Olde Tymer
Well-known member
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● Jer 31:30-33 . . Behold, days are coming-- says The Lord --and I will form a covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: a new covenant . . . for I will
forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember. (chabad.org)
During dialogue with a Jewish man several years ago, I was asked a very pertinent
question that went like this:
"Jesus died for your sins up to the point of your conversion. What about the sins you are
committing now?"
That's a reasonable question coming from a Jew because Levitical atonements had to
be repeated over and over again. Even Yom Kippur, the great day of atonement, is only
useful up to that point and from thence Jews began accumulating sins towards the next
Yom Kippur.
Now supposing God were to stop keeping track of a Jew's sins on Yom Kippur? Well;
that would be the cat's meow because the Jew would then need to avail himself of the
great day of atonement but one time only rather than repeatedly year after year after
year.
Well; the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God per Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy doesn't allow for God to stop holding His people's sins
against them; whereas the new covenant's system is much better than Yom Kippur
because it does allow for God to stop.
● 2Cor 5:19 . . God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's
sins against them.
The Greek word translated "counting" pertains to inventory, i.e. an indictment. Well,
needless to say; without an indictment, prosecutors have no grounds for hauling
someone into court.
** There's a bit of a moral hazard under these circumstances. Due to the fact that
Christ's followers are on an honor system instead of a legal system, they have an
incentive to become ever more sinful; hence Paul's urging them to cultivate self
restraint.
● Rom 6:1-3 . . What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may
increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
● Rom 6:12-14 . . Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil
desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but
rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and
offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
● Gal 5:13 . .You, my brethren, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to
indulge the sinful nature.
FAQ: If God is no longer keeping tabs on the sins of His son's followers, then what's
with 1John 1:5-10?
REPLY: God desires fellowship with His son's followers; which of course requires
transparency on their part. But the important thing is: according to John 5:24 nothing
Jesus' followers do now goes in the books to be used against them later on down the
road at the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15. Their sins are no longer
criminal matters, instead; now they're family matters. (1John 3:1-2)
_
● Jer 31:30-33 . . Behold, days are coming-- says The Lord --and I will form a covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: a new covenant . . . for I will
forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember. (chabad.org)
During dialogue with a Jewish man several years ago, I was asked a very pertinent
question that went like this:
"Jesus died for your sins up to the point of your conversion. What about the sins you are
committing now?"
That's a reasonable question coming from a Jew because Levitical atonements had to
be repeated over and over again. Even Yom Kippur, the great day of atonement, is only
useful up to that point and from thence Jews began accumulating sins towards the next
Yom Kippur.
Now supposing God were to stop keeping track of a Jew's sins on Yom Kippur? Well;
that would be the cat's meow because the Jew would then need to avail himself of the
great day of atonement but one time only rather than repeatedly year after year after
year.
Well; the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God per Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy doesn't allow for God to stop holding His people's sins
against them; whereas the new covenant's system is much better than Yom Kippur
because it does allow for God to stop.
● 2Cor 5:19 . . God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's
sins against them.
The Greek word translated "counting" pertains to inventory, i.e. an indictment. Well,
needless to say; without an indictment, prosecutors have no grounds for hauling
someone into court.
** There's a bit of a moral hazard under these circumstances. Due to the fact that
Christ's followers are on an honor system instead of a legal system, they have an
incentive to become ever more sinful; hence Paul's urging them to cultivate self
restraint.
● Rom 6:1-3 . . What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may
increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
● Rom 6:12-14 . . Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil
desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but
rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and
offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
● Gal 5:13 . .You, my brethren, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to
indulge the sinful nature.
FAQ: If God is no longer keeping tabs on the sins of His son's followers, then what's
with 1John 1:5-10?
REPLY: God desires fellowship with His son's followers; which of course requires
transparency on their part. But the important thing is: according to John 5:24 nothing
Jesus' followers do now goes in the books to be used against them later on down the
road at the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15. Their sins are no longer
criminal matters, instead; now they're family matters. (1John 3:1-2)
_