Question about Grace...

salida · #11 24th September 2008, 10:34 AM

One repents of all their sins and turns from the world and gives themselves to Christ whole heartly. Then they get baptized with water (symbolic of his burial); then asks for the Holy Spirit - to give the christian the power to live a christian life. Its a daily lifestyle of praying, reading the Bible (Word of God). You say if you don't want to repent? I would ask God to give me the desire to want to repent - because not repenting is rebellion against God.

Catherineanne · #12 4th October 2008, 09:46 AM

Originally Posted by Brian-M

I'm trying to get a better understanding of Christian beliefs, so I thought the best way to do that would be to actually ask Christians what they believe. I apologize if most of my questions have been asked by other people a thousand times before.

One thing which confuses me is the claim that we are now living under Grace, not law, and that we're no longer obliged to follow the laws of the old testament, but Matthew 5:18 clearly says that not one letter or pen stroke of the law will pass away until heaven and earth pass away, so the old laws are still valid.

From what I understand, by accepting Jesus who died for your sins, all your sins are forgiven, and so for example, you're still obliged to stone your children to death for cursing you (Exodus 21:17), you will be forgiven and not suffer any punishment for choosing not to stone your children to death.

Is this right, or am I completely misunderstanding it?

Can anyone tell me which passages are relevant to this, so I can look it up in The Bible myself?

The explanation is to be found in 1 Corinthians. The law stands, but there is no law against love, joy, peace, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness and self control, which are the fruit of the Spirit of God, which is the Spirit of Christ. So as long as whatever we do is done in that Spirit, we cannot break the law, so it does not have any dominion over us any more.

So it is not that we can break the law with impunity, simply that it does not apply, as long as we live lives which reflect God's love to the world.

Catherineanne · #13 4th October 2008, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by Brian-M

For example, if a child-raping serial killer repents his crimes and accepts Jesus on his deathbed, then ultimately (leaving aside the question of purgatory) he is rewarded with eternal joy and happiness in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, if a kindly Buddhist monk declines to accept the Christian faith, and lives his entire life in quiet contemplation and doing good deeds in accordance to the teachings of Buddha, he is punished with eternal pain and torment.

From a non-Christian perspective, any God that punishes good people with eternal torment and rewards evil people with eternal happiness is by definition, a terribly cruel and unjust God.

God is not capable of being outdone by man, in any divine quality. Justice is a divine quality, and so, therefore, if something looks unjust to you or me, then God is not going to be fooled by it either.

The good Buddhist is covered by Matthew 25. The serial rapist may enter eternity, but I doubt if he will find it a place of joy and happiness, even if his repentance is sincere. In eternity we will all face the truth about ourselves, and few of us are likely to find that a pleasant prospect.

Catherineanne · #14 4th October 2008, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by Brian-M

I think I have a better understanding on the Christian stance on Grace now, but just to finish things off...

1. Do you have to repent specific sins, or just your sins in general?
2. What if you commit a sin, but truly believe your actions justified, and therefore cannot bring yourself to repent it? Are you condemned to hell?
3. What are the differences in opinion different denominations hold on this subject?

(I was going to ask for a definition of sin, but I'll just follow Xchristian's thread on this topic instead.)

1 All sins must be repented. Those we are aware of, and those we are not aware of.

2 It is safer to err on the side of caution. Repent of any wrongdoing, and trust in God's mercy to understand why it happened. If you are certain that it was not a sin in the first place, then there is no need to repent, but it is safest to check with your pastor/priest/trusted Christian friend to make sure.

3 I think most denominations have similar views on the need to repent of sin. The only difference I can think of is the place of a priest in this process, which is rather more active for Roman Catholics and High Anglicans, but is a possible part of the process of repentance for any Christian.