Art as expression – NOT as market campaigns, will still capture our Imaginations
So deeply ingrained in the fabric of Western civilization is the basic Christian concept of peace being better than war, that there are many who are seemingly unaware of its origin and of the Christian roots that sustain it.
This Great Commission, as the saints of all ages have consented to call it, constitutes the marching orders of his church for a day and to all eternity. It is a whole galaxy studded with many of the biggest stars in the firmament of Christian doctrine.
The first five of those appearances occurred on the day of his resurrection, and the other five later, during the interval before his ascension.
Jesus has already won the war, it’s over, and every man and woman should repent, and be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Christ will return!
The Judgment Day will arrive!
Get right with God.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Mark 16:16 RSV
The hymns of Wesley, dramas of Shakespeare, novels of Scott, eloquence of Churchill, stories of O. Henry, philippics of Demosthenes and the scope of the ILIAD and the ODYSSEY are all surpassed and exceeded by the parables of Jesus. “The Sextette” from “Lucia di Lammermoor,” the “Hallelujah Chorus,” the “Chant of the Pagan Priestess” from “Aida,” the marches of Sousa, and all the harmonies of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and Handel NONE of these nor all of them are as beautiful as the parables of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is the blessed Spirit, a member of the GODHEAD, who takes up residence in Christian hearts in consequence of their being sons of God (Galatians 4:6), and in fulfillment of the apostolic promise of such an indwelling to all believers who will repent and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38f), and is thus identifiable as the “Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13).
The analogy becomes a contrast in the matter of how many may win. In the earthly contest, only one receives the prize; but in the heavenly contest, every man may do so, since his victory does not depend upon any relationship between his achievement and the achievement of his fellow contestant.
