Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi (MENJ) recently emailed us a recommendation of
this
article, presumably because he somehow felt that it is such a strong Bible contradiction
that we wouldnt be able to address it, at least not sufficiently. His aim is to show
that Pauls doctrine of justification by faith in Christ alone apart from works is
contradicted by the Old Testament teaching, as well as other New Testament books, which
teach that salvation is possible without believing in Christ or without the requirement of
blood atonement.
He writes:
Every Christian believe that they should do good works, that they should follow the law
of the Prophets. However they do not believe that a man can be justified by the good
works.
"For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is
written, "Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the
book of the law." Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because
the righteous one will live by faith (On Jesus). But the law is not based on faith, but
the one who does the works of the law will live by them. 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the
curse of the law by becoming a curse for us."1
The above-mentioned teachings and belief of the Christians are based
on Pauls teachings and the New Testament, which are against the teachings of Old
Testament.
RESPONSE:
Paul wasnt alone in his position since the Old Testament expresses the same
theme, namely that a person cannot be justified or saved by observing the Law:
"And the LORD said to Moses, Behold, the days approach when you must die.
Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission
him. And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. And
the LORD appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the
entrance of the tent. And the LORD said to Moses, Behold, you are about to lie down
with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among
them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant
that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that
day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And
many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, "Have
not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?" And I will surely hide
my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned
to other gods. Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it
in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me AGAINST the people of Israel.
For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to
give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will
turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. And when
many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall CONFRONT them as a
witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what
they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore
to give. So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people
of Israel. And the LORD commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, Be strong and
courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give
them. I will be with you. When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a
book to the very end, Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of
the LORD, Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the
covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness AGAINST you. For I
know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with
you, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death! Assemble
to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words
in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness AGAINST them. For I know that after my
death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you.
And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the
sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands."
Deuteronomy 31:14-29
"But Joshua said to the people, You are not able to serve the LORD,
for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your
sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you
harm and consume you, after having done you good. And the people said to Joshua,
No, but we will serve the LORD. Then Joshua said to the people, You
are witnesses AGAINST yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.
And they said, We are witnesses. He said, Then put away the foreign gods
that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel. And the
people said to Joshua, The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will
obey. So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place statutes
and rules for them at Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God.
And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the
sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone
shall be a witness AGAINST us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he
spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness AGAINST you, lest you deal falsely with
your God. So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his
inheritance." Joshua 24:19-28
The foregoing shows that God knew and announced beforehand that his people would not be
able to follow his commands, but would turn away from his Law thereby incurring his just
wrath. In fact, God plainly told Israel that he didnt save them because of their
righteousness, since they had none!
"Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you,
It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this
land,' whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving
them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart
are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the
LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that
the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Know, therefore, that
the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your
righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. Remember and do not forget how
you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out
of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the
LORD. Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with
you that he was ready to destroy you. When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets
of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I remained on the
mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. And the LORD
gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the
words that the LORD had spoken with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on
the day of the assembly. And at the end of forty days and forty nights the LORD gave me
the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. Then the LORD said to me,
Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from
Egypt have acted corruptly. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded
them; they have made themselves a metal image. Furthermore, the LORD said to
me, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stubborn people. Let me
alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I
will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they. So I turned and came down
from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire. And the two tablets of the
covenant were in my two hands. And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD
your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way
that the LORD had commanded you. So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of
my two hands and broke them before your eyes. Then I lay prostrate before the LORD as
before, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of
all the sin that you had committed, in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to
provoke him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure that the
LORD bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you. But the LORD listened to me
that time also. And the LORD was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him. And
I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. Then I took the sinful thing, the calf that you
had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as
fine as dust. And I threw the dust of it into the brook that ran down from the mountain.
At Taberah also, and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath.
