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No Fear Issue 01b
No Fear Volume One Issue One
February 01, 1995
1. February Introduction
2. Introduction to the Basics - Alan Koch
3. The Basics: Repentance from sin - Alan Koch
4. Theophilus Part Two - Alan Koch
5. Who Crucified Jesus? - Chuck (Mike) Pilato
6. Final Comments
7. February Member List
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1. February Introductory Comments
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2. BASIC DOCTRINES OF CHRIST -- INTRODUCTION
In this article, I will enumerate those items which the Holy
Scriptures identify as basic to our new life in Christ. These items
will be our topic of discussion over the next few months as we aim
toward the maturity that we are enjoined to pursue. It is my hope and
sincere desire that each of us might learn from God's Word, and so be
better equipped to please God in our actions and lives.
The writer of Hebrews lists a set of "basics" in the final verses of
chapter 5 and the first verses of chapter 6. He says:
We have much to say about this (Melchizadek), but it is hard to
explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time
you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the
elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not
solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not
acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is
for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to
distinguish good from evil.
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on
to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts
that lead to death, and of faith in God, instructions about baptisms,
the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal
judgement. And God permitting, we will do so. Hebrews 5:11 - 6:3
In a nut shell, the writer is saying, "OK, the foundation has been
laid; now let's go beyond that and begin to really mature in the
faith!" Indeed, that is my intention. But I feel that it is important
to assure that the foundation upon which we build is indeed strong. So
I will review that foundation.
At the end of the "Sermon of the Mount," Jesus proclaims,
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat upon
that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation upon
the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put
them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27
So we see another piece of the foundation here. Not only must we learn
God's word, but we must put it into practice! Just as not knowing the
truth makes a person's life fruitless, knowing it and refusing to do
anything about it is equally useless.
Paul tells the Corinthians, "For no one can lay any foundation other
than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians
3:11) Of course, Jesus Christ, himself is our foundation, for withou
His atoning blood, without His glorious resurrection, without Him, we
are nothing.
So, drawing from Hebrews 6:1-2, I propose the following list of
"basics".
1. Faith in God, especially in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus
Christ,
2. Repentance from acts that lead to death, which includes putting
God's word into practice,
3. Instructions about baptisms, especially focusing upon why we
baptize, and what the significance of this is,
4. The laying on of hands, which deals with commissioning those for
special service to the Lord,
5. The resurrection of the dead, how it is important to the gospel,
and what it means to both the believer and the non-believer, and
6. Eternal judgement, how this is important to the gospel and not
inconsistent with the nature of God.
- AK
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3. THE BASICS: REPENTANCE FROM ACTS THAT LEAD TO DEATH
In this article, we shall look into the first of the basics that are
listed in Hebrews 6:1-2, "Repentance from acts that lead to death,"
or in some translations, "repentance from dead works." I pray that
God would help all of us to recognize dead works in our own lives,
and that He would give us a heart to put them behind us.
This basic gives us two very important concepts to investigate;
Repentance, and Acts that lead to death. We will look at each of them.
Who needs to repent?
When the people heard this ["God has made this Jesus, whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ"] they were cut to the
heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what
shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one
of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The promise is for you, and your children and for all who
are far off -- for all whom the Lord our God will call.
Acts 2:37-39
Anyone who wishes to put their former life behind them and come to
the Lord must repent. This is at the heart of salvation; that as
God gives us the knowledge of our sin and the heart to turn from it,
we must act upon that, and repent.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 3:23
Just so there is no confusion; let us be explicit. Other than our perfect
Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, no person who has lived on this earth is
without the need to repent. No one's actions are righteous enough, and no
one is without sin. Salvation is a very real need for every human being;
and repentance is at its heart.
After we repent and receive salvation, does repentance have any place in
our lives? Yes! Look at what the Glorified Lord told the church at
Ephesus:
"Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things
you did at first." Revelations 2:5
He told them to repent; to go back to the actions that were spawned
by their first love for Him. Yes, those of us who have received
God's salvation also find reason to repent. And not only some of
us. Paul clearly outlined the dilemna that we believers find
ourselves in:
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. I know that nothing
good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the
desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do
is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do --
this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no
longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
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. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from
this body of death? Thanks be to God -- through Jesus Christ our
Lord!
