Hi rumitoid, - a brief reminder for you.
Also [God] said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:27You appear to minimize, if not outright decry God's chosen method (namely the Bible, i.e., Holy Scripture), of communicating with His creation (namely us). Anyone who neglects God's Words does so at his own peril.
-
And never does God tell us to (paraphrasing your own words), just chuck it all, toss out God's theology, and substitute a big sloppy kiss - whether for a homosexual, a movie star, a poor orphan boy, for yourself, or for anyone else!Without the study of that Scripture there is much we would not know.
God’s promise to Abraham was as follows,
“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).
You do, of course, realize that Jesus, being fully God and fully man, after being born a Jew, through a Jewish mother, obeyed all the laws, fulfilling them perfectly, and as He was without spot or blemish, fully worthy of paying in full man's sin debt with His own human Jewish blood, shed on Calvary's Cross.
The revelation that it is with Jewish blood that all mankind is reconciled to God, after they accept His sacrifice, must be fully understood by those "White Identity Christians," and "White Supremacists Christians" now crawling out of the woodwork, and revelling in their unceasing desecration of the Gospel and defamation of the only ethnicity created through God's original promise to Abraham.
The New Testament (NT) term "hilasterion" translated propitiation, is a continuation of the Old Testament (OT) salvation theology - always understood in the context of blood sacrifice (Romans 3:25).
This atonement, in the OT, represents God's key concept of Salvation, which would culminate in Jesus Christ. This is put beyond cognitive questioning by John the Baptist's words, upon seeing Jesus, as He proclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John1:29)
Never is this theme, which runs consistently through God's revelation to mankind, unveiled in its entirety, other than through His Holy Scriptures of Genesis through Revelation.
Blood Atonement (at-one-ment with God) is God's assurance that He and humanity can rationally be "at one" again. This blood atonement did not originate with the Mosaic Law, but rather when Eve and Adam first rebelled against their Creator in the Garden of Eden.
It was fully recognized by Abel in his sacrifice, and by Cain, who rebelled against it, them slew his brother Abel, in a frenzied fit of jealousy. (Genesis 4:1-26; Hebrews 11:4)
God provided animal skins to
cover Adam and Eve's nakedness, of which they had been made aware through eating the forbidden fruit of the pomegranate, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
This act on God's part necessitated the killing of innocent animals and the shedding of their blood on Adam and Eve's behave (Genesis 3:21). Thus was born the theme running the length of Scripture culminating in Jesus's voluntary death on Calvary's Cross; atonement requiring that an innocent party take the punishment due to a guilty party.
The Hebrew word translated "atonement" is kaphar, meaning "to cover." - For through the act of atonement, sin is covered in such a way that God can no longer see it.
Again, the NT term "hilasterion" translated propitiation, is a continuation of that OT salvation theology.
A Holy and Righteous God can not look upon sin, and those who refuse to kneel in repentance at the foot of Jesus' cross in full acceptance of His sacrifice on their behave will never spend eternity in the close proximity of God, either in Heaven, - or the new Heavens and New Earth in the presence of God.
"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. (Hebrews 12:26-27).
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
- Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:1-27
rumitoid wrote:
And on every Sunday for six decades, and so many of the days in between. You can't recognize it from a gait. Or a face. And it comes in various sizes, even from children. Let's keep it simple: Love! It is a verb, action. It is not anything you can really find in Creeds or Articles of Faith. That is just ink and paper, not flesh and blood. No heart can be found. And the Bible teaches us nothing on the matter. Spirit and grace in fully accepting Christ--this moment!--is the only true tutor and guide. Our beliefs can be barriers, even walls, between us and the innermost Truth of being as Christ was in this world.
Did Jesus need a list of Commandments to follow and be a sacrifice? Of course not. You don't either. Whatever is to be found about Truth is not really in the Bible but in our hearts...once we surrender to the power of Grace that is God's love to share with All. Again, action! Sermons, though mere words, have an important role to play, as does Bible study. Yet not nearly as important as hugging, say, a homosexual. "Love never fails," according to 1 Corinthians. Let God do his job and you do yours--Love! Never rely on your own understanding of right and wrong. Though the results may appear as if you did the proper thing, it always fails love. You are likely interfering with His plan. Let God be in control, okay?
And on every Sunday for six decades, and so many o... (
show quote)