And when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and take possession of
the land that I have given you, then you rebelled against the commandment of
the LORD your God and did not believe him or obey his voice. You have been rebellious
against the LORD from the day that I knew you. So I lay prostrate before the LORD
for these forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said he would destroy you. And
I prayed to the LORD, O Lord GOD, destroy not your people and your heritage, whom
you have redeemed through your greatness, whom you have brought out of Egypt with
a mighty hand. Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the
stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin, lest the land from
which you brought us say, "Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land
that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to put them to
death in the wilderness." For they are your people and your heritage, whom you
brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm." Deuteronomy 9:4-29
This in itself demonstrates that Gods purpose in giving the Law was to reveal
that man is utterly incapable of meriting their righteous standing before an infinitely
holy God through obedience to his divine instructions. The Law served the purpose of
revealing to man his desperate need of a Savior who would deliver believers from
Gods wrath:
"Who has believed what they heard from us?And to whom has THE ARM OF
THE LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a
root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,and no
beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faceshe was despised,
and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefsand carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded
for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the
chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like
sheep have gone astray;we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD
has laid on himthe iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted,yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the
slaughter,and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,so he opened not
his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away;and as for his generation,
who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,stricken for
the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wickedand
with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence,and there was
no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;he has put him
to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he
shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish
of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my
servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with
the strong,because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with
the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many,and makes intercession for the
transgressors." Isaiah 53:1-12
"The LORD saw it, and it displeased himthat there was no justice. He
saw that there was no man,and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then HIS
OWN ARM brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness
as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of
vengeance for clothing,and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. According to their
deeds, so will he repay,wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;to
the coastlands he will render repayment. So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the
west,and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing
stream,which the wind of the LORD drives. And a Redeemer will come to
Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, declares the LORD.
And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD: My Spirit
that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your
mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's
offspring, says the LORD, from this time forth and forevermore."
Isaiah 59:15-21
These passages specifically state that God will redeem his people from their wickedness
by sending them a Savior, a Servant who will justify them by taking their sins upon
himself and whom the texts identify as the very Arm of Yahweh! This presupposes that the
Redeemer whom God sends is more than a mere human being since the work of redemption is a
Divine work requiring Gods own Arm, or Power, to accomplish it since no one else was
up to the task!(1)
The Old Testament also sets the ground for the doctrine of justification by faith in
Gods promises:
"And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: This man shall not be your
heir; your very own son shall be your heir. And he brought him outside and said,
Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then
he said to him, So shall your offspring be. And he believed the LORD,
and he counted it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:4-6
God reckoned, or declared, Abraham to be righteous solely on the grounds of his faith,
in believing in Gods promise to do what he says, and not because of any righteous
works he had done even though Abraham had done plenty such as leaving his homeland behind
to follow God.
"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,whose sin is
covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,and in
whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted awaythrough
my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;my strength
was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you,and
I did not cover my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the
LORD, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let
everyone who is godlyoffer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place
for me;you preserve me from trouble;you surround me with shouts of
deliverance. Selah" Psalm 32:1-7
David testifies by inspiration that God forgives and does not hold a persons sins
against him/her on the grounds of ones confession and repentance. God completely
pardons a person not on the basis of what s/he does but as a result of an
individuals acknowledgement and turning away from sins. This is similar to what the
Lord Jesus and his followers taught:
"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were
righteous, and treated others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to
pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself,
prayed thus: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all
that I get." But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes
to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me, a
sinner!"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified,
rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the
one who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:9-14
"And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them,
Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my
mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the
heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he
made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the
disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that
we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they
will." Acts 15:7-11
More importantly, these are the very OT texts which Paul used to prove that his
doctrine of justification is thoroughly biblical, one which was already announced
beforehand in the prophetic Scriptures:
"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it" Romans 3:21
"What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the
flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not
before God. For what does the Scripture say?Abraham believed God,
and it was counted to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, his wages
are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but trusts him
who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also
speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,and whose sins are
covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. Is
this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say
that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to
him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was
circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that
he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him
the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be
counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely
circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had
before he was circumcised." Romans 4:1-11
"just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as
righteousness? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached
the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be
blessed. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of
faith." Galatians 3:6-9
MENJ continues to distort the teaching of Gods true Word:
In Old Testament, justification and forgiveness from God is possible without any faith
in Christ and without any salvation through a blood atonement:
"If my people, who belong to me, humble themselves, pray, seek to please me, and
repudiate their sinful practices, then I will respond from heaven, forgive their sin, and
heal their land."2
This is also noted in the following:
"Seek the Lord while he makes himself available;
call to him while he is nearby!
The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans.
