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NASB | Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
Bible Question: I have been struggling with the understanding of why the payment for sin must be death (seperation of..) I understand that Eve chose to go against the commands of God and therefore she and her husband died like god had told them..."You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Gen 2:16 NIV I understand they were "seperated from" god aka: death. Then God took skins from an animal to cover their sin....the first known sacrafice. From that point on, man was required to sacrafice every time he sinned. This seems so violent (the old testament seems to portray God as being violent, jealous, and the opposite of what he is portrayed as being in the new testament...full of love and forgiveness.) I am confused and a new reader of the bible. I have read misc scriptures but have not read the entire bible. Im trying to understand the "why's" and I am just struggling with the way the old testament seems to contradict the new one. Please help me understand why God seems so violent and "mean" in the old testament, and requires man to kill innocent animals in order to be forgiven by him. Why did God sacrafice himself (jesus) when he is all knowing and could have changed things. For example, God hardened pharoe's heart when moses warned him to let his people go, why didnt he "soften" his heart instead? I just dont understand. Please help! Thank You, Tara Knezevich |
Bible Answer: You've gotten several good comments from several good Bible students but I'd just like to add my two cents' worth. Our God created you, me and the rest of the world for the purpose of our being a glory to Him, as the Creator. But He only gets this glory IF we actually make that choice since He gives us the freedom to turn Him down. Our God desparately craves the love and devotion of His creation but He graciously gives us that freedom to submit to Him or rebel and follow our own way. This simple choice between His way or our way has been one of the main themes throughout His Word, our Bible. With reference to the "hardening of Pharoah's heart," that has been a tough subject for many Bible students. In my opinion, God was using the Pharoah's condition to make a world-class showdown between Himself and the most powerful nation then known in the world. Pharoah had already shown he would never repent regardless of ANY gesture from God. So God used the 10 plagues in a very specific way, every one of them in a direct put-down to the various gods of Egypt. This showdown by the Lord needed the Pharoah to be very hard-hearted and not submit to Moses' demands. Again, I should mention there was no hope for Pharoah. He was headed for one single place but God used him just as He uses all the rest of His creation to get His message love AND majesty to us as His children. Good question and God bless. |