19 Mar '07 21:45>
Originally posted by knightmeisterRemember, Christ's first concern was for His people, the Jews.
Interestingly ,you will not find anyone more condemning of the pious and self righteous religious people than Christ himself . Jesus was not a religious man. His hatred of hypocrisy and BS was immense. It makes me wonder if you are closer to God than you dare realise. I think sometimes Atheists are closer to God in their raw honesty than some Christians. I offer you no blessing , if I am right you are already blessed.[/b]
Throughout the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah abounded, and the ancient Jews hoped in Him. They awaited Him according to the promises of the faithful God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And when Jesus finally arrived His ministry was exclusively for Jews, just as it was in the OT.
Clearly the God of Jesus Christ was the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
God fulfilled His promises to His people, but His people rejected Him. Not all of them, as some were righteous, but most of them rejected Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone. Listen to how Jesus treated a non-Jew who was asking for His help, and tell me if this is not the OT God of Israel:
"Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evi spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.
Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”
“Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone" (Mark 7:24-29).
This occurred only shortly after Jesus scathingly berated the Pharisees for their hypocrisy:
"You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God. For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.'" (Mark 7:6-8).
Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, etc., all quoted liberally from the Old Testament texts. As it has been said, The New Testament is in the Old Testament, concealed; the Old Testament is in the New Testament, revealed. You can't have one without the other; the OT and NT are mutually inclusive.
Also, religion and hypocrisy aren't synonyms. The self-righteous Pharisees were pious deceivers, displaying a hollow religiosity. They were hypocrites and not religious men. By contrast, Jesus Christ truly was a religious man. A law-abiding Jew, during His earthbound ministry He fulfilled all righteousness, and grew in favor with both God and man. You see, it is a good thing to be law-abiding and religious.
Atheists have a keen insight into hypocrisy, and are merciless judges, but unfortunately they are unable to overcome their own self-righteousness, the same self-righteousness they critique in false-religious people. If ever a time were to arise when the Lord of heaven and earth were to require them to submit themselves to His righteousness, they wouldn't be able to submit because they have too much invested in their own righteousness.
So while raw honesty is a good and profitable thing, it is nothing without obedience to Jesus Christ.