Tuesday, October 19, 2010

What does God die for?

People should learn to read the bible, that's my thesis. It is stated intentionally this early and this conspicuous because situation demands no other less. Yes, there are some parts of the Bible that admittedly need more dedication to interpret, but major doctrines like atonement or what I'm about to expound shortly is crystal clear, and any possible misinterpretation, I conclude, has nothing to do with its author, but everything to do with its interpreter.

God died for our sin, and it is our sin that he redeemed on the cross because it is sin that brings alienation between God and human. In case you miss the repetition, I'll repeat, it is sin sin and sin (read for yourself Romans 5:8, 1 Cor 15:3). But, what I hear so often from the mouth of the unwise is a very audacious extrapolation. He died for our disease, that he has win us over from the power of sickness and we can claim that promise from God. Hey, the cross has freed us from cancer, or heart disease, or HIV.

I have a problem with that statement simply because it distorts the main teaching of the bible. The trademark of a Christian is not the immunity from the evil in this world, but from the wages of sin, which is eternal death. Stemming from this false belief, people are given false hope. I wonder how many people buy into this promise, just to be disappointed later on with God once they discover that death is real and inevitable, yes, even for Christians. 

I have a problem with that statement because it doesn't hold water. It doesn't matter how many times a person is healed because of this belief,  they know at one point, healing will betray them and they will have to succumb to the reality of death. And if an absolute statement of "God will heal you because he has died for our disease" is proven wrong once, it is wrong no matter how many times it is proven true. It fails to be absolute, and exist to be a mere wishful thinking.

Clearly I have a problem with that statement because it it is my mom that we're talking about here. It is my mom who would be disappointed, it is my mom's mind that is being corrupted. And what makes the problem even more painstakingly ironic is that this can be evaded simply by paying more attention to the Bible. If only people learn to read the Bible, and let the Bible talk to them, we wouldn't have to face this problem.

Again, I'm not saying anything against healing or miracle, and I hope you can interpret from my writing that I'm not against it. If not, maybe you need to simply learn just to read, not only to read the Bible. And for those of you who still hold on to your own concoction of the Bible, I just wish that God also died not only for your sin or disease, but also for your folly and ignorance. May God listen to my plea. Amen.

3 comments:

Jeslin said...

Amen brother! Exceptional writing, couldn't agree no more with your plea. Christians should sit and ponder over the Word of God. Thanks for the reminder!

"My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart,
and my portion for ever." -Psalm 73:26

Anonymous said...

Hi..I stumbled upon your blog.

I just wanted to comment that the Lord not only died for our sins..but He terminated a lot of things. such as the old man, judged satan on the cross, and a lot more that i couldn't elaborate here. But the most importantly, the Lord died so that He could RESURRECT. He OVERCAME death and became the life-giving spirit (1 cor 15:45). He became the life-giving spirit so that He could impart His life into us. Do you know that you have a spirit? (1 thes 5:23) The spirit is the innermost part of our being besides the mind, soul and body. Our spirit is an organ to contact God. God became the life-giving spirit so that He could mingle with our spirit. Yes, the Lord lives in our spirit once you believe into Him. You can call upon His name OH LORD JESUS (rom 10:13) and be filled with Him. You can feel He is real, why? Because He is living. Try calling GEORGE WASHINGTON for a few times and you wouldn't feel anything because he's not alive. But the Lord is living inside of us. Whenever we call, we get His attention, we feel refreshed. His name is so glorious!

The Lord doesn't only die for our sins, He died so that He could fill us with Himself. It's not us who lives, but Christ who lives in us (2 gal 2:22). Everyday we must walk according to the spirit, not according to our self and flesh (Romans 8:1-17).

Grace be with you brother.

Gerry C Joeng said...

Hey anonymous,

Thanks for your comment and I apologize for not being crystal clear in my writings.

My simple point is that, god died for our sins,and it does not mean that we are free from problems / sufferings in this world (contrary to what some churches teach). Those temporary afflictions will be eliminated on his second coming I believe.