Emile,
We have gotten to a place here where we will need to take great care! I am thankful to the Lord that we made it here, as this explains to me a lot of things about your beliefs. And whether or not we convince each other of our own perspectives, I understand a whole lot more about you now then before this post!
I asked you, "Is it your contention that the way of salvation has changed, from the Old to the New Testament?" You answered, "Yes!"
Well, here's only one of the great chapters of the bible that saved me ....
Chapter Isa.53 (for the few who don't know this, this is from the Old
Testament.)
1: Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2: For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3: He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4: Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7: He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8: He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9: And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10: Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12: Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Emile, is this not Jesus?
Don't you see? This is only one of the hundreds of verses in the Old Testament that tell of Jesus, and how we are saved! With his stripes we are healed! It doesn't get much clearer than this!
Emile, I don't care what time you were born or where you come from, the salvation message was always the same. Whether Messiah came or not, the requirement for salvation was to believe in God's grace and that he would send the perfect sacrifice, himself, to die for your sins. Isaiah 53 tells it all!
Now once Jesus came, obviously you needed to believe he was the Messiah of the Old Testament! You would have to, otherwise you never truly believed what God said and you would have never truly known the salvation message! But the luxury of seeing Jesus, was not required. Read the scriptures again! Read the Messianic prophecies! None say you would have to see him to know him! You just had to believe in his grace and his salvation message to be saved!
Listen to what the Lord says himself about this matter;
John 20
29: Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Emile, the salvation was the same then and now! If you believe anything else, I would need to see justification of your beliefs from the bible, because I have never seen it!
May The Lord Let Us Keep Progressing Positively Through His Scriptures,
Steve |
