Monday, June 23, 2008

Jesus Is Not God Incarnate

John Killinger said the following words at a CBF workshop in Memphis, Tennessee:

“Now we are reevaluating and we’re approaching everything with a humbler perspective and seeing God’s hand working in Christ, but not necessarily as the incarnate God in our midst. Now, that may be hard for you to hear depending on where you are coming from, but we can talk more about it. . .
“Doctrine isn’t the driving force to many people today [except] to the fundamentalists who insist on it. . . But doctrine is a thing of the past now religiously. . .
“There’s an altered view of Scripture and of the role of Christ. Christ is still Savior to most of us, but maybe in a slightly different way than before. . .

When an audience member asked if this view compromised the Gospel, Killinger replied that it represents a more advanced understanding rather than a compromise.


Denny Burk has taken up this issue on his site.

You can read about it here.

Some questions:
-Is doctrine important?
-Is it necessary to believe that Jesus is God incarnate?
-Do you agree with John Killinger?
-Why do things such as this matter? Are they worth fighting for (or against)?
-If you could ask Dr. Killinger a question, what would it be?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hehe j razz. This is then a different story that what I spoke of earlier. This is not a matter of becoming saved, but of the redeemed life. This is absolutely wrong. There is nothing clearer in Scripture than that Jesus = God. That is the basis of salvation. Without there is no salvation.

As far as is it necessary, I leave that to God. I know of one person specifically who truly believes in Jesus as his Lord and Savior - but does not believe that means he is God. Is it a belief that he'll accept between now and death? Will God accept him anyway? Only God knows.

But this view that Dr Killinger proposes is just flat out wrong.

Craig said...

I am actually reading 'Hard to Believe' by John MacArthur and this book is about the importance of doctrine and how many churches are shying away from it. He referenced a book that I am unfamiliar with by Robert Schuller called 'Self-Esteem: The New Reformation' in which Schuller is promoting a man-centered faith instead of God-focused.

I will answer your question with another question. Can someone be saved if they don't know who Jesus is? Answer: God

This is an issue to fight for because people are being misled.

misawa said...

I believe, had I been in that congregation, I would have stood up, muttered a compound word, and left.

Bullbutter.

Adam Pastor said...

Greetings

On the subject of whether
Jesus is indeed God Incarnate;
I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus

Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you in your quest for truth.

Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor

j razz said...

In regards to the movie you link to, it is a strong proponent of the same unorthodox (unbiblical)heresy that Dr. Killinger is proclaiming. You see, in light of the fact that Jesus was fully human, he was also fully God. There are plenty of scriptures which support this as well. I could also do the same and pull out just the scriptures that point to His diety and neglect the ones that confirm His humanity and I would also be heralding heresy if that is all I chose to believe or teach on the matter.

We all must be careful to properly discern the scriptures and to not fall off one side of the fence when there is more than adequate evidence for what is on the opposite side.

Adam, I hope you come back around and we can discuss this more if you would like.

j razz