Thoughts On God's Forgiveness #2
Kashan says "it is not true" that Jesus took our sins because we must bear our own burdens.
In the Christian faith this is not true. And it is not because of Paul. Jesus himself says, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Here Jesus clearly tells us that when we are yoked with him he will bear the burden that we are not able to carry ourselves. This burden is, of course, sin.
The prophet Isaiah prophesied that a day would come when there would be one of whom it would be said,
God teaches us clearly that we are not able to carry the burden of sins by ourselves. For our sins to be forgiven God requires "atonement" or the payment of a price by means of suffering or sacrifice. No mere animal is sufficient for this, of course, and no mere human can endure the suffering or, in righteousness, pay the price for the atonement of the sins of the world. God alone, who is Life and Light is able to bear that suffering and provide the righteousness needed to satisfy the forgiveness of sin.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ was without sin (something that God and his prophets have taught us is not possible for any mere human to accomplish) and took our sins upon himself on the cross so that we might be relieved of the unbearable burden of them.
Jesus himself "forgave sin" during his ministry....something that no "prophet" has ever done before or since. Only God can forgive sins that offend God.
Christians believe that in Jesus Christ, God revealed his very self to us. Jesus was, as the Injil itself tells us (again quoting from Isaiah), that Jesus was Immanuel...a title that means, "God with us."
When asked if he was the "Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Most High God," Jesus replied, "I AM." A response that not only affirms the answer to the question but also claims for himself the Divine name of God revealed to Moses.
I suppose the the prophets, the Injil and Jesus, himself, were completely wrong on this point...which would mean that they were not prophets at all. The alternative is that Jesus was who he was prophesied to be and that he was who he claimed to be.
If Jesus does not fulfill God's requirement for the atonement of our sins by a sinless "other" then who does? If there is no one to fulfill this requirement then we are still in our sins and as righteous as a bunch of "filthy rags" (Isaiah again).
That does not bode well for a final judgement.
This post is too long already. I'll add something on the Trinity shortly and separately.
Aloha
In the Christian faith this is not true. And it is not because of Paul. Jesus himself says, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Here Jesus clearly tells us that when we are yoked with him he will bear the burden that we are not able to carry ourselves. This burden is, of course, sin.
The prophet Isaiah prophesied that a day would come when there would be one of whom it would be said,
The holiest day in Judaism is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On this day, God commanded that the blood of a sacrificed goat be sprinkled on the people as a sign of the forgiveness of their sin (the goat symbolicaly suffered on the people's behalf for their sins.) On a second goat, by the laying on of hands, the sins of the people were symbolically laid upon the animal, which was then set loose to carry the sins away into the wilderness."Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53
God teaches us clearly that we are not able to carry the burden of sins by ourselves. For our sins to be forgiven God requires "atonement" or the payment of a price by means of suffering or sacrifice. No mere animal is sufficient for this, of course, and no mere human can endure the suffering or, in righteousness, pay the price for the atonement of the sins of the world. God alone, who is Life and Light is able to bear that suffering and provide the righteousness needed to satisfy the forgiveness of sin.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ was without sin (something that God and his prophets have taught us is not possible for any mere human to accomplish) and took our sins upon himself on the cross so that we might be relieved of the unbearable burden of them.
Jesus himself "forgave sin" during his ministry....something that no "prophet" has ever done before or since. Only God can forgive sins that offend God.
Christians believe that in Jesus Christ, God revealed his very self to us. Jesus was, as the Injil itself tells us (again quoting from Isaiah), that Jesus was Immanuel...a title that means, "God with us."
When asked if he was the "Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Most High God," Jesus replied, "I AM." A response that not only affirms the answer to the question but also claims for himself the Divine name of God revealed to Moses.
I suppose the the prophets, the Injil and Jesus, himself, were completely wrong on this point...which would mean that they were not prophets at all. The alternative is that Jesus was who he was prophesied to be and that he was who he claimed to be.
If Jesus does not fulfill God's requirement for the atonement of our sins by a sinless "other" then who does? If there is no one to fulfill this requirement then we are still in our sins and as righteous as a bunch of "filthy rags" (Isaiah again).
That does not bode well for a final judgement.
This post is too long already. I'll add something on the Trinity shortly and separately.
Aloha
posted by Bird of Paradise at 9:22 PM
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