to
expand on this in a few sentences. To see all the responses together as they're posted, bookmark this page. Add your own version here. --Ed.

Once dead. Now alive. Christ reshaping people.

A common tendency among
believers is to think of Jesus Christ in the past tense. He's the guy we study
in the Bible that some taxidermist must have mounted on a wall, much like that
elk head above the cabin fireplace. He is present, and his eyes follow us
around the room, but he is not really alive and active in our lives or in the
world. Nothing could be further from the gospel.

Peter W. Marty

Peter W. Marty is editor/publisher of the Century and senior pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. Email Peter

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