"So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the
sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." Romans 7:14-25
Even we who are saved still have the old sinful nature which continues
to get in the way of obedience to our Lord. We all do wrong; and
whenever we do wrong, we must turn from that wrong and repent.
What is repentance?
Upon examination, we will find that repentance is actually a series
of actions or activities. Let's breifly look at each of them.
1. Conviction of sin. This is the process by which one becomes aware
that he has done something which requires repentance. In speaking
of the Holy Spirit who was to be given to us, Jesus said:
"When he (the Counselor) comes, he will convict the world of
guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement ..." John 16:8
It is the Holy Spirit who makes us aware of sin. He opens our spiritual
eyes to see God's righteousness and the vast degree by which we fall
short. He shows us what we must do and inspires us to repent.
2. Acknowledgement of sin. After we have been made aware of our sin,
we must agree with God! We must affirm that we are indeed sinful
and in need of God's grace.
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make
him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."
1 John 1:8-10
We must confess or acknowledge our sin, not only to God, but also to
ourselves. And often, we must go beyond this! Jesus told us:
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there
remember that your brother has something against you, leave your
gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled
to your brother; then come and offer your gift."
Matthew 5:23-24
If the sin of which we must repent has impacted anyone else, then we must
confess the sin to them as well. This can be the most difficult part,
but it yields the greatest fruit. It serves not only to clear our own
conscience, but can also bring about healing of a broken relationship.
Difficult as that may be, we are called to go even further and confess
our sins to those whom we have NOT hurt!
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other
so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is
powerful and effective." James 5:16
We are all dependant upon one another. Part of that interdependance is
our need for each other's support and prayers. We must be "real" enough
with each other to acknowledge our sins and seek support and prayer.
So, we see the need to confess our sins to our selves, to God, to those we
have sinned against, and to our brothers and sisters. Indeed, acting
toward anyone as if we were without sin would be a lie.
3. Sorrow for sin. Acknowledging sin must bring about sorrow, if it
is to be useful toward Godliness. Too many people in this world
acknowledge their sin with great pride. Their damnation is in hot
pursuit of them.
We must, however, be careful to distinguish between Godly sorrow and
worldly sorrow. Godly sorrow brings about wonderful things in the
Chritian's life; but worldly sorrow can be a devouring cancer. Paul talks
about the difference as follows:
"Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret
it. Though I did regret it -- I see that my letter hurt
you, but only for a little while -- yet now I am happy,
not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow
led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God
intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly
sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and
leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."
2 Corinthians 7:8-10
The Bible is chock full of examples of both types of sorrow. For further
reading see examples of Godly sorrow in Matthew 26:69-75 (Peter) and
2 Samuel 11:1 - 12:23 (David), and of worldly sorrow in Matthew 27:3-5
(Judas) and Genesis 4:3-16 (Cain).
4. Decision to eliminate sin. This is where Godly sorrow and worldly
sorrow show themselves to be very different. Godly sorrow yields
the fruit of change. This decision is the essence of repentance;
not only that you abhore having sinned, but that you wish to never
fall in the same way again.
"See what this Godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what
eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what
longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. ..."
2 Corinthians 7:11
This is where we often fail; in not following through on change. God
shows us the sin in our lives, not to beat us down or make us feel guilty,
but in order to effect change. His desire is for us to mature and to more
and more accurately portray the image of Jesus Christ in this sinful and
dying world. This is not to say that we can eliminate sin from our lives
by an act of our own will. That is clearly contrary to scripture, which
teaches (as we saw earlier):
"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. What a wretched man I am!
Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be
to God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord! ..."
Romans 7:21-25
Even though Paul truely detested the sin he committed, he recognized that
he could not rid himself of it. Our only means of escape is through our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It really is a matter of choosing to whom
you will be a servant; the Lord, or sin. I align myself with Joshua, who
said:
"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then
choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the
River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you
are living. But as for me and my household, we will
serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
So, in answer to our question, "What is repentance," we find that
repentance is a matter of desiring and taking action to change
that which God has shown us is sinful in our lives.
