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I have a question though sis, and this may sound very stupid, but didn't God tell a few people to go kill an entire town in anger at the fact that they didn't listen to Him in Eziekel? Wouldn't that be punishment? I'm a little confused. yes, you can yell at me, because this is serious stuff. I thought that when Jesus died for us, THAT was God's punishment fullfilled, because as you said, and as the scripture says, He loves us all SO much, but we were dying to our sin, and God can;t stand sin. Didn't He punish people in the Old Testament? And when Jesus died for us, that was His punishment for us instead?
I'm not sure he sent them to kill the town because He was angry. I'd need to see the passage bro. God seems to have acted in a 'male' way in the OT and a 'female' way in the NT. Meaning, He seems to have been a lot tougher in the OT and more forgiving, sweeter in the NT. Now, since He never changes, we have to look at the differences inherent in scripture itself. The OT states man shall live BY THE LAW. And there weren't just 10 commandments, there were other rules, over 2,000 of them in fact. The NT states that we live under Grace, if we are 'led by the Spirit, we are not under the law'. God Himself seems to have changed the playing field a bit, and in asking various pastors about this, it seems He was trying to get man to understand sin and the need to repent of it in the OT, and now that mankind is so very sin-conscious, He extends His grace and says, come to me and I will forgive you. Does that make sense??
Yes it does. From what I've seen, God is the same, correct? God is forgiving even in the Old Testament. Now, I don't remember exact scripture, but God has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that if we come back to Him, He'll accept us. In Eziekel, there's a lot of wrathy stuff, as well as forgiving stuff. Some verses say that God HATES sin, and that He will punish us for it. He sent plagues, and yes, that scripture I told you about in the last PM is true. God told a few people to go and place a mark on all those who were crying about the sinfulness all around them, and kill the rest who didn't have that mark, men, women, and children. BUT! In that very same book, God said that a.) HE DOESN'T WANT TO KILL US OFF OR PUNISH US, b.) a sinful man can return to Him and He WILL accept them, but the price has to be paid. That;s where the whole blood sacrifice came in from unclean animals. God hates sin. He can't stand it and He can't stand it when we do it. The punishment for sin was death. That's where all the animal sacrifices came in. God surely didn't want to punish us, for He loves us, but that sin still had to be paid for. By taking an animals blood instead of human blood, that itself is merciful. God always says that He will come for us and forgive us. But the blood had to be paid. The Mosiac Law was as our Lord Jesus said, the meaning was to love God and love one another by not 1.) doing things that hurt God, and 2.) things that hurt each other, like murder and stuff. God isn't a panzy. He knows that sin must be paid for. The truly sinful (meaning, those who didn';t want to repent and wanted to do such sinful things) God said that they would surely die. But, as said, He didn't want them to die. He was merciful and loving at the same time, all while doing what He said must be done. Then came God in Jesus. Jesus explained to us that God loves us all (which I guess people had forgotten at the time), that the mosaic law was to make us aware of sin, and that it was love itself. However, it was impossible for us to do all those things. God (Jesus) always accepted the sinners and forgave them, and that's why He came to Earth and saved us. The Old Testament even said that God would save us. That's His mercy right there. But the punishment for our sins is still death, and the world was uber sinful. Even the Righteous man falls 7 times. God knew this. Everyone sins. The death had to happen. But God said that He would save us in the OT. Why? Because He loves us all SO MUCH. He decided the death penalty would be on Him instead, saving us. Truly, God has always been the same. In the OT and the NT. truly, God wants us to stop sinning, even Jesus said that when that woman in John was going to be stoned to death, He said to her to stop sinning. But that's impossible. But we can do our best, correct? God is always the same. Never changed one bit.
Excuse me, I really, really wanted to write that down Love you, sis!
That's all right bro! Good stuff!! Very, very good stuff. And you just reminded me of something I had almost forgotten. THE REASON GOD SEEMS TO WORK DIFFERENTLY IN THE NT IS THAT JESUS PAID THE PRICE THAT WAS REQUIRED FOR SIN. Awesome. That's why He could extend HIS grace towards us, there is no daily sacrifice for sins required, Jesus paid the debt once for all. AMEN!!!!
