Quote:John 12
45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
Ok. Yet he also said:
Quote:Matthew 10
32 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
If that's not judgement I don't know what is. So what about this:
Quote: He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Hold on. I thought he came to "save" the world not to "judge" it? Yet, isn't he judging who's "worthy" of him right here?
Quote:Matthew 5
17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
So first he says I didn't come to judge but to save. Then he says he came to bring a sword to earth not peace. Now he's saying he didn't come to destroy but to fulfill. But didn't he come to fulfill the law so that the world could be "saved"? So if christ came to "fulfill" the law, the righteous requirement from God, that the "world" could be saved, why then in the very next sentance does he go on to say, "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments..." If he did in fact fulfill the law as he himself said he came to do, then why do we have to worry about keeping the commandments? He already fulfilled the requirement through his death and resurrection, correct?
So let's talk about this "gift" from God. His only begotten son, sent to the world to pay for our sins, since we couldn't fulfill the law on our own. Yeah, he sent Jesus to do it for us, but then commanded us to keep his commandments, right? Hmmm... So what is this free gift then? Is it really free? It doesn't seem to me it is.
Quote:Romans 5
16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.[/b] 17 For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 18Therefore, as through one man's (Adam) offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's (Jesus) righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.
So this free gift came to ALL men. Not some. Not just the ones who follow the commandments, but ALL men. Alright, I expect to hear the argument, "Yeah, sure, just because you are given a gift doesn't mean you have to "receive" it." Right? Well, do us all a favor and save your breath. The free gift came to ALL men. Jesus came to "save" ALL men. To pay the price for ALL men. Not just you self-righteous, church going, whooorahs. So let's talk about "free gifts". Who benefits from a free gift? Well, the one's who receive it, of course.
However, what are the conditions of receiving it? If I were rich and were to donate $1 million dollars to an agency to help the runaway teens who benefits from that gift? Everyone involved. The staff, because their paychecks are certain not to bounce for the next year or so, the kids because there's certain to be food on the table, clothing to be worn, beds to sleep in. The shelter itself because the updates they've been wanting to do are now possible, and so forth. Everyone benefits from that gift. Not just the one's who deserve it. Not just the ones who have good behavior. Not just the ones who follow all the rules and expectations.
That's a FREE gift. What "christians" claim God is offering is not free. It comes with a price. Therefore it's not even a gift if you ask me. It's an option disguised as a "gift" by the "believers", to make it seem like you and I are the one's losing out by not receiving this "free gift". However, if it were really "free" then it would benefit us no matter what we believed. No matter what we confessed, because it is after all "free" to ALL men.