Christ died for our sins. Justified by faith.
Ever hear these phrases? So have I -and I have never understood these terms - even rejected them. @ two score and two, this dude, who praises Jesus, is a church goer, receives communion and reads the Bible, could never understand the concept. But I’m pretty sure I’ve added this understanding to my belt - and, generally, well, I don’t wanna say I reject the concept - but it is somewhat unsatisfactory.
Here’s the concept, from the Ehrman, taken from his “Great Lectures” lecture on the New Testament. It’s from St. Paul - who never was a follower of Christ when he was alive, but had a miraculous vision of the resurrected Christ after Jesus’ crucifixition. St. Paul is a very interesting figure. He, a very proud pharasitic Jew, was actually a total persecutor of the early Christians. However, as recounted - in several different variations in the Acts and his letters that are contained in the New Testament - he encountered Jesus on the road the Damascus. Jesus had been crucified some time before, and this encounter with the risen Jesus changed St. Paul's life forever. This changed man was probably the most important person in the history of Christianity’s growth - beside, y’know, Christ.
There are several concepts that are important to understand before the explanation flows. One is that St. Paul’s ’acquaintance’ w/ Jesus was of the risen Christ. To St. Paul, this fact was paramount -that it was the RISEN and RESSURECTED Christ - once dead, but now back to life. The concept of “Christ died for our sins” and “ Justified by faith” are null and void w/ out St. Paul running into the risen Jesus - had St. Paul known him during his life, this concept wouldn’t have occurred.
A second important concept is the Jewish Law - covered yesterday here. St. Paul, deeply versed in the Hebrew Bible (The Old Testement, y’all) and a very observant Jew - had believed (pre meeting Jesus on the road) that in order to have a right standing before God, one must keep the Law. One is, to use the words, justified by the Law.
The third important concept was an odd phrase somewhere in the Old Testament along the lines of “Cursed is anyone who hangs from a tree”. St. Paul took this to mean the crucified Jesus. However, as St. Paul believed that of all people Jesus could not be cursed by God,- indeed, God showered his favour on Christ (He was risen from the dead, after all…) that meant that Jesus’s death on the cross could be no accident or miscarriage of justice. Indeed, it must have been planned.
So - Jesus - not cursed, as he was the one person more than anyone who was ultimately blessed by God. Since He, as Gods blessed one, could not borne the curse (“Cursed is anyone who hangs from a tree”) for anything HE could have done, he must have borne it for others. Therefore, Jesus’ death must have been a sacrifice for others sins and not his own sins.
Here’s the concept, from the Ehrman, taken from his “Great Lectures” lecture on the New Testament. It’s from St. Paul - who never was a follower of Christ when he was alive, but had a miraculous vision of the resurrected Christ after Jesus’ crucifixition. St. Paul is a very interesting figure. He, a very proud pharasitic Jew, was actually a total persecutor of the early Christians. However, as recounted - in several different variations in the Acts and his letters that are contained in the New Testament - he encountered Jesus on the road the Damascus. Jesus had been crucified some time before, and this encounter with the risen Jesus changed St. Paul's life forever. This changed man was probably the most important person in the history of Christianity’s growth - beside, y’know, Christ.
There are several concepts that are important to understand before the explanation flows. One is that St. Paul’s ’acquaintance’ w/ Jesus was of the risen Christ. To St. Paul, this fact was paramount -that it was the RISEN and RESSURECTED Christ - once dead, but now back to life. The concept of “Christ died for our sins” and “ Justified by faith” are null and void w/ out St. Paul running into the risen Jesus - had St. Paul known him during his life, this concept wouldn’t have occurred.
A second important concept is the Jewish Law - covered yesterday here. St. Paul, deeply versed in the Hebrew Bible (The Old Testement, y’all) and a very observant Jew - had believed (pre meeting Jesus on the road) that in order to have a right standing before God, one must keep the Law. One is, to use the words, justified by the Law.
The third important concept was an odd phrase somewhere in the Old Testament along the lines of “Cursed is anyone who hangs from a tree”. St. Paul took this to mean the crucified Jesus. However, as St. Paul believed that of all people Jesus could not be cursed by God,- indeed, God showered his favour on Christ (He was risen from the dead, after all…) that meant that Jesus’s death on the cross could be no accident or miscarriage of justice. Indeed, it must have been planned.
So - Jesus - not cursed, as he was the one person more than anyone who was ultimately blessed by God. Since He, as Gods blessed one, could not borne the curse (“Cursed is anyone who hangs from a tree”) for anything HE could have done, he must have borne it for others. Therefore, Jesus’ death must have been a sacrifice for others sins and not his own sins.
From this comes the concept:
A persons sins can be forgiven if one accepts the sacrifice Jesus paid by faith - that one must trust in Jesus’ death for salvation. It is Jesus’ death and resurrection - and nothing else - that makes a person have a right standing before God. Therefore, keeping the Jewish Law cannot be the way to achieve a right standing before God - only accepting Jesus death as a sacrifice for you sins can.
Got that? Yeah, I’m still working with it too.
In earlier years, I reacted to people saying that ‘Christ died for your sins’ by saying that I didn’t want some dude horribly tortured and murdered to have anything to do with my multiple sins. I’m hopelessly a Roman Catholic - so when Christ said to love your enemies or love your neighbours as yourself - these concepts meant much more to me than some weird idea stemming from “Cursed is anyone who hangs from a tree” as the meaning of life. loving your enemies seems a much much much more pertinent concept.
Right?
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