Quote:
Originally Posted by PastorSehmish
Indeed most of your points are quite true, and do not require any further comment.
I am assuming when you say "assuming Jesus existed" you mean Jesus as the son of God, as there is ample historical evidence that he did actually exist. All religious opinions aside, to deny the existence of the person we know as Jesus (whatever you consider him to be) is truly foolish.
While I would prefer to discuss the prophecy of Ezekiel in another thread, the issue of how only Jesus was able to die for our sins is in a way complicated. Simply put though in both the old and new testaments, it was God who provided the sacrifice. God provided Jesus to pay for our sins, as he was sinless.
The sacrifice must take the place of sinful man: Sin and guilt was imputed to Jesus. As the wages of sin is death, he had to die for us. But as our sin was imputed to him, he has taken that punishment upon himself, for people past, present and future. Praise the Lord!
I'm glad I could enlighten you.
God bless,
Dr Pastor Emeritus Wayne Sehmish
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If Christ took only the wage of death from our sins, then we would no longer die. The cup that God gave Christ to drink was not that of physical death, but the full and infinite burden of God's wrath against sin. Rather than destroying every last of His creation; He took the burden of wrath upon HIMSELF as He, the Almighty, is the only One mighty and righteous enough to endure His own perfect wrath. This is why Christ proclaims being abandoned by God at his time of death - all presence of God was taken from Him; God turned His back upon Himself in wrath and smote Christ, not just in flesh, but in spirit too. His avatar was completely devoured and three days later reformed. Christ did not just die those three days; He was subjected to the entirety of Wrath so that man would be spared that judgment; so that the faithful may find heaven, and that the haters of God may be smote from existence in Hellfire rather than subjected to eternal wrath in the knowledge of their folly.
Perhaps something to consider; it has certainly deepened my own faith to understand this.