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You said this: "He said just before the sermon on the mount that to get into heaven we have to keep all the laws of moses (i/e/. all 613 of them). He said nothing about belief except to the non-Jew at the fountain who was saved because of her great faith, and at various times, to believe in the son of man to be saved."
Chris said: "I mean absolutely no offense, Richard, but I would like to know the Book, Chapter, and Verse that you heard this in."
Then you replied with the post saying they are not in the Bible. The title was Matthew 5:19. I assume you are saying this was the answer to Chris's question.
Here is Matthew 5:17-19 :
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
The point of the old testament laws were to keep people pointed in the direction of God. Of course no one could obey all those laws perfectlly, so a sacrifice was required by laws. But when Jesus came, he was the ultimate sacrifice for all time, therefore you are forgiven, by Christ, for the laws you break. Therefore Christ fulfilled the requirement for a sacrifice for all time.
So basically you are right. There are two ways to get into heaven. If you could keep all the laws of moses and not sin your whole life, you would go to heaven. But since this is impossible, the only way to get to heaven is through Jesus.
You cannot get into heaven by good deeds and our own acts. Isaiah 64:6 says, "6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away."
Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me."
I think this is pretty obvious. NO ONE can come to the father EXCEPT through ME. The Father refers to God, like in "Our Father in heaven" Matthew 6:9. Jesus is the only way.
The whole point is this: We cannot be with God because we have sinned. Sin seperates us from God, the penalty for sin is death. But when Jesus died, he died for all our sins. He paid the penalty for all our sins once and for all.
Sam, KC2GWX |
