in re: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ:
here's the thing:
what is the meaning of Christ, come in the flesh, crucified and risen?
why is that significant? what exactly did that do? why should we care?
if all that means is that it opened the way for gentiles to become proselytes of Judaism, then He died for nothing. it is more or less meaningless if to be justified by God we all still need to keep all of the Law ((minus the sacrifices)).
if the only thing His death is good for is for those who are circumcised and keep all the signs of the ethnic, orthodox Jew, that Jesus' death serves as a stand-in for the blood of bulls and goats and doves, making the temple ceremony *mostly* obsolete, than Jesus' death is also largely meaningless. He's of no more use than a couple herds of cattle; what He did was not really much more significant than a bit of cruelty to animals legislation.
if all that is called for by the gospel is behavior modification -- if all that we do is polish the outside of the cup -- why did Christ die? what does ti matter that He was raised?
so what did Christ accomplish? why does the epistle to the Hebrews say that the priesthood has changed, and with it the law? why does the epistle to the Romans say we have died to the law, and are freed from it? why was Peter shown a vision form God instructing him to eat meats that were formerly declared unclean? why did the Lord tell him not to call 'unclean' what He has called clean? why have Christian believers ever since the 1st century -- long before Rome even had a bishop -- regularly met on the 1st day of the week, and why is there virtually no mention in any of their writings about maintaining sabbath laws, dietary laws, Jewish festivals or any regulations whatsoever about ritual uncleanness?
what exactly does Christ being crucified and being raised subsequently from the dead mean and what does that do for us?
has something actually changed, or are we all supposed to become partakers of the Sinai covenant?
because if a person doesn't believe that Christ has actually accomplished something and that His advent has literally changed the way that man may have peace with God, then yes -- it sure appears that He is functionally meaningless to you.
here's the thing:
what is the meaning of Christ, come in the flesh, crucified and risen?
why is that significant? what exactly did that do? why should we care?
if all that means is that it opened the way for gentiles to become proselytes of Judaism, then He died for nothing. it is more or less meaningless if to be justified by God we all still need to keep all of the Law ((minus the sacrifices)).
if the only thing His death is good for is for those who are circumcised and keep all the signs of the ethnic, orthodox Jew, that Jesus' death serves as a stand-in for the blood of bulls and goats and doves, making the temple ceremony *mostly* obsolete, than Jesus' death is also largely meaningless. He's of no more use than a couple herds of cattle; what He did was not really much more significant than a bit of cruelty to animals legislation.
if all that is called for by the gospel is behavior modification -- if all that we do is polish the outside of the cup -- why did Christ die? what does ti matter that He was raised?
so what did Christ accomplish? why does the epistle to the Hebrews say that the priesthood has changed, and with it the law? why does the epistle to the Romans say we have died to the law, and are freed from it? why was Peter shown a vision form God instructing him to eat meats that were formerly declared unclean? why did the Lord tell him not to call 'unclean' what He has called clean? why have Christian believers ever since the 1st century -- long before Rome even had a bishop -- regularly met on the 1st day of the week, and why is there virtually no mention in any of their writings about maintaining sabbath laws, dietary laws, Jewish festivals or any regulations whatsoever about ritual uncleanness?
what exactly does Christ being crucified and being raised subsequently from the dead mean and what does that do for us?
has something actually changed, or are we all supposed to become partakers of the Sinai covenant?
because if a person doesn't believe that Christ has actually accomplished something and that His advent has literally changed the way that man may have peace with God, then yes -- it sure appears that He is functionally meaningless to you.
