non believers what if your wrong ? (page 35)

unstopableravens

cofty why is the thought of someone dying so you may live that sicking to you? me personally im thankful for christ. think of it this way pushing aside gods personality wheather you or i believe its love or evil. if we truly die beacuse of sin and the only way we can have eternal life is if christ pays for your sin than how can a person not be thankful.

PSacramento

I must differ a bit from Paul (Psac... not paul, formerly saul) in my understanding here. The people who reject Him are not 'punished'

Context Hon, I didn't say Christ punishes those that reject him, I agree with you that they simply ar enot accepted into His kingdom.

It is just that I view THAT as punishment, so IMO, they are punished, but are pretty much "punishing themselves".

NewChapter

Why are you asking me?

Because I wanted your opinion. Was that off limits?

Well, if I were to answer myself, I would go with the punishment. The bible is full of warnings of punishment, and Revelation pretty much carries that out. God is all about the punishment in any scenario. Jesus didn't contradict this. Knowing Christ, and knowing he never contradicted the father, then I'd have to go with punishment. Even Jesus went all nuts in the temple and doled out some punishment. So it is not out of line with his character and the pieces he showed us.

tec

Thanks, Psac. I thought that was what you must believe as well, but just went by what i saw, without thinking of the context or my understanding of your faith in the same Spirit as mine.

Sorry, love.

Much peace to you,

tammy

PSacramento

I love others as much as any christian.

I believe you my friend.

I reject christ in full knowledge of the gospel. Jesus is a pile of dust in an ancient tomb. The idea of him dying for my so-called sins is repugnant.

That is your right.

So where do you suppose that leaves me?

IF there is a judgement, you will be judged by your actions and intents and then given your reward or punishment based on your deeds.

You will have the chance to know CHrist as He truly is and the choice will be yours, as always.

Of what I know of YOU and I admit it is limited, I believe you to be a righteous and loving person and I believe and hope that when you KNOW Christ that you will accept Him and you and I can share a nice pint :)

cofty

cofty why is the thought of someone dying so you may live that sicking to you? - unstopableravens

Here is a post I made previously concerning Jesus' death as it was understood by the early church - ignore everything you were ever taught in the Watchtower about the ransom.

As you will see its all about the wrath of an angry god being assuaged by the sight of a blood sacrifice.

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. - Romans 3:21-26

The phrase in bold actually says that "god set forth (pro-te'-tha-me) Christ to be a propitiation (he-lä-sta'-re-on) through faith in his blood."

According to Strong's lexicon pro-te'-tha-me means "to set forth to be looked at, to expose to view; to expose to public view; of the bodies of the dead"

It was common practice in the ancient world to leave the bodies of executed criminals exposed to public view as a warning to others. Paul uses precisely this imagery in describing what god did to Jesus. It was not the Romans or the Jews who made a public spectacle of Jesus' broken and bloody body it was god himself.

Further, according to Paul, the purpose of this gruesome scene is to act as a propitiation - he-lä-sta'-re-on. Again according to Strong this word was used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement -this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins expiated; hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory.

In summary the picture that Paul presents is that of the wrath of an angry god appeased by the sight of Jesus bloody body hung on the cross.

How can anybody not find this repugnant?