The law is not about mercy, and atonement is not about punishment.

Joe

Active member
Under the law when a person sinned, they were to bring a sin offering to the priest who would make atonement and then God would forgive his sin.

Example:
In Lev 5:6-10, the instructions about a sin offering were given. The person who sinned was required to bring a trespass offering to the LORD of a female lamb or kid goat (less than a year old) for a sin offering. The priest would make atonement for him concerning his sin. If one was unable to bring a lamb or kid goat, then one had to bring to the LORD two turtledoves or two young pigeons for a sin offering.

Lev 5:11-13 But if he is not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring for his offering one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. Then he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. It is a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for him, for his sin that he has committed in any of these matters; and it shall be forgiven him.

The animal and the fine flour sacrifices were offered as a substitute for punishment itself, not actual punishment. And they had to be offered each time the person sinned. The sacrifices were a merciful provision to the law that gave the sinner the opportunity to bring an offering to God to made reconciliation for his sin.

The provision of atonement:
  • Is a display of God’s love and mercy towards sinful man.
  • Was God’s requirement for a sinner to be reconciled to God and forgiven.
  • Proved our sins separate us from God and we need His mercy to be reconciled.
  • Provided a means to show the righteousness of God that man’s sin must be addressed.
  • It is the means for God to be both just and merciful when forgiving sins.
We see the same sequence of events that was given to man being executed by God, except God’s own arm results in eternal salvation.
Man commits sins, God gives His offering one time for all times for our sins, God makes atonement one time for all times for our sins, man is forgiven forever-our sins and iniquities God remembers no more.

Jesus said, “God gave His one and only Son”. But for what purpose did God give Him? In Hosea 13:14 God is recorded saying, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Jesus stated the purpose for His coming, “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. And the Lord Himself said at the last supper, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

The Apostle Paul stated, “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

God gave His one and only Son as a sin offering that ransoms us from death and the grave and ushers in the new covenant from God.

The Apostle Paul explains how God demonstrates His righteousness for forgiving sins; “But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance; to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time; that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.”

The law is not about mercy, and atonement is not about punishment. God is both just and merciful. And being just, God does not give a free pass on sin, but being merciful He has given us a way that addresses our sin so that we can be eternally forgiven, and that way does not require punishment but a substitution for punishment itself; the sacrificial bodily death of Jesus Christ His Son has made reconciliation for our sins. Just as the animal or flour sacrifices were never punished in place of the sinner, neither was our Lord. And just as forgiveness did not happen without the sacrifice for atonement, neither are man’s sins forgiven forever without faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Our Lord effectually bore-carried away, removed, cleansed, purified us of our sin after He humbled Himself and became a man to die bodily as God’s offering for our sins that makes us right with Him. John the Baptist said about Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John was referring to the lambs that were sacrificed for the sins of the people, whose death would atone-make reconciliation for their sins so that God would then forgive their sins. We now know that Jesus sacrificed His sinless life to make reconciliation for our sins so that God would forgive them forever.

Our Lord’s suffering and death for the atonement-reconciliation of our sins did not serve as our punishment upon Him, but He served as a sin offering whose death substituted for our punishment. Our Lord not only died as an offering that take away our sins, but also entered God’s presence with His own blood securing for us eternal redemption-deliverance from God’s punishment for sin. He is our Great High Priest who made atonement-reconciliation for us by His own blood. Now all will be forgiven eternally when coming to Christ in repentance and belief, and all those receiving God’s gift of righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ will live eternally with him as His son.

The law is the power behind sin, and death gets its power from sin. “But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus; for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works of the law, that no one would boast.”

We have been redeemed-set free from the eternal punishment for sin by the ransom price of Jesus Christ. God told us through Hosea that He was going to ransom us from the grave and redeem us from death, and his own arm worked salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We are no longer under law but grace; this being brought about by Jesus Christ whose death redeems us from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. And whose shed blood inaugurates the new covenant.

God Bless
 
Under the law when a person sinned, they were to bring a sin offering to the priest who would make atonement and then God would forgive his sin.

Example:
In Lev 5:6-10, the instructions about a sin offering were given. The person who sinned was required to bring a trespass offering to the LORD of a female lamb or kid goat (less than a year old) for a sin offering. The priest would make atonement for him concerning his sin. If one was unable to bring a lamb or kid goat, then one had to bring to the LORD two turtledoves or two young pigeons for a sin offering.

Lev 5:11-13 But if he is not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring for his offering one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. Then he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. It is a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for him, for his sin that he has committed in any of these matters; and it shall be forgiven him.

The animal and the fine flour sacrifices were offered as a substitute for punishment itself, not actual punishment. And they had to be offered each time the person sinned. The sacrifices were a merciful provision to the law that gave the sinner the opportunity to bring an offering to God to made reconciliation for his sin.

