See Lk 13 v 4,5
Submitted by Forgiven on September 16 2001 03:33:30
In reply to Re: An alternative response (long rant) submitted by Dirk on September 15 2001 14:04:25
|
"Or those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you know No, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" Whilst I don't particularly disagree with Dirk's post above, the emphasis of my material is to respond to this by personal repentance for what we individually have done that is not God's way; it is only by God's grace that we can ever be forgiven, but if we die without accepting His offer, then we will be far worse off than we can conceive of. That is my understanding of what Jesus is getting at; it is that uncomfortable message that the church has stopped talking about. I wish it wasn't true - it would be a lot nicer to believe that on the final day God is going to accept everyone into heaven. But that isn't what the Christian tradition teaches - and we need to be sure that people are not hearing that highly attractive but wholly deceptive lie. I therefore find the Luke passage especially relevant in the present context; Jesus is responding to a pair of tragedies - a massacre by Pilate and a building collapse - and he takes the opportunity to challenge people to look at their own life, not at the sinfulness or otherwise of the victims. |
Follow ups: