Timmy,
Thanks for your question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Timmy
What am I not answering? I answered your question about Joseph. But I don't see the relevance to my question about example.
You are Oneness, aren't you? You do believe that Jesus = God, throughout the NT and OT, don't you? You said Jesus is our example in all things. Well, is he always our example, or is he not? If not, how can we tell when he is and when he is not?
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Timmy,
I was hoping you could perceive the significance of Joseph and Mary's example. Let me try to make it simpler: Joseph was commanded to stone Mary for her 'sin.' But, being a "just man" (one who obeyed the Law), he saw that the letter of the Law said death, but the spirit of the Law desired life. That is why he did not consider having her killed. Choice. That is what it is all about. And LOVE is always at the end of the command!
This is so basic to Christianity. Let me try it with the following illustration:
Remember John and James’ request?
Luke 9:54-55 And when
his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them,
even as Elijah did? (55) But he turned, and rebuked them, and said,
Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Why was such vengeance acceptable during Elijah’s time, but not during the New Testament? Why did Jesus say that Zebedee’s, “Sons of Thunder, were asking for something that was of a “different spirit” than Jesus’? I am not asking because I need this answer; this question is for you….
God used to wink at a lot of things in the Old Testament that the New Testament says He now calls all men to repent for. Jesus said Moses allowed divorce because of the hardness of their Old-Testament-hearts, but then He raised the standard for all men in the New Testament and showed that a new heart should bring deeper commitment. Jesus had a woman caught in adultery cast before His feet to see if He would agree with stoning her as commanded through Moses. What did Jesus do? He showed that judgment was not the highest standard of His kingdom. Instead He showed mercy. Timmy, Jesus’ kingdom is built on His blood, not on His enemy’s. Jesus’ kingdom is to be known for love and mercy, not for hate and judgment. How can we demonstrate these godly traits when fighting a war or when killing another man?
Look at the changes from the Old to the New Testament:
OT: Mostly types and shadows of what was to come
NT: Jesus completes and explains that all is written of Him
OT: Physical Tabernacle and Temple were built
NT: Man becomes the Temple of God
OT: Man has a hardened heart
NT: Man is given a new heart
OT: God’s commands are written on tables of stone
NT: God’s commands are written on a believer’s heart
OT: One man, the High Priest, approaches God once a year
NT: All believers are priests having equal access to God at all times
OT: God calls a nation of people to Himself
NT: God calls men of all nations to Himself
OT: Mostly about the Law of God
NT: Mostly about the grace of God
OT: A God, whose glory no man could behold
NT: A God, whose glory men beheld and handled
OT: Animal blood was shed for man’s sins
NT: God’s own blood was shed for man’s sins
OT: Men strived for salvation through the letter
NT: Men received salvation through the Spirit
Timmy, have things changed from the OT to the NT?
It's not that God is or isn't the same God in both the OT and NT, but that we have been called to change from our old ways to Jesus’ new and better ways. That is what the New Covenant is all about
: new heart, new nature, new Spirit inside, better Covenant, new creature! Read the book of Hebrews. It confirms what I am saying.
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