numenian

Spoiler Alert: those condemning groups of people, like Muslims and Homosexuals, and judging nations as being under the wrath of a righteous God, such as New Orleans and Haiti, need to read the Bible a little more in-depth.

If we want to find the truly defining feature between worldliness and godliness, justice as described in scripture makes it plain. The world wants and insists on retribution for wrong done; God wants and insists on restoration for wrong done, reprieved from punishment. These two views are diametrically opposed and never the twain shall meet. For God, mercy always takes precedent; for the world, it is punishment.

God's take on justice is abhorrent to the world: mercy, not sacrifice. Ridiculously idealistic.

moldyoldy

I like the message,. Most of the people on OPP have too much hatred in their hearts to accept that.

numenian

Thank you. You are a very welcomed surprise.

numenian

Mercy is a reprieve from deserved punishment for some harm done. Think about it. Why would anyone want to extend mercy, especially a God of justice, for wrongs thAT AFFECTED themselves or others, possibly even loved ones/ Mistakes and crimes should have consequences that fit the offense; how else can someone learn "the error of their ways." What is the upside for an injured party or the law to show mercy?

There are those occasions of mitigating or extenuating circumstances that may not excuse what hurt had been done but merely take the harsh edge off punishment. The cases are usually made clear to consider mercy. But in God's mercy, God's justice, even the most horrendous and premeditated crimes mercy is available: the world finds such mercy abhorrent.

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

Just a quick question.... how did you arrive at this? Was it from Saul? Do provide your references. Many thanks

numenian

By inference mostly, like the parable of the Prodigal Son, the adulteress, the Samaritan women at the well, the Good Samaritan, and the life and death of Jesus. Sorry, cannot offer any of Paul.

Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...

God is merciful. He is also righteous, and He is just.

The idea of capital punishment was first instigated by God in the Old Testament in the Bible.

Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. Genesis 9:6

God ordained government and capital punishment through the Mosaic covenant. It still stands. God tells us to obey the law of the land. Jesus reaffirmed it.

Romans 13:1-4:

1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;

4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

In the Ten Commandments God is saying, “Thou shalt not murder.” A legal execution by the government is not murder.

God forgives sin if it is confessed to Him, but it is the duty of legitimate governments to maintain peace, protect the citizens and administer justice through policemen, laws and courts.

That is ordained by God.

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

I ask only to get an understanding of your position. Thank you for the response.

jack sequim wa Loc: Blanchard, Idaho

Old testament, many times God judged and punished Israel and it's people's. Sodom and Gomorrah, then revelations God judges the world. Many theologians believe because God has been rejected and removed from our government, military, schools, universities, public places, halls of justice, Americans cheering the passage of anti-God bills and more, that God has removed his hand of protection from America and we are in the beginning of judgment. I agree with the theologians.

Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...

I agree that we are well under way to deserved judgment.

Our elected government is now messing in Israel's next election. that will be added to the Bill of Indictment.

jack sequim wa Loc: Blanchard, Idaho

I will bless those that bless you, and curse those that curse you. The church has gone to sleep, and allowed the enemy a foothold. Obama, liberals against God's chosen, and the land of Israel.

sweetlips

where do you get that the jews are god's chosen people? Has everone been led to believe this?

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

You are joking right? You are aware that Jesus was a Jew who came for the Jews.... For all the Christians....do not get offended. If Jesus is the Messiah that the Jews had been anticipating for centuries (see Luke 2:25; 3:15). As such, He was born into a Jewish family and was reared according to Jewish law in a Jewish town (see Luke 2:27; Galatians 4:4). Jesus selected Jewish disciples, spoke in Jewish synagogues and the Jewish temple, and traveled mostly in Jewish areas. His mission, in fulfillment of the Jewish prophets, was to the Jewish people. However, none of this means that Jesus’ ministry was limited exclusively to the Jews.

Now for your statement.

Exodus 19:5
'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;

Deuteronomy 7:6-8
"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 14:2
"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 26:17-19
"You have today declared the LORD to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. "The LORD has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the LORD your God, as He has spoken."

2 Samuel 7:23-24
"And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods? "For You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God.

1 Kings 8:53

"For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord GOD."

1 Kings 10:9
"Blessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness."

1 Chronicles 17:20-21
"O LORD, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. "And what one nation in the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make You a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt?

Psalms 105:8-15
He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, read more.

Psalms 135:4
For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.

Isaiah 41:8
"But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend,

Isaiah 43:1-3
But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. "For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.

Isaiah 44:21
"Remember these things, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.

Jeremiah 31:1-4
"At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people." Thus says the LORD, "The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness-- Israel, when it went to find its rest." The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. read more.

Jeremiah 31:9-11
"With weeping they will come, And by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn." Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare in the coastlands afar off, And say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock." For the LORD has ransomed Jacob And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.

Jeremiah 46:27-28
"But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear, Nor be dismayed, O Israel! For, see, I am going to save you from afar, And your descendants from the land of their captivity; And Jacob will return and be undisturbed And secure, with no one making him tremble. "O Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares the LORD, "For I am with you For I will make a full end of all the nations Where I have driven you, Yet I will not make a full end of you; But I will correct you properly And by no means leave you unpunished."

Ezekiel 36:24-28
"For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. read more.

Ezekiel 37:21-25
"Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. "They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God. read more.

Joel 3:1-2
"For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land.

Amos 3:1-2
Hear this word which the LORD has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt: "You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."

Romans 11:1-2
I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

Hebrews 8:8-13
For finding fault with them, He says, "BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD. "FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

In my faith, which is Jewish, there is a story. God first went to other nations and offered them the covenant...they were larger in number, fairer of skin, and more eloquent of speech. After going from one to another, he came back to the Jews....who accepted only after God threatened to put them under a mountain.

Most Jews hold that being the "Chosen People" means that they have been place on earth to fulfill a certain purpose. Traditional proof for Jewish "chosenness" is found in the Torah, the Jewish bible, in the Book of Deuteronomy (chapter 14) where it says: "For you are a holy people to Hashem your God, and God has chosen you to be his treasured people from all the nations that are on the face of the earth." In the Book of Genesis (chapter 17) it also written: "And I [God] will establish My covenant between Me and you [the Jewish people] and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you."

So, you see...we do not see ourselves as special, only a people who accepted that there is only one God, one Creator even with the knowledge that living as He tells us will never be easy or accepted by others.

jack sequim wa Loc: Blanchard, Idaho

Deuteronomy a book found in the holy bible, also the Torah (the first 5 book of the bible) God made a covenant with the Israelites. Also found in the book of numbers. Israel is "the Apple of God's eye" . Of all the world at Christ return, he will rule from Jerusalem.

tmcsea1

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