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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How does one explain the above steps? | Bible general Archive 4 | RWC | 232550 | ||
There are loads of do's and don'ts in the Bible. This long list was summed up rather well by Jesus as 2 commandments: Love God with everything you are, and; 2) love your neighbours as much as you love yourself (Mt. 22:34-40). The whole point of the Old Covenant(s) was/were to teach us beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are not - and indeed cannot! - be good enough to impress God or to earn our own right of passage into His presence (Gal 3:23-25). His standard really is absolute perfection. His standard is Himself. The only other way possible for anyone to be able to come to God is by Him simply *giving* that privilege to people. And that is in fact what He has done and continues to do. He *gives* that privilege to those that will simply *trust* Him. They do earn it or deserve it. It is totally a gift. And that is not something totally new in the New Covenant. This issue of trust (or, by another word, faith) has always been the requirement (the basis) for a right relationship with God. Even Abraham could *earn* righteousness. It was given to him - *credited* to him - for no other reason than that he believed (trusted, had faith in - Ro. 4:3; Ga. 3:6; Jms 2:23) his Creator, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, the One and Only God that has revealed Himself throughout history and through the collection of writings that He inspired (breathed out) and which we now call the Bible. Is God's standard still perfection? Yes, absolutely. Are you or I ever going to meet that standard? No, absolutely not. Do we still aim for it? yes, but now it is not to try and *earn* God's favor, but rather because he has already given it. We do it as an expression of love and gratitude because of the incredible gift that God gives us (eternal life - actually getting to *know* God - Jn 17:3). All those things you list there (the things that the 'new atheists' love to list) are to be found in the Bible. But when taken in their own context, they do actually make some sense. But the 'new atheists' don't care too much for context. |
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2 | How does one explain the above steps? | Bible general Archive 4 | RWC | 232551 | ||
oops, correction (sorry): middle of the first paragraph should read "They do NOT earn it or deserve it" (emphasis added). ['Not' is not a good word to forget in a sentence!] | ||||||