They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them,
and to thier[sic] God, for he will freely forgive them."3
RESPONSE:
MENJ erroneously thinks that Christians believe that blood sacrifices, specifically
Christs atoning death, are all that is needed since there is no need for repentance
and holiness. He is deliberately distorting what Christians believe since he started off
his article by noting that every Christian believes in good works. Here, he cites specific
passages emphasizing holiness and repudiation of sin which gives the impression that
Christians do not believe that these things are necessary, or that this somehow conflicts
with the doctrine of justification by faith.
The Christian position, which is the Biblical one, is that such sacrifices are only
efficacious, or made effective, for those who offered them in sincere faith and
repentance. Furthermore, God only credits Christs death to those who truly
acknowledge and turn away from their sins, who are then empowered by the Holy Spirit to
live holy lives. To put it another way, a person whom God has saved on the basis of
Christs atoning death produces fruits in accord with salvation, since these deeds
become the evidence that a person has been justified by grace through faith alone:
"to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from
the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place
among those who are sanctified BY FAITH IN ME. Therefore, O King Agrippa, I
was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then
in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that
they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their
repentance." Acts 26:18-20
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faithand this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that
no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:8-10
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It
teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for
the blessed hopethe glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a
people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:11-14
To put it in a nutshell, a person who is saved by grace through faith in the work of
the Lord Jesus is saved to do good works, to do the things which please God, and to shun
those practices that incur his displeasure.
Moreover, MENJ quotes these specific OT texts out of their immediate and greater
contexts since they serve to refute his claims. For example, his first citation is taken
from 2 Chronicles 7:14 where the immediate context deals with Solomon having just finished
building Gods Temple, a place in which sacrifices would be made for the forgiveness
of sins!
"Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the
leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark
of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of
Israel assembled before the king at the feast that is in the seventh month. And all the
elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, the
tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the Levitical priests
brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had
assembled before him, were before the ark, SACRIFICING so many sheep and oxen that they
could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant
of the LORD to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place,
underneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread out their wings over the place
of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. And the
poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the
inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.
There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where
the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. And when
the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had
consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, and all the Levitical singers,
Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals,
harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was
the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and
thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and
other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, For he is good,for his
steadfast love endures forever, the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a
cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory
of the LORD filled the house of God." 2 Chronicles 5:2-14
"As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and
consumed THE BURNT OFFERING and THE SACRIFICES, and the glory of the LORD filled the
temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory
of the LORD filled the LORD's house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down
and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on
the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, For he is good, for
his steadfast love endures forever. Then the king and all the people OFFERED
SACRIFICE before the LORD. King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000
sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. The priests
stood at their posts; the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the LORD that
King David had made for giving thanks to the LORD--for his steadfast love endures
forever--whenever David offered praises by their ministry; opposite them the priests
sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood. And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court
that was before the house of the LORD, for there he offered THE BURNT OFFERING and
the fat of THE PEACE OFFERINGS, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold
the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat." 2 Chronicles 7:1-7
"Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king's house. All that
Solomon had planned to do in the house of the LORD and in his own house he successfully
accomplished. Then the LORD appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: I
have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself AS A HOUSE OF SACRIFICE.
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the
land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble
themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear
from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and
my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and
consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be
there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father
walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my
rules, then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father,
saying, "You shall not lack a man to rule Israel."" 2 Chronicles 7:11-17
It is truly amazing that MENJ could be ignorant of this when all he had to do was
simply read just a few passages before verse 14 to see that God specifically called his
Temple a house of sacrifice!
More importantly, Solomon was simply carrying out the command of God through Moses that
blood sacrifices were necessary for the forgiveness of sins:
"If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats
any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from
among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for
you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes
atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person
among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.
Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who
takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it
with earth. For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore
I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature,
for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off."
Leviticus 17:10-14; cf. 16:1-34
In fact, the work of forgiveness is a work of atonement, a work based on Gods
willingness to atone for the sins of his people, specifically of those who sincerely turn
away from wickedness and turn to their Creator in holiness:
"Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants;
he will take vengeance on his enemies and make ATONEMENT for his land and people."
Deuteronomy 32:43
"Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,and to you shall vows be performed.
O you who hears prayer,to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail
against me,you ATONE for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose
and bring near,to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the
goodness of your house,the holiness of your temple! By awesome deeds you
answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the
ends of the earthand of the farthest seas;" Psalm 65:1-5
"They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.
