Emil Brunner on Faith and Obedience.

In the 1960's candidates for Baptist ministry in Scotland were quizzed on this book, at the time still deemed one of the seminal books of 20th Century theology. Brunner is a superb writer of theology.

 

The conclusion of this book consists of six statements on Christ the Mediator which distil the long argument and explain the practical difference it makes to live a life of obedient trust in Jesus Christ crucified and risen.

 

It was first published in 1934, in a Europe overshadowed by menacing realignments of power. I've re-read the conclusion and confirmed again why Brunner's is a mind I have kept coming back to ever since I read his The Divine Imperative, oh, a long time ago!

 

Here's the last two sentences of this theologian who wrote out of passion for Christ and his Church:

 

The Christ whom we know and recognize in faith is no other than the Lord who seeks for obedient followers. The Christian Faith is not rightly understood if it is not understood as a summons to the Imitation of Christ. For faith is the entrance into the movement of God in Christ, and it must also prove its reality by making sure that this movement actually takes place." (The Mediator, page 619)