The provision of atonement:
  • Is a display of God’s love and mercy towards sinful man.
  • Was God’s requirement for a sinner to be reconciled to God and forgiven.
  • Proved our sins separate us from God and we need His mercy to be reconciled.
  • Provided a means to show the righteousness of God that man’s sin must be addressed.
  • It is the means for God to be both just and merciful when forgiving sins.
We see the same sequence of events that was given to man being executed by God, except God’s own arm results in eternal salvation.
Man commits sins, God gives His offering one time for all times for our sins, God makes atonement one time for all times for our sins, man is forgiven forever-our sins and iniquities God remembers no more.

Jesus said, “God gave His one and only Son”. But for what purpose did God give Him? In Hosea 13:14 God is recorded saying, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Jesus stated the purpose for His coming, “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. And the Lord Himself said at the last supper, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

The Apostle Paul stated, “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

God gave His one and only Son as a sin offering that ransoms us from death and the grave and ushers in the new covenant from God.

The Apostle Paul explains how God demonstrates His righteousness for forgiving sins; “But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance; to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time; that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.”

The law is not about mercy, and atonement is not about punishment. God is both just and merciful. And being just, God does not give a free pass on sin, but being merciful He has given us a way that addresses our sin so that we can be eternally forgiven, and that way does not require punishment but a substitution for punishment itself; the sacrificial bodily death of Jesus Christ His Son has made reconciliation for our sins. Just as the animal or flour sacrifices were never punished in place of the sinner, neither was our Lord. And just as forgiveness did not happen without the sacrifice for atonement, neither are man’s sins forgiven forever without faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Our Lord effectually bore-carried away, removed, cleansed, purified us of our sin after He humbled Himself and became a man to die bodily as God’s offering for our sins that makes us right with Him. John the Baptist said about Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John was referring to the lambs that were sacrificed for the sins of the people, whose death would atone-make reconciliation for their sins so that God would then forgive their sins. We now know that Jesus sacrificed His sinless life to make reconciliation for our sins so that God would forgive them forever.

Our Lord’s suffering and death for the atonement-reconciliation of our sins did not serve as our punishment upon Him, but He served as a sin offering whose death substituted for our punishment. Our Lord not only died as an offering that take away our sins, but also entered God’s presence with His own blood securing for us eternal redemption-deliverance from God’s punishment for sin. He is our Great High Priest who made atonement-reconciliation for us by His own blood. Now all will be forgiven eternally when coming to Christ in repentance and belief, and all those receiving God’s gift of righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ will live eternally with him as His son.

The law is the power behind sin, and death gets its power from sin. “But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus; for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works of the law, that no one would boast.”

We have been redeemed-set free from the eternal punishment for sin by the ransom price of Jesus Christ. God told us through Hosea that He was going to ransom us from the grave and redeem us from death, and his own arm worked salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We are no longer under law but grace; this being brought about by Jesus Christ whose death redeems us from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. And whose shed blood inaugurates the new covenant.

God Bless
In Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that justice, mercy, and faith are weightier matters of the Mosaic Law. It is contradictory to think that God is merciful, but that He gave a law that is not about mercy. In Romans 7:7, the Law of God is not sinful, but is how we know what sin is, however, 1 Corinthians 15:56 and Romans 6:14 are referring to a law that is sinful, therefore they are not referring to the Law of God, but rather it is the law of sin that is the strength of sin, where sin had dominion over us. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Mosaic Law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith, and that is what it means to be under grace, which is why Romans 6:15 says that being under grace does not mean that we are permitted to transgress the Mosaic Law. In Ephesians 2:8-10, we are new creations in Christ to do good works, so while we do not earn our salvation as the result of having obeyed the Mosaic Law, doing good works in obedience to it is nevertheless a central part of our salvation.
 
In Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that justice, mercy, and faith are weightier matters of the Mosaic Law. It is contradictory to think that God is merciful, but that He gave a law that is not about mercy. In Romans 7:7, the Law of God is not sinful, but is how we know what sin is, however, 1 Corinthians 15:56 and Romans 6:14 are referring to a law that is sinful, therefore they are not referring to the Law of God, but rather it is the law of sin that is the strength of sin, where sin had dominion over us. In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey the Mosaic Law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith, and that is what it means to be under grace, which is why Romans 6:15 says that being under grace does not mean that we are permitted to transgress the Mosaic Law. In Ephesians 2:8-10, we are new creations in Christ to do good works, so while we do not earn our salvation as the result of having obeyed the Mosaic Law, doing good works in obedience to it is nevertheless a central part of our salvation.
Hi Soyeong,

You have missed the point of the thread's name. Although I do not entirely disagree with what you have stated otherwise.

Are the passages below about mercy? No, not really. And these are just some of the many demands of death for the law breaker.
  • Exo_19:12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
  • Exo_21:12 “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
  • Exo_21:15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
  • Exo_21:16 “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
  • Exo_21:17 “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God. Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. (Rom 3:19-20)

The law is merciless when it comes to condemning sin, but thankfully God put within the law the provision of atonement that put the law breaker back into a right relationship with Him.

