I admire your apparent knowledge of Biblical theology, and the eloquent way you have of presenting it. But what does it all mean from a personal perspective?

It is a poignant story, one that any parent can relate to. "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." God made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

But what are the implications? If you believe in the scripture literally, it raises more questions than it answers. The Bible says that a man is washed of his sins when he PERSONALLY acknowledges and accepts the FINISHED work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Does that mean that all people who do this are forgiven, no matter how wicked they are? How long can they wait? Until the last few moments of life? Can they be as bad as they want to be until that moment comes?

What happened to people before Christ came along? Other religions claim that their spiritual leader is the supreme one. Who's right?

If you are forgiven, do you have to work at all at being a good person at life? In a way, this scripture (absent any clarifying scripture) confirms what some of the "new agers" have been saying all along...There is no good or evil at all. There is only the belief (or lack thereof) in the Divine. In fact, this is exactly what Genesis says; it speaks of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and how Adam and Eve lived with God and had no knowledge of Good and Evil before they ate from the tree.

What troubles many people about Christians is that they are often perceived as people who have stopped thinking; because they have accepted and live by the doctrines of their church, and since they are forgiven anyway, they no longer think carefully and deeply about the most important issues in life, choosing instead to let the scripture do their thinking for them.

The one thing Christians seem to fail to do is relate this scripture to my life, directly. Without that connection, I just find it confusing, especially from those that insist on literal interpretations of scripture. I have always believe that the Bible is supposed to be a thought-provoking, insightful, spiritual, inspirational book, not just a manual that tells you how to fold flap A into slot B.

To put it another way, I believe that the blood and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ are symbols for things that we should be doing, in small ways, in our own life.

I try to live a life of kindness and happiness.And if I do something dumb I forgive myself ,or some one else does I forgive them.

not as messy, hakunamatada

peace

Dualism is the basis for Philosophy and Religion. The Bible story of Adam and Eve’s knowledge of the good and bad, is the oldest source of Dualistic thinking. Therefore from a dualistic world view that man is separate from God. The Answer to your question is YES. However when we are conscious of the illusion of Separatism (Dualism). We realize that God which is unconditional love does not require a blood sacrifice. In Jesus day there was no Christianity, or Denominations. Jesus taught that God Loves us, an evolutionary leap in consciousness from the punishing God of the old human thinking. Jesus trusted God “And if I be lifted up will draw all men to me” Jesus’ message God Loves you. What it means to be Christ-like trust in God. (The consciousness of the Human race is evolving, but we have only had one major Reformation of our Religious Belief in 2000 years.) Normally I would have ignored your question, I am not into trying to wake people up. That’s not what spirituality is about. What attracted me to your question is that it is one of the five points that Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield and other American Theologians author in 1910 as a declaration against liberal Theology. They name it “The Fundamental , A Testimony to the Truth. If Jesus have lived and died in Africa would the Church have voodoo rituals.

God needs nothing from us, sacrafice or what have you. God is all Love, abundant and creative. God needs nothing because God is all things. Therefore, ....forgivness is a given.

C.C. I enjoyed both your question and answer, both very scriptural and accurate.

It does rise a question. A question that I could never find an answer for, as to why the spilling of blood forgives sins? I understand it is a sacrifice to God but here we have God come down as a man (Jesus) to Earth to be as one of us and experience as we do the temptations of this earth and he had to keep pure then take all of humankind forever all their sins with him to the cross. He then died as a sacrifice for us all his blood shed, now here is where it gets complicated, God as man dies as a sacrifice for us to save us to himself as God as God that we are now washed of sins and are acceptable into heaven. I know we needed the sacrifice as that is scriptural but this sacrifice is to God so it seems God needs it too, that seems odd a loving God that needs blood for sins, it makes it confusing. He loves us so much he became the blood sacrifice to himself for us.

you reap what you sow.The basic nature of God's Justice: GALATIANS 6: 7-9 (KJV) 7: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8: For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

According to their way I will do to them, and according to their own judgments I will judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD." (Ezekiel 7:27b RSV)

"TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED."

       "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men
        should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is
        the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12 KJV)

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12 KJV)

"and I will give unto every one of you according to your works." (Revelation 2:23c KJV)

Matthew 7:13-14 (KJV) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: [14] Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. oFor whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

24 He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 "But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. 26 "But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 "And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' And the slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' 29 "But he said, 'No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn." (Mat 13:24-30 NAS)

so no it is not by blood that you repare your sin. you reap what you sow. so do not sow tares and sow good wheats.

experience and enjoy.

Yes there IS...

Find out who and what you truly ARE... What you DO best...

Then, spend the rest of your life, wholeheartedly doing and being that person, for your own joy and in your own divine right as one of God's children...

That's the only PAYMENT that God, or His son Jesus, has ever wanted from us.

This question implies a belief in god, sins and valid payments for the forgiveness of sins, a system of beliefs that i held until the age of 19 years old, after which i took another path. Now i believe that all this boils down to "we reap what we sow", or in other words "the law of attraction".