JESUS was in Mental Anguish the Night Before GOOD FRIDAY...Having Second Thoughts Perhaps?.

originally posted by: VariedcodeSole
Jesus is not God, he is God's Son. If Jesus is God, than he logically created himself because God created Jesus.

God the Father did not create God the Son. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit ... one God, three manifestations ... They are ETERNAL, always have existed. None were created by the other.

I already gave the scripture quotes showing Jesus is God. Go back and read them.

Jesus is eternal. He was not ever 'created'. He did the creating.

Eternal - John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus created all - Colossians 1:16-17 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

originally posted by: FlyersFan

originally posted by: VariedcodeSole
Jesus is not God unless he was suffering from schizophrenia.

Yes He is. Jesus is God the Son. Second Person of the Holy Trinity.

John 1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

John 10:30 — I and the Father are one.

John 20:28 — Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Colossians 1:19 — For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell.

Colossians 2:9 — For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily ...

2 Peter 1:1 — ... our God and Savior Jesus Christ ...

Hebrews 1:8 — But of the Son he says, ‘Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom". God the Father calls his Son “God.” It is a reference to the Old Testament passage, Psalms 45:6-7.

In Hebrews 1:6, God the Father also says that all the angels should worship God the Son. Worship can only be rightly applied to God, as we know from Exodus 34:14 and Deuteronomy 8:19. Yet Jesus accepted worship of himself on many occasions (e.g., Matthew 14:33; 28:9) and stated that he should be honored equally with the Father (John 5:23). In Revelation 5:8, 12-13 and Colossians 2:6-7, we find that Jesus is worshiped in every way that the Bible specifically describes worship of God the Father, with all the same words used (see: Revelation 4:9-11, 5:13; 7:11-12, and Romans 11:33)

God the Father stated, “To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear” (Isaiah 45:23). The same exact description is also applied to Jesus (Philippians 2:10-11).

The Bible teaches that “God” is judge (1 Samuel 2:10; Psalm 50:6; Ecclesiastes 12:14; many others). But so is Jesus (John 5:22, 27; 9:39; Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1). Therefore he is God.

God the Father sits on his throne in heaven (1 Kings 22:19; Psalm 11:4; 47:8). Jesus is on the same throne, too (Revelation 7:17; 22:1, 3).

Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 9:5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

50 Biblical Proofs that Jesus is God

If you really dig deep, Jesus is actually the Arch Angel Michael. Jesus is the earthly persona of Michael, not God.

No. Jesus created the Arch Angel Michael. Jesus is not an angel. Jesus created them.

Colossians 1:16-17 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

That's why there are so many religions and religious sects. It's all about "interpretation", and we don't agree. Shocking.

See you in the next one.

originally posted by: VariedcodeSole
That's why there are so many religions and religious sects. It's all about "interpretation", and we don't agree. Shocking.
See you in the next one.

2 billion Christians interpret scripture the same.
Jesus is God. That's what the scripture says.
That's what all of Christianity agrees on.

a reply to: WeMustCare

Jesus spoke in metaphors so that people that didn't have a clue wouldn't understand.or at the very least would be confused.
He spoke in parables for those that wanted understanding would think about his words and their meaning.

in other words figurative speech.

so i'll help you just a bit.

the cup represents the pain, suffering, ridicule and death he knew was coming, he knew his purpose here on earth, and what was coming. being in human form he had the same fears and worries that we do, but yet he was willing to forfeit his life for our benefit and the will of God. He was the last blood sacrifice for our sins.

originally posted by: whereislogic
a reply to: VariedcodeSole
...

The woman was a Middle Eastern woman, a member of a provincial group known as Samaritans. She came upon this well-informed man seated at a deep well near the city of Sychar one noontime. It was in the year 30 of our Common Era, sometime after the Samaritans had celebrated their Passover feast in nearby Mount Gerizim, where once a Samaritan temple had stood. There is still a small colony of Samaritans at Mount Gerizim today, and at their shrine they have an ancient copy of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Holy Bible as written by the prophet Moses), which they claim to be the oldest copy in existence today. Also, nearby, is a deep well, which is claimed to be the very well at which the Samaritan woman met this man. To the left of this well a grillwork partition has been erected on which occurs the tetragrammaton, the four Hebrew alphabetic letters that stand for the name of the God of Moses, namely, Jehovah or Yahweh. All this now stands inside a protective building, and tourists visit it.

...

