I guess I always believed that if Jesus never came that the people in the Old Testament could’ve kept doing what they were doing and made it to heaven by their obedience and sacrifices.
But the Bible says this wouldn’t have been enough.
That EVERYONE in the world would’ve gone to hell if Jesus never came into the world.
EVERYONE would’ve gone to hell without Jesus. No obedience or sacrifice would’ve been enough. The OT sacrifices and blood appeased God, but it did not remove our sins and sinful nature.
I have heard scripture and teaching say that even the people before Jesus were saved by faith in Jesus even though they did not see or know him, but I never got this.
We would’ve never been holy or pure enough for heaven by the hiding of our sins, they needed to be removed. Our sinful nature needed to be reversed before we can truly do desire God first. I think we forget that if we believe humans are born with a sinful nature, that we are naturally prone to choose the opposite of God and that we would NEVER be fit for heaven unless our innate nature is actually changed. A lot of us still subconsciously live under the thought that we are neutral as humans and not slaves to sin until Christ changes us.
WOW! Without Christ dying, heaven would not have been a possibility for humans.
I am assuming that even the paradise mentioned in the OT would’ve been impossible for humans without the foreknowledge and timeless sacrifice of Christ Jesus which reaches eternally to the past, present, and future.And how interesting is it that Jewish faith which holds to the Old Testament would focus more on the living in this present world than the next world! It seems fitting that some Jewish parts do not hold to the same kind of Messiah anymore. Their anticipation of a Messiah being the answer in the past who would set Israel and the world right and if Jesus is the answer but not the answer they are wanting or looking for…
It would be better for a Jew to focus on the world here if they are no longer sure that the Messiah or “heaven” they are wanting will come.
I am thinking this out loud so I still need to do some more research to solidify and balance out this view, but feel free to comment.
1 comment:
It seems like people often feel entitled to heaven as if it is deserved. This is evident when we ask questions like, "How could God send this or that type of person to hell?" We've lost sight of what we really "deserve" because of our rebellious and sinful nature that everyone of us were born with (1 John 1, Romans 3). When we realize that heaven is a gift from God for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ - grace is so much richer and deeper! It's the difference between a spoiled kid who thinks they deserve everything they get and more OR a poor man who is given a warm plate of food he did not have the money to buy. Who will be more thankful for that dinner? Who will return thanks to God for that gift?
Thanks for the blog posts, B.
Post a Comment