But they flattered him with their mouths;they lied to him with their tongues. Their
heart was not steadfast toward him;they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet
he, being compassionate,ATONED for their iniquityand did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath. He remembered that they
were but flesh,a wind that passes and comes not again." Psalm 78:35-39
"Do not remember against us our former iniquities;let your compassion come
speedily to meet us,for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our
salvation,for the glory of your name; deliver us, and ATONE for our
sins,for your name's sake!" Psalm 79:8-9
The Hebrew words translated atonement/atoned/atone come from the same word used in
Leviticus 17:11, which says that it is the blood that makes atonement, namely kaphar
(*).
This basically means that it is God who atones for the sins of his people, and does so
through blood sacrifice, specifically the blood of Jesus Christ his beloved Son:
"God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.
He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present
time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
Romans 3:25-26
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
in accordance with the riches of God's grace" Ephesians 1:7
"For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order
that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and
that he might make atonement for the sins of the people." Hebrews 2:17
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
1 John 1:7
"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody
does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defenseJesus Christ, the
Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours
but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:1-2
"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent
his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:10
Interestingly, the book of Job speaks of the need for a mediator who could provide
atonement on behalf of man so that s/he could stand justified before God:
"His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden,
now stick out. His soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the messengers of
death. Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator,
one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, to be gracious to
him and say, 'Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found
a ransom for him' - then his flesh is renewed like a child's;
it is restored as in the days of his youth. He prays to God and finds favor with
him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to
his righteous state." Job 33:21-26 NIV
The word for ransom comes from the Hebrew kopher, which is related to
kaphar (*).
The idea here is that mediation must be based on atonement, that atonement is
the means through which a person can be ransomed. The New Testament states
that Jesus is God's Mediator sent to ransom sinners through his atoning death:
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men -
the testimony given in its proper time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6
"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our
consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living
God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant,
that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-now
that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under
the first covenant." Hebrews 9:14-15
Thus, belief and repentance without vicarious sacrifice cannot save; and yet blood
atonement without genuine faith and conversion is rendered ineffective. A person needs
all of these components in order to be pleasing to and accepted by the Lord.
Finally, MENJs position proves too much and backfires against his beliefs as
a Muslim. After all, if he is correct that salvation, according to the Old Testament,
doesnt depend on believing in Christ then it is also true that a person doesnt
need to believe in Muhammad to be saved. (In fact, a person cannot believe in him since
to do so would result in the loss of salvation and favor with God). All a person must do
is simply obey what God commands in the Old Testament.
MENJ is obviously trying to have his cake and eat it too.
It should also be noted that the New Testament also proves that the beliefs mentioned
in the Old Testament were quite enough for justification.
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but
does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? you empty fellow, that faith without
works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his
son on the altar? You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith
was perfected by works. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Now Abraham believed
God and it was counted to him for righteousness, and he was called Gods friend. 2:24
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And similarly, was not
Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent
them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith
without works is dead."4
RESPONSE:
MENJ erroneously assumes that James is teaching that works justify a person when such
is not the case at all. James is talking about a vindication of ones faith, using
the word justified in the sense of providing clear evidence that a person has true belief
in God:
"But someone will say, You have faith and I have works.
SHOW ME your faith apart from your works, and I will SHOW YOU my faith BY MY WORKS."
James 2:18
He is using the word in the same way Christ used it here:
"The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Look at him! A
glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Yet wisdom is
justified by her deeds." Matthew 11:19
"Yet wisdom is justified by all her children." Luke 7:35
Divine Wisdom isnt made righteous, since she already exists in a righteous state
seeing that she originates from God, but is proven to be just or stands vindicated by what
she does through the actions of those who possess her. In a similar manner, a believer
isnt made righteous by works, but a persons works provide the proof that one
truly has genuine, saving faith. In other words, James is saying that works are necessary
to show or prove that a person has genuine belief in God.