Note that Mount Gerizim is in Palestine. You can google it if you want to know exactly where it is. It's pretty much right smack in the middle of the northern part of modern-day Palestine. In case you wish to see this archaeological evidence with your own eyes, you should probably do so before the servants of "the god of this system of things" (2 Cor 4:4), i.e. "the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth (Rev. 12:9), from Israel destroy the evidence or any record of it, or at least the tetragrammaton (יהוה or YHWH after transliteration to the Roman Alphabet), because of their superstitious belief (another doctrine of men, given as a command to believe in and adhere to), that merely uttering God's personal name, is already the equivalent of taking "up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way" or "in vain" as the KJV puts it (Exo 20:7, Deut 5:11), and akin to blasphemy "and thus profane the name of your God . . . Jehovah." (Lev 19:12) In so doing demonstrating they are like those described by Jehovah at Jeremiah 23:27 as those who "intend to make my people forget my name ... just as their fathers forgot my name because of Baʹal.” Verse 28 adds: “Let the prophet who has a dream relate the dream, but the one who has my word should speak my word truthfully.”

“What does the straw have in common with the grain?” declares Jehovah.

All quotations here and in my previous commentary are from The New World Translation (sometimes the Study Edition, sometimes an older edition), unless otherwise indicated. A translation that does not replace God's name with a noun that leaves things vague as to which individual is spoken of or is speaking, and because of staying true to the Hebrew manuscripts and honestly translating it, ends up using God's name "Jehovah" (in English, other translations in other languages may use a different spelling depending on what language it is, for example in Italian it's "Geova") approx. 7000 times in both the Hebrew Scriptures and Greek Scriptures combined. Indicating its importance to Jehovah, from whom the teachings in my commentary originally come from, as they are consistent with the teachings in God's word, the Bible (both the Hebrew and Greek part). Which is also what Jesus said about what he taught, everything he knew was taught to him by Jehovah (John 8:25-29, 38, John 12:49). John 8:25-47 (pardon the redundancy, because I already quoted the last 5 verses before, but it's worth repeating cause it's applicable to both the adherents of Judaism as well as Christendom today, including those who may be found in this thread and in particular those they have taken their teachings from, their religious leaders and teachers, who are also mentioned at 2 Tim 4:3,4 and concerning the latter category, those teachers in Christendom, at 2 Cor 11:13,15):

So they [the Jews] began to say to him: “Who are you?” Jesus replied to them: “Why am I even speaking to you at all? 26 I have many things to speak concerning you and to pass judgment on. As a matter of fact, the One who sent me is true, and the very things I heard from him I am speaking in the world.” 27 They did not grasp that he was talking to them about the Father. 28 Jesus then said: “After you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing of my own initiative; but just as the Father taught me, I speak these things. 29 And the One who sent me is with me; he did not abandon me to myself, because I always do the things pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many put faith in him.

31 Then Jesus went on to say to the Jews who had believed him: “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They [those who didn't believe him and were arrogantly and stubbornly opposing the truth Jesus was telling them] replied to him: “We are Abraham’s offspring* [Lit., “seed.”] and never have been slaves to anyone. How is it you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them: “Most truly I say to you, every doer of sin is a slave of sin. 35 Moreover, the slave does not remain in the household forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s offspring. But you are seeking to kill me, because my word makes no progress among you. 38 I speak the things I have seen while with my Father, but you do the things you have heard from your father.” 39 In answer they said to him: “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them: “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. 40 But now you are seeking to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You are doing the works of your father.” They said to him: “We were not born from immorality; we have one Father, God.”

42 Jesus said to them: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I have not come of my own initiative, but that One sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot listen to* [Or “accept.”] my word. 44 You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a murderer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie. 45 Because I, on the other hand, tell you the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Who of you convicts me of sin? If I speak truth, why is it that you do not believe me? 47 The one who is from God listens to the sayings of God. This is why you do not listen, because you are not from God.”

Therefore, I (with help from Jehovah, and using His words and teachings as found in God's Word, the Bible, and out of the mouth of His firstborn son, Jesus Christ) will continue reproving them, even though most are unwilling to “listen” as the word is used there by Jesus, and “have become dull in [their] hearing” (Heb 5:11), “for the heart of this people has grown unreceptive” (Matt 13:13-15).

“For what reason? Because I do not love you? God knows I do.

But what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to eliminate the pretext of those who are wanting a basis for being found equal to us in the things about which they boast. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps disguising himself as an angel of light. It is therefore nothing extraordinary if his ministers also keep disguising themselves as ministers of righteousness. But their end will be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:11-15) “The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, the One who is to be praised forever, knows I am not lying.” (verse 31)

a reply to: VariedcodeSole

I was paraphrasing AwakenotWoke's argument. Which should be clear from my commentary I do not agree with that argument. Believing in a doctrine of men that you do not even comprehend/understand. As if "comprehension/understanding is not required", and that it doesn't matter that the doctrine is not in any way taught in the Scriptures and actually contradicts it (many Bible texts, where Jesus or others explain rather clearly who he is). And as if it's OK to twist the Scriptures to pretend it does support the Trinity doctrine even though the doctrine isn't spelled out, when it so clearly doesn't, to read it into it when it's not there, and then wave away all the contradictory Bible texts with one paintbrush, 'ah well, we don't understand, but that doesn't matter, it's still there', supposedly (then pointing to the Bible verses such as John 1:1, mistranslated and misunderstood by Trinitarians, and Trinitarian translators, who in the case of the ASV, as can be seen from the video that addresses John 1:1, know better, yet still translate John 1:1c as "and the Word was God", while their own commentary about it admits that's not actually what it says there or what was meant by John).

What I was explaining was what you just said as well:

Jesus is not God, he is God's Son.

A bit odd from you that you didn't pick up on that, I hope it wasn't on purpose (perhaps English is not your first language).

a reply to: whereislogic

The word "mystery" explains this.

The Christian faith acknowledges that the creator is much more than we are. Being God - omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal and the very definition of holy - there are aspects of the define nature that we are simply - as finite, limited creatures - incapable of comprehending.

We can know what we worship and know in whom we believe without fully comprehending every aspect of the divine nature.

This is the very definition of mystery. While I reject the notion of a "blind faith," I confess that my mind is far, far in capacity and understanding from the mind of God.

a reply to: FlyersFan

Text2 billion Christians interpret scripture the same.
Jesus is God. That's what the scripture says.
That's what all of Christianity agrees on.

That's right Flyer! Jesus Christ didn't walk out of that tomb for
nut'n. He died for us and no cowardly human being could have
been trusted to do what Jesus did. And that puts all doubt
to shame by itself. Not to mention all the symbolism and all the
prophecies that point to Jesus Christ even from the beginning.
The Christ our Savior the son of God that The Father promised.
The Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the whole world.
God had to include himself or not one of us would be saved in
this time. The time of the gentiles.

a reply to: FlyersFan

billion Christians interpret scripture the same.
Jesus is God.

Not sure if this makes any difference to the original question. God changes his mind more than once in the Bible. Says so, too.

Things that make you go hmm.....

Adam and Eve ate from 'the tree of knowledge' which angered God, so he imediately created a plan to 'save' mankind.....and 6,000 years of suffering later the plan was enacted.

The first written account of Jewish beliefs were created from 600 years of oral tradition.

Several stories in the Bible correspond to far older legends from other groups.

The following reminds me of how cultish modern organized religion is, like the cult that always forbade beards until recently. Now it's suddenly okay for them to sport facial hair!

Matthew 15:7-9

7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.

All my adult life I've been told it's wrong, even a 'sin' to question the 'inaccuracies', which smacks of brain washing/mind control by people who have no more answers than I do. I'm not willing to make up things so the disjointed puzzle pieces fit and will continue my relationship with the Creator sans the middle men.

In the first response to this post, I poked fun at the "heathens and pagans" (but actually meant the Catholics and Protestants).

I have a REAL question though. How the HECK do you celebrate Easter BEFORE Passover!?!? Passover is next month which is why the Greeks celebrate Easter in May...

a reply to: AlexandrosOMegas

I have a REAL question though. How the HECK do you celebrate Easter BEFORE Passover!?!? Passover is next month which is why the Greeks celebrate Easter in May...

very few Christian denominations celebrate Passover, it was incorporated into Easter and see the Last Supper Meal as the beginning of the New Covenant and the Eucharist taking the place of the Passover lamb.

it's also my understanding some Jews see the ones that do celebrate Passover as Cultural Appropriation.

