iam1me
Active Member
I find it very difficult..
After Adam and Eve sinned, they were separated from the love of God.
They weren't separated from the love of God, but from his direct presence. Indeed, as the OT progresses, as sin increases, God further distances himself from the people. Thus the need for mediators. The Old Covenant was mediated by angels, the New Covenant by Christ.
Isaiah 1:10-15
Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
As you read through the Old Testament you realize that to be close to God, there had to be a shedding of blood in sacrifice.
In scripture, blood = life. The punishment for all sin is - ultimately - death. God instituted sacrifices as a means through which the people might repent and be forgiven by means of a pure substitute, a sacrifice without blemish. This is an act of mercy demonstrating God's desire that we be reconciled to him rather than face justice.
Leviticus 17:14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.”
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The sacrifice was usually a lamb that was cut open and then burned on an altar. In the New Testament, Jesus came to earth to be the PERMANENT sacrifice for all sin. That means, you, me, and every person in the entire world from past to present...even those who don't believe in Him, still get a chance to do so while they are alive.
Remember sin, separates us from God. In Romans 3: 10 - 11 we find that "there is none righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands".
It means that there is not one person with the power to send themselves to heaven or no matter what you do in and of yourself, you are not worthy to come before God the Father. Only through the blood sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ, can hope to be with God.
Here's what really gets me.. If Jesus already paid the price, what is the point of further judgment?
On the other hand, Muslims believe that every person is accountable to God for his own sins. Muhammed's early sermons were basically, "Save yourselves. I cannot save you. Return to the God of Abraham."
I hope I don't sound like I'm preaching because that is NOT my intention.
Good questions. This gets into theology that can be more divisive among different sects of Christianity, but I'll share my views on the matter. To help understand this better, we need to look closer at what the intent of Christ's sacrifice actually was, what did it accomplish? The answer to this is that Christ's sacrifice established the New Covenant - which is an agreement, a contract between us and God.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband tod]">[d] them,e]">[e]”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband tod]">[d] them,e]">[e]”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Luke 22:21 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
So under the New Covenant, the people of God are those who have God's Law written on their hearts and minds (and act accordingly). Jesus, in turn summarizes the Law as love. To love is know and be known by God, for God is love. Those who persist in doing good are rewarded with eternal life, while those who persist in doing evil receive eternal destruction. This applies to all people, whether they came before or after Christ, whether believers or atheists or what have you. For we are not judged by our doctrines, but by our deeds.
Romans 2:6-11 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”a]">[a] 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
As seen in the parable of the Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25, God credits the good you do for others as if you had done them for him. On the other hand, when you abandon people in need or harm them, God treats that also like you have done that to him. Thus even the non-believer can known by God if they do what is right and good, and their reward will not be lost.
Matthew 25:34-40 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Those fall under the New Covenant, those who pursue what is right and good, those who love others - these reap the benefits of the New Covenant. For God looks past their sin and rewards them for their persistence in doing good. The New Covenant is commonly accessible to all. However, those who persist in sin, who live for themselves and abandon those in need, who bring harm unto others - these are not God's people and are not under the New Covenant.
Matthew 25:41-45“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
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