8037	Forums / Theology Forum / The Sin Of Sodom	on: January 11, 2007, 03:45:35 PM
Quote Quote But what are we doing obeying the Law?? Has it not been fulfilled in Christ like He said. I presume you do not lie cheat, steal, kill, commit adultery or worship an idol or the Devil...in order to win your salvation? But hopefully, you don't do all those sins, which if fact shows God your love and gratefulness for His love and forgiveness. After we are saved, the Ten commandments are a ‘guide’ for us to live, not a 'way' to be saved.  Because it is not ‘a way’ to be saved does not mean that we have no obligation to obey them or some how ‘can't' obey them because sin is still too powerful. If we were truly saved then God ‘gives’ us the power to obey along with 'faith' to believe...we use our will to follow through with what God has given us....He won't do it for us!  If we don't ‘use’ our faith to ‘act’ then our faith is in vain! Before Christ, believers were saved by their ‘faith' in YHWH and their obedience to His Word.  They were forgiven their willful sins by repentance and a contrite heart.  Most Temple sacrifices were for un-intentional sins and only the Day of Atonement could cover all of Israel's willful or intentional sins...and then only if Israel was truly contrite and repented! You couldn't kill or steal and then go to the Temple and offer a sacrifice...there wasn't any sacrifice for those things! If you were unrepentant...the sacrifices wouldn't count anyway! Jesus' superior sacrifice covers all sins and is also based on faith, and repentance.  The Law was fulfilled by Jesus, in that, He died to forgive our sins against God, and empower us to obey God (so we won't continue to sin against God).  Jesus is a perfect solution that restore man to fellowship with a Holy God. Jesus, and what He does for us is the ‘gift’. The ‘gift’ is a person, God Himself, not a ‘thing’, ‘concept’ or ‘doctrine’.  I believe Paul is using the word ‘Grace’ in it's context as a metaphor for Jesus. Thor Wasnt it David who said, sacrifices and offerings you did not desire , but a broken and contrite spirit because my ears You have pierced- (covenant). David committed adultery and murder but keep the kingdom. He was fully forgiven because of Gods gracious covenant with David. And when you get to the NT in the book of Acts the testimony of David by the apostles was that He was a man after Gods own heart. Not one mention of murder or adultery. David received forgiveness not based upon a sacrifice but out of the unfailing love of God. In the OT when God passed before Moses, He proclaimed Himself by saying that He was a forgiving God, full of mercy, kindness, and compassion. David appealed to that God and He understood who God was, Davids worship was greater, more intense , and constant, because He understood that Gods love was endless . That is why David choose to let God decide any penalty in its duration because He knew that out of Gods unfailing love would be  shorten discipline and with less (if any) pain .