Why I Am Writing This You deserve a compelling, convincing explanation as to why hosting a Seder is offensive. While a number of articles have been written over the past few years arguing that it is offensive for non-Jews (and especially Christians) to host a Seder, few have adequately explained why (beyond the superficial fact of applying a Christian lens to a Jewish practice).
Dear Christian Friends, Please Do Not Host a Seder: Why Christian Seders Are Deeply Offensive to the Jewish Community

a reply to: Astrocometus

That's a perfect way of wording it 🙂

a reply to: WeMustCare

You have thoroughly misinterpreted the purpose of this prayer, and just to point out also that it is only TRADITION which says that he prayed this specific prayer, there is no guarantee that he actually did so.

Indeed, when He contemplated the fate that lay before him, His prayers led to drops of blood being perspired from His head, due to the anguish that was heavy upon Him.

What you have to understand, is that Jesus was bearing the full weight of Humanity's sin upon His mortal frame, in body, soul & spirit. He was overwhelmed with the weight of the sinful world upon His shoulders, and He was cut off from the grace of God while this process was unfolding. To be cut off from the grace of God is a horrendous thing - all our natural wellbeing & general sense of ease in everyday living is entirely there because the ordinary grace of God is upon us. Without it, when we are cut off somehow from His presence & His power, we are cast asunder and totally unable to psychologically cope with the terrible burden which is heavy upon us, the sin of all Humanity even, the death spiral of a million evil souls who have cut themselves off from the grace of God.

When I was thirty years old I went through a terrible depression which was levied as a punishment for particular sin that I persisted in despite having come to saving faith in Christ. God turned His face away from me for a period of exactly eight months, and it was torturous, terrible, it felt like even the universe itself hated me. In truth I was experiencing the pains of the universe, the Creation, which has been subjected to unrighteousness through the fall of Mankind. In this state I was inconsolable, I felt that God had given up on me, that I was damned to Hell forever, that there was no way for me to be made right with God. But after the set period of time which had been allotted for that dark night of the soul, the holy discipline which was intended to draw me nearer to God, I was spontaneously (miraculously) healed of this dire condition, made to see that God had for a season turned His face away, so that I would better understand my need of salvation, indeed that need that all of us have, whether we know it or not. And I immediately understood that He had healed me of the drive to commit that particular sin, and it has never again troubled me, thank God.

I have said it a million times - God's grace & forgiveness are far more extensive than most of us Christians can ever imagine - but when you get to the cosmic scale of what the Crucifixion represents, that terrible turning away of the face of God, that total loss of the ordinary grace of God towards Mankind, the need to provide a means to save people who have lived evil, near-irredeemable lives; well God HAD to turn away, and lay the whole burden on Jesus as a willing & holy sacrifice, a perfect High Priest, who was ordained since the dawn of Creation for this task. No wonder He sweated blood! What I experienced was a mere shadow of what Jesus would have experienced when actually on the cross, when He cried out "Eloi, Eloi, Lamech Sabachtani!" - which is "My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?" in Aramaic (I think I spelled it right).

That terrible moment, when the shadow of an eternity without God was laid before the temporarily mortal soul of Jesus, must have been horrendous - but it provided the mechanism by which even the very worst of offending sinners can be liberated from that awful destiny of an eternity without God, or Oblivion. He had to suffer that in order to provide an avenue by which sinful people could approach God and ask for forgiveness. All God need do when looking at that person is to refer to the work of the Cross, and thereby forgive that individual, knowing that Jesus accepted, on their behalf, a punishment far greater than anything any one of us could invoke for ourselves by even terrible behaviour on the Earth for a limited number of years. So the debt is paid, and every man & woman can be forgiven by God, no matter what they have done, if they are sincere in seeking God's grace for salvation. They may still require much spiritual healing thereafter, but the principle transaction of salvation is accomplished solely by the Cross.


FITO.

I would like to recommend that in matters of sin & salvation, mockery & flippant, trivial comments are strictly to be avoided. This is serious business, and we should tread lightly so as not to accidentally mislead those who are in real need of salvation & spiritual healing. I have deep and enduring personal experience in this realm, and it is indeed a serious place to find oneself. God has a very low opinion of mockers, as evidenced in many places in scripture.

Psalm 1:1
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

Proverbs 1:22
"How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?

Proverbs 3:34
He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble.

Proverbs 24:9
A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men.

There's also a hidden detail to what happened up on the cross.

Here it is from Malachi 4.

