GP8. The Way of Christ

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THE WAY OF JESUS

The Way of Jesus is well expressed in Rom 3:23-26. This verse is wonderfully rich in explaining the grace of God reconciling sinners through the blood of Jesus.

The Way is mentioned several times in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-2, 18:24-25, 19:9, 19:23, 22:4, 24:14, 24:22) and refers to early followers that stopped following Judaism and began to follow The Way of Christ and His teachings.

The Way of Jesus shows that God is no respecter of man (Rom 2:11) and every offender has the opportunity repent and be saved in Christ.

• ALL people, Jew and Gentile, are sinners at birth and fall short of His glory.
  "9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Rom 3:9-10
  
  
• ALL people will commit sin during their lifetime.
  "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us." 1 John 1:10
  
  
• ALL Christians will continue to commit sins during their lifetime but these sins are already paid for in advance. This does not mean, unlike hyper-grace gospel teachings, that a Christian should stop repenting of sins he commits in the future.
  "10 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 11 But this man (Jesus), after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; ... 14 For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." Heb 10:11-12,14
  
  
• ALL sin, whether 'minor' and deemed acceptable by the majority of people or deemed 'major' which includes the worst and most horrible acts, destine the unsaved sinner to an eternity of hell, in the finality called the lake of fire.
  "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10"
  "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Rev 20:15
  
  
• ALL sinners will be individually judged at the Great White Throne Judgment of God.
  This final judgment is associated with the Lake of Fire (Rev 21:8) which is the 'final' hell. This is God's judgment of "the dead", those who are unsaved sinners and spiritually dead because they have rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have nothing to be judged on except by the works which will fail miserably because all man have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:22-24).
  "11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, ... 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Rev 20:11-13
  
  
• ALL sinners that are not born again in Christ are not saved and will be cast into the lake of fire and tormented for eternity.
  The Lake of Fire and brimstone is the 'final' hell and relates to "the second death" (Rev 20:14). This is where Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, all angels that followed Satan and all unsaved sinners, will be tormented day and night, forever and ever (Rev 20:10) where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 13:42).
  "14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Rev 20:14-15
  

THE WAY OF MAN

Whether religious or not, most people everywhere in the world want to do better in how they live their lives. Whatever their culture or beliefs, there is a conscious or subconscious tugging at their hearts and people want to undo many past wrongdoings and regrets and to live a better future. In some cultures, man's wrongdoing is called Sin. Man has sought to atone for Sin prompted by various reasons ranging from guilt and karma through to a fear of torment in the afterlife.

In order to avoid a debate on what is serious enough to constitute Sin, and for the sake of discussion, let's look at crimes that are universally despised such as murder, torture, rape and paedophilia, that the majority of man would demand the harshest punishment for the offender.

Let's review some known practices where man believes they can 'pay' for their Sin. We will reason with you that these practices do not acquit the sinner.

• Charity 
  • Charity can take the form of donations to good and worthy causes.
  • If Charity can mitigate Sin, it means that the offender can buy his way out.
  • How much money would be deemed sufficient to pay for the crime? Would a thousand dollars, ten thousand, million, billion or a trillion? Would it be justice to the victim if God can be bought?
  • Can Charity appease God's judgment?
• Good Deeds
  • Some people do Good Deeds by donating their time towards social causes.
  • If Good Deeds can mitigate Sin, it means that the offender can volunteer his way out.
  • How much time would be deemed sufficient to pay for the crime? Would an hour a day, four hours per day, a day a week, three month a year for ten years suffice to pay for a life he has destroyed?
  • Can Good Deeds appease God's judgment?
• Holy Water
  
  • In many religious practices, people believe that they can wash off their sins.
  • There are people who make regular pilgrimages to a 'Holy Water' site for this purpose.
  • If 'Holy Water' can appease God, it means that the sinner can simply wash his way out. He could well resume his criminal acts and schedule another washing ceremony, and this could go on and on.
  • Can 'Holy Water' appease God's judgment?
• Animal Sacrifice
  • Animal Sacrifice began in ancient times and has survived the centuries. The point of this practice is to shed the blood of the animal as in the belief that life is in the blood and the animal's blood is propitiation for the offender.
  • If Animal Sacrifice can mitigate sin, it means that man can very simply and cheaply buy his way out of judgment for literally a few dollars which is the price of a chicken in most countries.
  • Can Animal Sacrifice appease God's judgment?

COMPARE THE WAY OF MAN AND THE WAY OF JESUS

Compare the way of man with The Way of Jesus that offers certainty for the offender to be justified through Christ's atoning work.

Version 23.1.0