Rubel Shelly > Quotes

“Heard as a moralist’s diatribe, the Sermon on the Mount is an impossible-to-bear judgment. Read as a series of mandates for Jesus’ disciples, it is an impossible-to-attain standard. Heard as heaven’s dream for the creatures made in God’s own image, however, the sermon becomes an impossible-to-wait-for world of Eden restored. Read as the Heavenly Father’s reality in which we participate as his children by being transformed into the likeness of the one Perfect Son, it is our new-creation identity dawning on us and forming in our daily life habits. This is a righteousness that both fulfills the Law and the Prophets and exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.”
― Rubel Shelly, Divorce & Remarriage: A Redemptive Theology

“Holy Scripture is progressive revelation—from partial to full, but never from error to truth.”
― Rubel Shelly, Divorce & Remarriage: A Redemptive Theology

“It is this fulfillment motif that is so critical to interpreting not only the Sermon on the Mount but the larger role of Jesus in the drama of Holy Scripture.”
― Rubel Shelly, Divorce & Remarriage: A Redemptive Theology

“It therefore provides a hermeneutical reference point for interpreting all his sayings, including the other Gospel statements from him about divorce and remarriage.”
― Rubel Shelly, Divorce & Remarriage: A Redemptive Theology

“In the implicit hierarchy of values reflected in the Bible, principles are higher than laws and give justification for them.”
― Rubel Shelly, Divorce & Remarriage: A Redemptive Theology

“Behind each of those laws is the eternal purpose of God to act redemptively on behalf of his sinful human creatures. And we must be careful in every generation to guard against interpreting those laws in ways that cancel the intention behind them.”
― Rubel Shelly, Divorce & Remarriage: A Redemptive Theology

“a community of the forgiven is about love, accountability, and nurture of one’s new life in Christ.”
― Rubel Shelly, Divorce & Remarriage: A Redemptive Theology