How would you condense the message of the Bible into a single sentence? Would you focus on moral imperatives gleaned from the Ten Commandments, the healing or redemptive properties of Jesus, the apocalyptic excess of Revelations? Or would you simply try to cram the entire Old Testament arc into the first half of the sentence and then follow suit with the New Testament? Even if you don't currently devote the majority of your time to Biblical studies it's an intriguing quandary.

This, however, is precisely the quandary blogger Dane Ortland, a Senior Editor in the Bible division at Crossway BooksRecently, recently presented to 25 biblical scholars and pastors. Here are a few of the responses that he received (full list here):

• David Helm - "Jesus is the promised Savior-King."

• Ray Ortlund - "The Lover of our souls won't let the romance die, but is rekindling it forever."

• John Frame - "God glorifies himself in the redemption of sinners."

• Mark Seifrid - "Verbum caro factum est" [Translated: "the word was made flesh"]

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at ehayden at nationaljournal dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Erik Hayden