Didn't HE die for OUR sins?

[Maggiemay]

I get a little put out at organized religion. A little? Okay, a lot sometimes. They say we are all sinners and need to ask forgiveness. They say everything belongs to God and we tithe to return a portion of it to Him.

I say,'did Jesus die for nothing?' WE have been forgiven ALREADY, okay! Hey, if it already all belongs to GOD, what did he do, loan it to us? The NT doesn't really say anything about tithing. I doubt whether God wants my first born lamb or calf or my biggest bushel of wheat. If it all belongs to God, He has it already. I don't think God is interested in money. I don't think Jesus is interested in forgiving us, over and over again.

I think we are supposed to live our lives and be happy, don't do any harm to ourselves or each others, and don't mess up this world. How can we satisfy any of those things if we are constantly told that we are sinners/bad people?

I don't want to think that Jesus died for nothing, so... pastors, preachers, all you religious leaders, read your bibles and understand what Jesus did for all of us.

[nlnorris]

Maggiemay-

You have very valid questions and comments and they are not uncommon. It is sad that some people try to push a loving message in a negative way and using guilt and their own judgement to spread the Good News of Salvation.

It sounds like you do believe in God but still have questions about what sin really is and how to fit Him into our lives. I'd like to answer those questions for you if that is ok. Otherwise, please ignor this response. Please bear with me as I go back in time.

God is holy, loving and just. We were His creation to have communion with him. He does not need us but we need him just like an infant needs its mother for nurishment and survival. Because of His love he will not dictate our life but gaves us free will to make our own decisions. Because of that free will sin entered the world when Eve let Satan (also known as the deciever) mislead her into eating the forbiden fruit. That fruit opened their eyes to receive knowledge of good and evil. Because of this disobedience sin came in the world and God was no longer willing to "directly" commune with the human kind.

Because of His great love He did not give up on His creation and allowed a way out for us to defeat the sin. The Old Testament shows mans way "to turn" (repetence) by outward expression in action of the inner change. The only way is a blood sacrifice of an animal without blemish and since people carry the original sin they are not blameless and pure. God however did promise a Savior that would come and take away the sins of the world.

Now we enter the New Testament which God came to the wold as man who is Jesus the Christ. Jesus was born and lived just as man, however he was without sin or blemish and became the perfect willing sacrifice God required. In the New Testament the word repentence means the "inward change of mind resulting in an outward turning back"

Ok, now comes what applies to us now. Yes, He died for your sins. However it is written in numeral locations in the New Testament that you must repent first and truly believe that He died for YOU. (see Acts 17:30) You turn your life to Him.
Now comes the answer about good works. Hebrews 6:1 defines repentance as "repentance from dead works" and in Acts 20:21 it is defined as "repentance toward God." Basically this means that we turn away from our dead works. The phrase "dead works" includes all acts and activities that are not based upon true repentance and faith.


So in a nut shell it is through God's grace that you have been saved. That is the gift of eternal life which is through His son Jesus Christ. You can be a good person and do good things but without Christ in you and you in Him you will fall short to the Glory of God and all you do will be dead works.

Our father in heaven want a relationship with you. You may believe in God and his son but even the demens believe. It's your nward change from faith and true repentence that will result in your desire to do good works for Jesus. You will realize that without him you are nothing and everything belongs to him. After all, who created you and gave you the ability to work and receive compensation for that work. The tithe is the believers sacrifice of praise to God and is given willingly because of the believers love and appreciation for what he received from the ability God game him Kinda like a thank you card to God for the present He gave you. The physical money is to help futher God's kingdom by reaching the lost and supporting the Great Comminsion given to us by Jesus. That is spreading the word of the Gospel throughout the world so all will come to know Him and that no one will perish. God does not want to lose anyone!

Because of His great love, yes He is interested in forgiving you over and over if that is what it takes until you use your own will He gave you to come to Him and turn from the ways of the world (which is dead) to the ways of God which is life.


My prayer is for you to receive the truth and that you will desire the find that truth which is in Gods Word which was given to us in the Holy Bible. I pray that you will find a loving and accepting church that believes soley in the truths found in the Bible. The church is the extension of Christ's body. Religion is not faith. Faith is in the believe and service in the name of Jesus Christ.

[Maggiemay]

Thank you very much. Everything you said is right on and I really enjoyed your response. But I never did say that I did not believe in Jesus or God and that I don't have a church or a religion. The church needs to wise up, not me. Thanks again.

[nlnorris]

Originally Posted by Maggiemay

II say,'did Jesus die for nothing?' WE have been forgiven ALREADY, okay! Hey, if it already all belongs to GOD, what did he do, loan it to us? The NT doesn't really say anything about tithing. I doubt whether God wants my first born lamb or calf or my biggest bushel of wheat. If it all belongs to God, He has it already. I don't think God is interested in money. I don't think Jesus is interested in forgiving us, over and over again.

I think we are supposed to live our lives and be happy, don't do any harm to ourselves or each others, and don't mess up this world. How can we satisfy any of those things if we are constantly told that we are sinners/bad people?

But I never did say that I did not believe in Jesus or God and that I don't have a church or a religion

Sorry, I guess I was confused by your comments about sacrifices, tithing and forgiveness . Yes, we are suppose to live our lives and be happy....etc. But we all are sinners and need daily forgivenes, including myself. There is major spiritual warfare going on and we need the Holy Spirit's help to keep us (me) on track. Granted some pastors only use the fire and brimstone approach which is not very appealing, however there is much truth to what some say. Even the Apostle Paul spoke of this in every city he visited. IMO the problem with a lot of churches now days is they are giving watered down truth and saying only what they think the secular world wants to hear..... Everything is hunky dory and all you need to do is good things, hold each others hands and sing cum bi ya around the campfire we'll I guess that's kinda harsh. No pun intended.