What are "acts that lead to death?"
Since we have defined "repentance," we will now go on the ask what
it is that we are to repent of. Although most translations use some
form of the shorthand phrase "dead works", I prefer the more
accurate "acts that lead to death." This makes it clear that it is
not the works themselves which are in danger of death, but the doer
of them.
It would be instructive here, to point out that "death" in this context
refers not to the physical, but to the spiritual. Physical death is
not an end, but rather, is a transition from this life to the next.
Indeed, Paul uses the term "fall asleep" for death in his treatment
of the subject. (e.g. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) The death that we
are concerned with here, is refered to as the "second death" by John
in Revelation 20:11-15. This death is complete and ultimate. It is
the end to which the damned are destined. It is the death which none
of us who are the Lord's will ever experience. Praise God!
The "acts" which lead to death fall into several categories. The
most obvious are those about which the Bible clearly says, "Thou
shalt not!" For example:
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,
selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I
did before, that those who live like this will not
inherit the kingdom of God." Galations 5:19-21
There are many lists like this one throughout the Bible, and taken
together, they describe the holy and righteous life that God expects
of us. The Bible must always be relied upon as our *ONLY* standard
of "right" and "wrong." Paul reminded Timothy:
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that
the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Indeed, any time the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, we need look
no further than the Bible for an explanation of our transgression
and what we must do to put it right. God's Word must be our
standard, and obedience to it must be our goal. But Jesus took the
standard "Thou shalt not's" a giant step further by defining a
second category of sin:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultry.'
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully
has already committed adultry with her in his heart. If
your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw
it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your
body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell."
Matthew 5:27-29
He made it clear that evil thoughts and desires are just as damning as the
actions, themselves. This was the basis by which he declared woe to the
Pharisees;
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look
beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of
dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same
way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous
but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and
wickedness." Matthew 23:27-28
And then there is the third class; one which may be surprising to you.
It consists of those actions which are, in themselves, good. Consider
what Jesus had to say about them:
Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will
of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me
on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and in your name drive out demons and perform
many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I
never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" Matthew 7:21-23
Did these people really prophesy, did they really drive out demons,
did they really perform miracles? Yes, they did! And they did them
claiming the name of the Lord Jesus! But he calls them "evildoers".
Why? Jesus made it clear in this passage that they were not
commissioned by Him, and were not doing God's will. This is the
definition of "evil!"
1 Samuel is peppered with the rhetorical question, "Is Saul also among
the prophets?" It is obvious that he was (e.g. 1 Samuel 10:9-12),
yet he was rejected as king and the kingdom of Isreal was torn from
his hands because he neglected to do God's command. (1 Samuel 15:24-29)
So, we see three classes of sin: evil actions, evil thoughts, and
presumption. This squares with Solomon's wisdom, when he declared,
"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."
Proverbs 6:16-19
Of the seven, five are evil actions, but he is careful to include evil
thoughts "a heart that devises wicked schemes," and presumtion "haughty
eyes." All of these are things that God abhores. They are all things
of which we must report, if we are to walk uprightly before our God.
Conclusion
There is most assuredly sin in your past. Have you repented of it?
Have you acknowledged that it was wrong? Have you desired to rid your
life of it? Have you expressed your sorrow to God and asked Him to
cover that sin? Have you made the decision to alter your actions to
avoid repeating it? If not, please do so now. You do not know when
the hour of your death will be. This matter of repentance is too
important to be left for another time.
For those of us who belong to the Lord: Have we allowed our sinful
nature to interfere with our fellowship with, and obedience to our
precious Lord? Is there anything that is standing between you and
Him, now? If so, then I implore you to agree with Him concerning its
sinfulness, to seek His forgiveness, and to act by His power to
remove that sin from your life.
Jesus said:
"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone
hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.
This is the seed sown along the path. The one who receives the
seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and
at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts
only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of
the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed
that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the
worries of this life and the deceitfullness of wealth choke it,
making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell
on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it.
