The Soul is the Sole Reason for the Incarnation

Easter Sunday was last week and what a wonderful day of joy it is for all us Christians! It’s hard for me as a Christian to understand how the resurrection of Jesus could be seen as anything other than the greatest event in history. I mean, I might be a simple guy, but it seems to me that when eternal life is available to me through Christ’s death and resurrection I should sit up, take notice, and celebrate. After all, that’s no small thing. However, to rejoice in the resurrection is to also accept the reason why it needed to occur at all. Of course, I’m talking about the Fall of Adam and the sin which is part of our lives as human beings.

The soul is the sole reason for the Incarnation. The salvation of mankind from sin and death is the reason Christ’s incarnation was necessary. After all, if there’s no sin, then there’s no reason for the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus. If the entire world is sweetness and light, if we’re all basically good people at heart, if all we need to do is be good to others, then we really don’t need Jesus. We can do this all on our own. It seems the current Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church seems to hold this belief. Just look at her statement in Parabola, Spring 2007 as quoted in the report of the American Anglican Council: “The question is always how can we get beyond our own narrow self-interest and see that our salvation lies in attending to the needs of other people.” O.K., so all I need to do is work in a soup kitchen and I’m good to go! Right? Oh, gosh, that’s just wrong on so many levels.

First it denies Original Sin and the basic fallen nature of mankind. It denies the need for a savior at all. In fact, it says we are our own saviors. We don’t need Jesus. This is not a new idea. Back in the fourth century a monk named Pelagius thought the same thing. Basically, he said that the Fall had no effect on human nature and therefore there was no need for divine grace. Well, I don’t think he was a very observant person because the fallen nature of man and the impact of sin have always been readily observable to anyone with eyes to see. (Must have been that cloistered monk thing.) The rose colored glasses this provides keeps us from looking at ourselves and others realistically. It can cause us to deny our sins and rationalize our behaviors. If mean, if the Fall had no effect on us, then we’re pretty much perfect as human beings right now….right? I guess we mess up now and then, but we can fix it by donating old clothes to the poor. According to Bishop Schori, we’re attending to the needs of others and therein lies our salvation.

This is such self-involved nonsense that it goes beyond the pale. It not only reduces Jesus’ death to an inconsequential act, it denies God’s judgment. It’s part of the slippery slope to the “feel good” gospel. You know what I’m talking about. I’m O.K., you’re O.K., God loves us anyway, so let’s just focus on the good stuff. We don’t need to think about all of that unpleasant bad stuff that can happen because we’re basically good anyway. Why focus on negative things when we can just look at the positive side? What can’t we all just feel good? There are lots of "feel good" preachers out there today and they're making a lot of money telling people what they want to hear. Giving motivational speeches instead of the truth of the cross.

The theologian H. Richard Niebuhr criticized the “feel good” gospel when he said, “…a God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” In one sentence, Dr. Neibuhr has told us what’s wrong with the “feel good” gospel. It denies God as a Father who cares about us and can be angry with us when we separate ourselves from Him through sin. The “feel good” gospel takes away from us a Trinity that saves us and replaces it with pabulum that salves our conscience and minimizes our faults.

You know what? I don’t want anyone minimizing my sins. I’m a normal human being which means I sin like everyone else. I don’t want to hear that I’m my own savior. I don’t want to hear I can fix it myself. Just like everyone else, I’m lousy at the job. I want to know that my God loves me in spite of my errors. That Christ loved me enough to die for me. I want to know that Christ’s sacrifice means something. I want to know that no matter how I distance myself from God, I’m always welcome home. I need a savior. You need a savior.

Don’t buy the pabulum of the “feel good” gospel. So many churches are trying to sell it these days because it fills the pews. It might fill the pews, but it does nothing to save our souls. It’s a lie that denies who Jesus really is and why He became man. It tricks us into looking at ourselves for salvation rather than looking to Christ. Don’t be fooled. Wake up! We need a savior and we’ve got one!