Exactly! God has never acted different! Never! Always the same. He still hates sin, all sin, and truly, He does want us to stop it (Why Jesus said to the woman to stop sinning, God never condones sin) BUT! We makes mistakes, and God tajes the punishment for us. WE LOVE YOU, GOD! WE REALLY DO!
AMEN.
I'm not sure he sent them to kill the town because He was angry. I'd need to see the passage bro. God seems to have acted in a 'male' way in the OT and a 'female' way in the NT. Meaning, He seems to have been a lot tougher in the OT and more forgiving, sweeter in the NT. Now, since He never changes, we have to look at the differences inherent in scripture itself. The OT states man shall live BY THE LAW. And there weren't just 10 commandments, there were other rules, over 2,000 of them in fact. The NT states that we live under Grace, if we are 'led by the Spirit, we are not under the law'. God Himself seems to have changed the playing field a bit, and in asking various pastors about this, it seems He was trying to get man to understand sin and the need to repent of it in the OT, and now that mankind is so very sin-conscious, He extends His grace and says, come to me and I will forgive you. Does that make sense??
Yes it does. From what I've seen, God is the same, correct? God is forgiving even in the Old Testament. Now, I don't remember exact scripture, but God has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that if we come back to Him, He'll accept us. In Eziekel, there's a lot of wrathy stuff, as well as forgiving stuff. Some verses say that God HATES sin, and that He will punish us for it. He sent plagues, and yes, that scripture I told you about in the last PM is true. God told a few people to go and place a mark on all those who were crying about the sinfulness all around them, and kill the rest who didn't have that mark, men, women, and children. BUT! In that very same book, God said that a.) HE DOESN'T WANT TO KILL US OFF OR PUNISH US, b.) a sinful man can return to Him and He WILL accept them, but the price has to be paid. That;s where the whole blood sacrifice came in from unclean animals. God hates sin. He can't stand it and He can't stand it when we do it. The punishment for sin was death. That's where all the animal sacrifices came in. God surely didn't want to punish us, for He loves us, but that sin still had to be paid for. By taking an animals blood instead of human blood, that itself is merciful. God always says that He will come for us and forgive us. But the blood had to be paid. The Mosiac Law was as our Lord Jesus said, the meaning was to love God and love one another by not 1.) doing things that hurt God, and 2.) things that hurt each other, like murder and stuff. God isn't a panzy. He knows that sin must be paid for. The truly sinful (meaning, those who didn';t want to repent and wanted to do such sinful things) God said that they would surely die. But, as said, He didn't want them to die. He was merciful and loving at the same time, all while doing what He said must be done. Then came God in Jesus. Jesus explained to us that God loves us all (which I guess people had forgotten at the time), that the mosaic law was to make us aware of sin, and that it was love itself. However, it was impossible for us to do all those things. God (Jesus) always accepted the sinners and forgave them, and that's why He came to Earth and saved us. The Old Testament even said that God would save us. That's His mercy right there. But the punishment for our sins is still death, and the world was uber sinful. Even the Righteous man falls 7 times. God knew this. Everyone sins. The death had to happen. But God said that He would save us in the OT. Why? Because He loves us all SO MUCH. He decided the death penalty would be on Him instead, saving us. Truly, God has always been the same. In the OT and the NT. truly, God wants us to stop sinning, even Jesus said that when that woman in John was going to be stoned to death, He said to her to stop sinning. But that's impossible. But we can do our best, correct? God is always the same. Never changed one bit.
Excuse me, I really, really wanted to write that down Love you, sis!
That's all right bro! Good stuff!! Very, very good stuff. And you just reminded me of something I had almost forgotten. THE REASON GOD SEEMS TO WORK DIFFERENTLY IN THE NT IS THAT JESUS PAID THE PRICE THAT WAS REQUIRED FOR SIN. Awesome. That's why He could extend HIS grace towards us, there is no daily sacrifice for sins required, Jesus paid the debt once for all. AMEN!!!!
Exactly! God has never acted different! Never! Always the same. He still hates sin, all sin, and truly, He does want us to stop it (Why Jesus said to the woman to stop sinning, God never condones sin) BUT! We makes mistakes, and God tajes the punishment for us. WE LOVE YOU, GOD! WE REALLY DO!
AMEN.