This is what we stated earlier, that a person is saved unto good works, since such
deeds are the necessary outcome of one who has been saved by grace through faith in the
finished work of the risen and immortal Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
The foregoing shows that MENJ has done nothing more than to misrepresent the Christian
view. He erroneously thinks that the Holy Scriptures teach that good works are necessary
for forgiveness of sins, thereby nullifying the crucifixion of Jesus. The problem is not
with what either the Old or New Testaments teach regarding this subject, but with
MENJs misreading of the Holy Bible that leads him to think that there is. Neither
Testament teaches that good works save a person; rather both Testaments proclaim that
individuals are saved by Gods grace through faith and that this salvation is
dependant on Gods provision of atonement, that God provides blood sacrifice to cover
the debt of sins. This sacrifice culminates in the atoning death of the Lord Jesus, the
once-for-all final sacrifice of God for sinners who believe and repent:
"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29
"He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his
own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he
offered up himself." Hebrews 7:27
"But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then
through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this
creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the
blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal
redemption Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be
purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than
these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of
the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our
behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters
the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer
repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all
at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is
appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been
offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with
sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." Hebrews 9:11-12, 23-28
"And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service,
offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when
Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand
of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for
his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being
sanctified." Hebrews 10:10-14
Once a person is saved through the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, s/he is given
Gods Holy Spirit who empowers believers to live a righteous life obedient to
Gods commands. Thus, although good works do not save they are the result of
salvation, the necessary fruit demonstrating that a person has been saved by grace through
faith alone.
Therefore, there is no paradox, no contradiction, with Christians insisting that
believing in the blood of the Lord Jesus saves mankind.
For web articles on this subject we recommend
this resource.
Endnotes
(1) Isaiah 53, where the inspired prophet identifies Gods righteous Servant
as the Arm of Yahweh, provides an example of how God prepared his people for the coming of
his Messiah, specifically Jesus Christ. In fact, the NT is replete with references where
the Lord Jesus and his followers appealed to OT prophecies which they believed foretold
his coming:
"Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was
still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and
the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures, and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and
on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be
proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Luke 24:44-47
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ
died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,"
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
"Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was
to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the
Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the
subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves
but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the
good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to
look." 1 Peter 1:10-12
Christ even stated that the people of the past were eagerly awaiting his appearance:
"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I
say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see,
and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." Matthew 13:16-17
"Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and
was glad. So the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old,
and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you,
before Abraham was, I am. So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid
himself and went out of the temple." John 8:56-59
This means that the OT prophets and saints were not ignorant of Jesus advent
since they were given the Holy Spirit to foresee his coming. What this basically means is
that they were saved by their faith in Gods promise that he would bring forth the
Messiah who would redeem them from their sins.
MENJ is therefore completely wrong to assert that the OT teaches that a person could be
saved apart from faith in Christ when one of the main purposes of the Hebrew Scriptures
was to announce the coming of the Messiah Redeemer:
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life;
and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me
that you may have life." John 5:39-40
MENJ should have no problem with this since his Quran claims that Allah announced the
coming of a messenger and of Muhammad in the previous scriptures:
And when God took compact with the Prophets: 'That I have given you of Book and Wisdom;
then there shall come to you a Messenger confirming what is with you -- you shall
believe in him and you shall help him; do you agree?' He said. 'And do you take My
load on you on that condition?' They said, 'We do agree.' God said, 'Bear
witness so, and I shall be with you among the witnesses.' S. 3:81 Arberry
those who follow the Messenger, 'the Prophet of the common folk, whom they find
written down with them in the Torah and the Gospel, bidding them to honour, and
forbidding them dishonour, making lawful for them the good things and making unlawful for
them the corrupt things, and relieving them of their loads, and the fetters that were upon
them. Those who believe in him and succour him and help him, and follow the light that has
been sent down with him -- they are the prosperers.' S. 7:157 Arberry
And when Jesus son of Mary said, 'Children of Israel, I am indeed the Messenger of God
to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and giving good tidings of a
Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.' Then, when he
brought them the clear signs, they said, 'This is a manifest sorcery.' S. 61:6 Arberry
Hence, the Quran accepts the principle that God can announce beforehand the advent of
a specific prophet/messenger and that the people receiving this proclamation were required
to believe it in order to be saved. The only difference here is that whereas Jesus is
predicted in the OT books, these inspired Scriptures, on the other hand, do not predict
the coming of Muhammad. In fact, both the Old and New Testaments expose him as a false
prophet.
The Holy Bible sternly warned Israel not to intermarry with the pagan nations lest they end up worshiping their gods/goddesses:
“Be sure to keep what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite,
In this post I will show that the true God loves all nations equally, not just Israel. I will demonstrate that God commanded the Israelites to love the foreigner or non-Israelite as a fellow, native-born Israelite, and ordered that the same Law and commands equally apply to both Israelite and