5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

With the death of John the Baptist his mission changed from being the messiah the Jews were expecting in the first century AD to the I that struck the earth with a curse. And it was a bad one. According to Hosea 6-2 Israel and Judah were supposed to face a 2000 year top level Leviticus 26 curse. Part of the kerfuffle surrounding the crucifixion was the imposition of the curse.

However because the 1st century Jews botched the first century Apocalypse that is what opened the window for the salvation of the Gentiles.

And now as Paul Harvey used to put it. Now you know the rest of the story.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

I gather I was one of the people you were talking about so I respond with the following. With all due respect.

I have personal experience in this area too but mine appears very different to yours.

Why would one need to fear a 'benevolent' God?

If people are in need of spiritual healing and saving all they need to do is make different choices. No need to follow anyone or anything. What they 'do' in this life determines what God they support.

Do you believe a 'benevolent' God would shun those who did not trust the bible or go to church even though they lived saintly lives?

If you'd be so kind as to respond without using quotes from the bible.

I'm genuinely interested in why you believe people should fear someone/thing that is benevolent, it's nonsensical to me. It would make sense to fear a malevolent entity and in Christianity that is the Devil.

originally posted by: Astyanax
a reply to: FlyersFan

billion Christians interpret scripture the same.
Jesus is God.

Not sure if this makes any difference to the original question. God changes his mind more than once in the Bible. Says so, too.

Actually, that isn't accurate. As an omniscient and omnipresent eternal being, God doesn't dwell in a unidirectional chronological construct like we do. Grasping the concept of eternity as an achronological existence is not something that we can grasp with our finite minds that only know this present construct.

Keep in mind this passage from Isaiah 46:

“Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.

And this from Numbers 23:

19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

God has expressed his perfect will - that which he would do if man's actions or response lined up with his desires - and that which he is essentially obligated to do in accord with his nature when man does not follow through on his part - referred to as his permissive will

If you will pay attention, you will see that every time the Bible says that "God repented" or changed course, it was in response to human failings. It is expressed as God repenting for our sake, from a human perspective with humanly understandable motivations, but from an eternal perspective it looks very different.

Even when God "repents" of something (I e., "changes his mind"), he always eventually follows through with his declared purpose. He foresaw - as an omniscient being - the obstruction even though he expressed his perfect will and already had "plan b" at the ready.

This allows mankind to understand the sovereign nature of God makes us see more clearly how we work into - or should work into - his plan.

:

originally posted by: WeMustCare
Thursday, March 28, 2024 (Tomorrow is "Good Friday")

Today is the first time I've heard that JESUS said this really "dark" prayer the night before he was crucified on a wooden cross.

Tradition says that Jesus prayed this prayer the night he spent, imprisoned in the custody of Caiaphas the high priest, abandoned by his followers, alone.

1 O Lord, God of my salvation,
when, at night, I cry out in your presence,

2 let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.


3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.

4 I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
I am like those who have no help,

5 like those forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.

6 You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
in the regions dark and deep.

7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves.Selah

Continued at: theconservativetreehouse.com...-255860

Why was Jesus so afraid and bitter, considering he was fulfilling the destiny and role of SAVING HUMANKIND...his billions of brothers and sisters?

Maybe he was starting to feel we (humankind) weren't worth the torture and agony he would be experiencing, in less than 24 hours?

-WeMustCare 🤔

Because the People Did Not take his Preaching to Heart Enough and it made him Sad .

a reply to: HighEQ

You're asking support for a deeply Christian theological principal that is rooted in scripture without quoting scripture. That is absurd. It's like asking someone to give you a recipe without referencing food items.

The Bible makes clear that everyone has sinned (no human save Christ Jesus is without sin) and because of that we have chosen to serve ourselves, the world and the (temporary)power of this world. That choice of allegiance is what separates every human from God. For us to make ourselves acceptable to a perfect God, we would have to be as perfect and holy as him. Not gonna happen!

See, you want to earn God's acceptance. You want to be able to say to God, "You OWE me salvation." But God will not be indebted to a man. Not to you, not to me, not to anyone.

And the immense grace of that fact is ineffable and unfathomable. Instead of making us work unsuccessfully for salvation (which the Law, given as a tutor to bring us to the feet of Christ proved to be impossible), he has offers us mercy and grace without measure!

Instead, he offers forgiveness freely, by grace, only requiring that one recognizes one's deep need and puts faith in his promise of mercy, worked out through the death and resurrection of Christ.

It's simple, but offensive to a prideful humanity.
I Corinthians 1:18 ~ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

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