This, post, however looks at some basic, overall misconceptions about the Bible and salvation.
This is an issue because so many people view salvation through a lens that is not Biblical. In everyday conversations people say things accepted as true, but seem to be taken out of context.
Your salvation is too important to be misled.
Also, since it is around the time of Holy Week the subject of salvation is amplified.
Some examples are comments/questions like:
- Will I go to hell if I break one of the 10 Commandments?
- If God is love, then why is the God of the Old Testament so violent?
- Will I go to heaven if I perform enough good deeds?
A Beginner's Guide To The Bible
First of all, why do you think the Bible was written?
Hint: The Bible was not written for you to just skim over and feel warm and fuzzy.
The knowledge in the Bible is intended for spiritual truths (not scientific or historical). The spiritual truths were intended for you to learn the nature of God and a path for your salvation in the Age To Come.
With this in mind God is focused on your salvation and the salvation of every human being. God did not create just to create or to impress somebody, but to fulfill his will of sharing his glory.
The Bible contains God's Inspired Word, but one must take care in interpretation. Do you know why some parables are difficult to understand, for example? The people who want to know the answers will ask someone, and that differentiates those who want to skim the Bible and those who truly want to understand.
With that in mind, just what things do the Bible say about your salvation?
The Path To Your Eternal Salvation
If you accept that the Bible was written for your salvation, then how do you get that salvation?
God gave the law to his chosen people (the Jews) on Mt. Sinai to guide them until the Messiah came. Notice the word "sin" can even be found in the word 'Sinai". A society without laws is chaos, so that is where it began.
The Ten Commandments were given, ranging from general to specific guidelines. There were actually 613 laws given to follow at the time, but the Ten Commandments supposedly summed them all up. The "Mitzvah" in Bar Mitzvah is singular for these laws given to the Jewish people.
A defect was soon noticed. If you break even 1 of the 613 Commandments given by God to Moses, then you are guilty under the law.
No person could reasonably keep 613 Commandments all the time and, thus, no one could be saved. In fact, God's infinite wisdom eventually showed his people this was one need for a Messiah to come to redeem them. They could NOT do it on their own!
Why Does The Old Testament God Look Violent?
This God with all the laws and punishments seemed violent to many people and contradictory to their image of a God.
However, one must take into account the context of what something is written. The context of these laws is that they were written to the Jewish people at a violent time in history.
God had said to Israel, “I am using you here in this war as an instrument of my judgment upon this nation, and I’m bringing my violence upon this unbelievably wicked people, the Canaanites.”
God also used his violence as a means to prove a point. There is a good illustration in Samual 15. God instructed King Saul to destroy the Amalekites, and added "do not spare them." Saul saved some of the things he thought the Lord wanted, thinking he was doing a good thing. God, however, rejected him as King because Saul did things his own way. This was God's way of showing the Israelites to be obedient to him, instead of doing what a human mind thought was right.
In addition to God showing obedience, violence is something God thought was important to mention in his Inspired Word.
At some point evil is intolerable to God and is wiped off of the earth. There are warnings, but God is still ultimately about love.
"For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! - Ezekiel 18:32
A final note is that these instructions are believed to come from God and judging God is a dangerous position. Furthermore, God knows the whole picture and, as a human, you don't.
Then Came The Messiah One way to read the Old Testament is that it is pointing to the coming of the Messiah, or Savior.
After the Messiah came to earth for the salvation of humankind they were not under the law as a means of salvation. This does NOT mean the law did not apply anymore, but rather it did not fulfill what they needed to do for salvation.
(In case you are asking you should still keep the 10 Commandments, but that will not "earn" your salvation on its own).
This is another idea that is often taken out of context. Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but rather to fulfill it. Since he fulfilled the law your salvation rests in him and his work, as opposed to the things you do. It is inferred the (Old Testament) law is inferior because it condemns instead of loves. Jesus came to save the world, and not to condemn it. (John 3:17). Following the law does NOT lead to your salvation! This answers number 3 in the questions near the top of the page. How This Applies To Your Life
- It is difficult to determine God's will sometimes, but you can try through things such as prayer, reading Scripture and following your conscience (instead of people).
- God only intended for you to live in paradise.
- Bad choices can displease God, but they do not ultimately stop his will or time table.
- Jesus took on your shortcomings to make you into a new person, and not just to forgive you.
- It is not where you are physically (what job or company), but if you put God first there.
- Your salvation is not based on the good things you do, but on the finished work of Jesus Christ.
- The same power that Resurrected Jesus Christ is waiting to Resurrect you!
HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE
Post Script: To answer the 3 questions near the top of the post:
1. You do not go to hell just by breaking one of the Ten Commandments
2. The law was all there was to go by for salvation until the Messiah came into the world
3. You do not go to heaven based on your good works, but by accepting the work of Jesus
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Post Script: The information in this blog post came from a number of sources, including those with Seminary degrees, Theology degrees, Biblical scholars and Clergy. Their interpretations come from Scripture.