He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what
was sown."
Matthew 13:18-23
I pray that each of us would repent of the rocks, and even the weeds
in our lives, so that God's word has good soil in our hearts in which
to grow, and we might be fruitful laborers in His kingdom. And if
you are producing fruit, then let's go for 100!
- AK
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4. The Theophilus Letters
Dear Theophilus,
"Then Jesus asked [the Jews], "Which is lawful on the Sabbath:
to do good, or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they
remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply
distressed at their stubborn hearts ..." Mark 3:4-5a
Here's an image of Jesus that we don't consider very often; "in anger and
deeply distressed." Indeed, when we think of Jesus, we are more likely to
think of the fruit of the Spirit (of Galatians 5); love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How can we
reconcile these images? How can the very one who is the source of this fruit
exhibit anger and distress?
But it is precisely this fruit that produced Jesus's anger and distress. For
example: Love. Jesus, first and foremost, loved the Father. The Jews'
blatant disregard for God's will and ways gave rise to His great indignation.
Any time His Father was pushed aside, His anger would cry out for God to
receive His proper glory. But Jesus also loved the Jews. It pained him
greatly to see them disregard God's ways and condemn themselves to Hell when He
would so willingly provide their way to Heaven.
As a second example, consider Jesus's goodness. He was completely good in all
respects. This includes a clear understanding of the difference between good
and evil, and the will to see justice done. Justice would say that those
blasphemers should have been struck dead on the spot. But His first sojourn
on this Earth was not for the purpose of judgement, but to bring salvation.
Judgement is for the next time around. But even back then, His spirit cried
out for justice.
So, my dear Theophilus, as we seek to follow our Lord Jesus, and to grow to be
like Him, let us not lose sight of the things that distressed Him. It is too
easy for us to grow tolerant of the sins that surround us in our society --
or even in our own lives! For example,
- Do I react as Jesus would to sexual innuendo? Do you?
- What about course joking?
- Would Jesus value our possessions as much as we do? Our car, or house?
- Would your acts of care for the needy please Him?
- Do I pay more attention to rank and prestige than He did?
I am sure you can add to this list (maybe even with a painful conscience).
The point is that complacency toward sin comes naturally, but God can (and
will) root it out of our lives.
May God grant that as the fruit of the Spirit grows in our life, our hearts
may also grow to be distressed by the things that distress Him. Let us pray
that sin would so disgust us, that we would react to it as he did. That we
would flee from it in our own lives, and encourage others to repent of it as
well.
For God's Glory,
Theophilus
footnote: The name "Theophilus", to which Luke addressed both his
Gospel and the book of Acts is derived from the Greek words, "Theos"
meaning God, and "Philos" meaning friend. Therefore, I join Luke in
addressing what I write to all who are friends of God.
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5. WHO CRUCIFIED JESUS?
*CHINGGGG!!!!*
The sound of metal forcefully striking metal still rings in your ears.
You cannot help but be both annoyed at the clatter and inquisitive as to its
origination. It is afternoon in the Middle East now, the sun heading toward
its rendezvous with the western horizon over the Mediterranean Sea. You
wonder at how beautiful that scenery is when the sun begins to--
*CHINGGGG!!!!*
Horrid! This ghastly noise is breaking up your thoughts. You cannot seem
to pay attention to anything consistently, as the current silence is sure to
be shattered by the next impending bang. Just exactly what IS going on over
there just beyond the side of this hill? Investigation leads to satisfaction
from knowledge gained, but that satisfaction is soon overwhelmed by agitation
at your helplessness in the situation. Why must they be so public about
nailing together a pair of wooden beams? Surely there is someone whose
occupation it is to prepare these crosses in time for the next execution.
