Name: Mario McDonald
Subject: Reconciling John 3:16
Message: How can you reconcile John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son that WHOSOEVER BELIEVES in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" with the last 2 statements you posted above about the aborigines, and those who live a upright life before the LORD? What about when Jesus said I am the way, the life and the truth and NO ONE GOES TO THE FATHER BUT THRU ME? I think these verses contradict your statements, there is nothing we can do to earn our entry into God's kingdom except by accepting the free gift of God. The Torah is very clear when it says There is no one good, no one, because no one seeks after me, how can you contradict God's Holy Word?
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REMOTE_ADDR: 65.170.177.150
HTTP_REFERER: http://www.tzemach.org/articles/2006jewsandjudgment.htm
This is the article he is referencing.
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Dear Mario,
Thank you for your correspondence. I hope that you are one who is truly seeking and not just someone who likes to argue.
No one is saying that anyone can earn their way to God. The verses you are referencing also potentially contradict Jesus' words [John 5:29], Paul's words [Romans 1:18-32], John's words [Revelation 21:8], Ezekiel's words [Ezekiel 18], Isaiah's words, Moses' words, if perceived superficially.
John 3:16 says what it says, but it does not say that if you don't know the name of Jesus you go to the pit. "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" [John 14:6] also doesn't say that if you don't know the name of Jesus you are damned. You forgot the statement, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" [Acts 4:12], but notice it also doesn't say that a person has to know the name of Jesus to be redeemed. This is a concoction of the Catholic Church formulated between 180-450 CE seemingly in an effort to exercise manipulative control over church members [i.e. excommunication from the church means you are going to hell]. The first century church did not embrace the modern doctrinal position on judgment, justification, and salvation.
I personally know an Israeli who met Jesus [Yeshua] on the battle field in Israel. I was at first frustrated beyond measure that, with all that He (Jesus) communicated to him, Jesus never told him His name. He refers to Him (Jesus) as "the word of the Lord" as Ezekiel did. He knows Jesus better that many Christians; he just doesn't know him by that name. Now I could be angry with Jesus, or deal with the reality of what He did. The Father sacrificed His son, the son willingly shed His blood, so that 'anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord might be saved' [Acts 2:21]. Our deeds don't justify us, that was accomplished by the blood of the Lamb. Our deeds do identify who we want to be like and with. We are not the ones contradicting God's holy word; the "church" has done enough of that for about 1800 years.
By the way, is it just possible that "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" could be talking about worshipping God and not final judgment? Also the statement, "They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one" is not Torah but Psalms 14:3; unless you were looking for Romans 3:12.
Please see Pastor Ken Garrison's documentation of the development of this modern church doctrine in his book "Hebraic Roots" at http://www.tzemach.org/book.htm
Also see these articles dealing with the same topic:
A RECIPE FOR A DOCTRINE OF ABSOLUTE CHURCH AUTHORITY
TIME AND THE ATONEMENT
Salvation? [Or Just Justification?]
Why There is Confusion about Salvation and Judgment
I also responded more fully on this topic to another reader:
Another Gospel?
Blessings from the Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies,
Jim Wingerter
Director of Multimedia Communications
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Response from Mario:
I keep those things only to a few of my close friends, and I have seen these things coming to reality in my life time. I am concerned about the truth, it is hard to find the truth amongst all the trash that many evangelist are preaching, I am concerned that some people may think, well if I am good enough I don't need to seek or to accept Christ. My main concern is that if you are good enough to make it to Heaven, then why needed Our Messiah to die in the cross? The Catholic Church preaches that if you are good enough and people pray enough you can make it to Heaven, My belief is that there is a distinction between Jews and Gentiles, Jews are the chosen people of God. Thru the Jews we the Gentiles receive the blessings God poured on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, thru the Jews the Word of God was revealed to us, and my only concern is do we gentile Christians are doing enough to help the Jewish people? Are we offering to our Jewish brothers and sisters our best? Please help me to understand, are there 2 different covenants? Is one covenant for the Jews and one covenant for the Gentiles? God has put on my heart a heavy load for my Jewish brothers and sisters. Every time I read the news about what is going on in Israel, the bombings, the suicide attacks, the garbage the world keeps blaming the Jewish for everything, it really hurts in my soul that not a whole lot of Christians are doing their part supporting Israel. Sorry for my questions, but I want to understand.
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Dear Mario,
Thank you for your correspondence. I appreciate your good attitude, your zeal for the truth, and your heart for the Jewish people.
In our search for the truth we have found that God has given us a formula for knowing that we have found the truth. We see it in Matthew 18: "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault between you and him alone in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word [fact] may be confirmed."
Jesus regularly quoted Moses who said: "A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin, which he has committed; by the mouth of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed." Deuteronomy 19:15
God the Father actually demonstrated the importance of a matter being confirmed before two or three witnesses by confirming His covenant with Abraham before Isaac and Jacob as well. Notice, therefore, three witnesses on the matter of three witnesses.
Contrary to the teachings of many churches no covenant is a covenant of salvation, but of identity, relationship, and purpose in God. There is no covenant in Jesus except that He was the fulfillment of God's covenant with King David [found in 2 Samuel chapter 7], which deals with the descendant of king David who will sit on his throne and rule over the kingdom from a house that God would build for him. The short term fulfillment of that promise was David's son, King Solomon. But nearly a thousand years later the angel Gabriel confirmed to Mary that the child she would bare would become the fulfillment of that covenant [Luke 1:26-37].
Do not be concerned with what others think but be concerned about having the perspective of God. We all become much more of a usable tool in His hands when we align our thinking according to His thinking.
There are a number of things you can do to accomplish that. Let me really recommend that you take yourself through our online bible course. It usually takes two years to go through, but you can do it at your own pace. The course takes you through the bible and early church history in chronology and nothing is able to wash doctrine out of our thinking like hearing what God says over and over. If you are interested, please go to http://www.tzemach.org/index-eng.htm and look at "COURSE OFFERINGS" in the left menu. There is no fee for the course work. The Lord has freely given to us, therefore we freely give.
Blessings from the Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies,
Jim