So the law is merciless because it rightly brings us under the judgement of God, but God is merciful towards us and made a way for us to be justified without perfectly performing the righteousness of the law; that is to believe Jesus Christ died for our sins and raised for our justification (ref: Rom 4:25).

Excerpt from OP: "The law is not about mercy, and atonement is not about punishment. God is both just and merciful. And being just, God does not give a free pass on sin, but being merciful He has given us a way that addresses our sin so that we can be eternally forgiven, and that way does not require punishment but a substitution for punishment itself; the sacrificial bodily death of Jesus Christ His Son has made reconciliation for our sins. Just as the animal or flour sacrifices were never punished in place of the sinner, neither was our Lord. And just as forgiveness did not happen without the sacrifice for atonement, neither are man’s sins forgiven forever without faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son of God."

God Bless
 
Its hard to believe how differently the non calvinist sees the atonement from the calvinist. Good job @Joe
I love the Lord! It is Him, all Him who opened up my mind to understand the truth! It really is quite a difference between Calvinist-PSA and the Bible. I’m so thankful for what our Great Lord has done for us, freeing us from two false doctrines!

God Bless, Brother
 
I love the Lord! It is Him, all Him who opened up my mind to understand the truth! It really is quite a difference between Calvinist-PSA and the Bible. I’m so thankful for what our Great Lord has done for us, freeing us from two false doctrines!

God Bless, Brother
Amen whom the Son sets free is free indeed. No longer a slave of the doctrines of men.
 
Hi Soyeong,

You have missed the point of the thread's name. Although I do not entirely disagree with what you have stated otherwise.

Are the passages below about mercy? No, not really. And these are just some of the many demands of death for the law breaker.
  • Exo_19:12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
  • Exo_21:12 “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
  • Exo_21:15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
  • Exo_21:16 “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.
  • Exo_21:17 “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.
Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God. Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. (Rom 3:19-20)

The law is merciless when it comes to condemning sin, but thankfully God put within the law the provision of atonement that put the law breaker back into a right relationship with Him.

So the law is merciless because it rightly brings us under the judgement of God, but God is merciful towards us and made a way for us to be justified without perfectly performing the righteousness of the law; that is to believe Jesus Christ died for our sins and raised for our justification (ref: Rom 4:25).

Excerpt from OP: "The law is not about mercy, and atonement is not about punishment. God is both just and merciful. And being just, God does not give a free pass on sin, but being merciful He has given us a way that addresses our sin so that we can be eternally forgiven, and that way does not require punishment but a substitution for punishment itself; the sacrificial bodily death of Jesus Christ His Son has made reconciliation for our sins. Just as the animal or flour sacrifices were never punished in place of the sinner, neither was our Lord. And just as forgiveness did not happen without the sacrifice for atonement, neither are man’s sins forgiven forever without faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son of God."

God Bless
The function of the law was to lead us to Christ

Galatians 3:24 (KJV 1900) — 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
 
Though times and customs changed, God's law served as a bedrock of guiding ideals to help the people of God (both then and now) live in such a way as to love God and love neighbor. It's that simple.
 
The Jewish explanations and definitions of the law could easily qualify as a course of study at a Christian Theological Seminary. One thing that I've learned is that the word law is primarily translated from the Hebrew word tôrāh (towrah—law, instruction, teaching, a precept or statute).

I think a lot of us think of the law as a list of "Do this... Don't do that" But it's actually much more. I like how The Apostle Paul explains God's law in the book of Romans.

Talking about the Ten Commandments, Paul points out sin. “I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘Do not covet.’ Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” Romans 7

Paul is quoting the tenth commandment, so we know that he is speaking of the Ten Commandment law, which he says is holy, righteous and good. This law, he says, helps us to recognize our sins and shows us our need of a Savior. Paul wants to keep God’s law, but it is not that easy.

613 was the total number of laws and commandments found in Jewish traditions. They also changed the ten commandments to 12 as they added more rules to the sabbath.

This part of Romans 7 pretty much rebukes sinless perfection.
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.” Romans 7:14–17

Paul wants to keep God’s law but always falls short of his goal. This was perhaps well expressed by the little girl whose mother caught her with her hand in the cookie jar. A little while later the mother found her doing it again. With some exasperation she asked her, “Why are you doing this?” Tearfully the little girl replied, “Mama, I don’t know, I don’t always want to do what I want to do!” That isn’t too far from Paul’s description of our problem, is it?

Paul goes on: “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.” Romans 7:21–23

The law of sin prevents us from obeying the law of God. Paul finally calls out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
 
.

This part of Romans 7 pretty much rebukes sinless perfection.
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.” Romans 7:14–17
I think it points to Paul in his unregenerate state but agree sinless perfection is beyond us
 
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