Surely there is--
*CHINGGGG!!!!*
Hands envelop your head--clinging; covering; protecting it from audible
disturbance. The hated consistency of it all floods your nervous system,
while the builders continue their task. Soon the cross will be complete,
and then surely there will be some peace after that. You rationalize the
termination of all the racket, and soon find yourself--
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
Screaming! Why screaming!? Your attention immediately returns to the
cross. You take note of the man they call Jesus who is now lying along the
length of the cross, with blood swelling around the spike that has just been
driven through his left hand. Your stomach begins to twist beneath the power
of such an emotionally upsetting scene. You can almost feel the nail in your
own hand; taste the blood that crawls down your face from the thorned crown He
wears--public mockery of the man some thought would be the King of your
nation. You recall the controversy that had captured the better part of this
day in history, when Jesus--
*CHINGGGG!!!!*
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The cries are shrinking now. His acceptance is beginning to set in. He
was condemned to die, and there was no way to bypass that ruling now. Even
if one could, there would never again be useful limbs on Jesus. His back was
a bloody entanglement of flesh, bits of rock and glass partially submerged in
the exposed muscular tissue. His executors were doused in blood, cursing His
birth and the condition He was in. Foolish Jew, making His claims and having
the audacity to shed His blood upon their decorated uniforms.
Close your eyes, and become that Jewish onlooker at the scene of the
crucifixion of Christ. Hear the sounds of the spikes being driven into first
flesh, and then wood. If you have ever seen a spike from this era in Roman
history, you instantly understand its most "redeeming" quality: the edges are
pocked and torn. It is bulky in nature and those barbs resist its entranc
into its recipient material, but utterly deny its removal. Imagine yourself
in that position--lying on your back, your clothes removed in public, your
beard torn from your face, your skin ripped, not cut or sliced, but literally
torn into pieces.
Now think specifically about His pain. Neglect His geographical position;
His financial status; His philosophical standing. Excruciating pain would
overwhelm the humiliation. You would do anything not to be where you are, up
to and including suicide. Now think of Jesus. A quick glance into Luke 22:42
will give you just a small hint of how He felt. He was begging His Heavenly
Father to "double-check" His motives. Jesus was human after all, God in
flesh, but human nonetheless. Perhaps there was some celestial
misunderstanding: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not
my will, but yours be done."
Think of the man whose job it was to swing that sledgehammer toward the
spikes set in Jesus' hands and feet. Think of how you would feel with an
occupation like that. Perhaps you had even secretly been a follower of Jesus'
teachings. Now you have to silence Him, or lose your own life for treason.
Regretfully, I inform you that you are, indeed, that man--that soldier. It
was YOU who nailed Him to that cross. It was YOU who carried out the
completion of His sentence--not even a truly legal sentence. This was a man
that was found faultless by the highest rulers in the land, your superiors.
Circumstantial situations and skeptical ethnic groups have now condemned this
innocent man to such a painful death, and YOU are the one who "gets" to
terminate his existence. Your intestines curl and wrench about as you raise
that hammer for the next blow...
On a cold and rainy summer evening, my path crossed that of my inebriated,
estranged, and prodigal sixteen-year-old brother, who had not been home in
almost six months. Memories of my mother's pain, of her mental torture, of
her spiritual warfare, and of her physical decay quickly brought me to a
boiling point. My anger flared, and I lashed out at my brother and his
followers. Never before had I sought to take the life of another person,
never since have I done the same. But for one long evening I repeated broke
the commandment regarding murder. In my hatred of the results of my brother's
sins, I sinned as well. And it was this realization, as well as other well-
timed events in my life, that flung me headfirst into the above frame of mind.
My sins, as well as those of the rest of the world, literally killed Jesus.
I was reared in the knowledge that Jesus came to earth for the specific
reason of dying for my sins. This truth was drilled into me from birth,
iterated in my years in a Christian school, and now shown to me through years
of experience. Through all this learning though, I have learned to think for
myself, and with that ability I present to you this challenge to the
theology the Church uses today: Jesus Christ died surely FOR our sins, but
directly FROM our sins.
I am a murderer, with my only hope of pardon lying the sunny side of the
situation at hand--Christ did not remain in the tomb, but returned to earth,
and eventually to His Father's right hand in Glory, so that I may never earn
the true punishment of my murderous acts--my own crucifixion. And for this, I
thank Him.
C. Michael (Mike) Pilato
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6. FINAL COMMENTS (February)
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