Mankind was unable to live by the rules of God.
Everytime the law of Moses was broken people were sinning.
Nothing could forgive sin except God, but he did not do that.
Every year the high priest would go into the temple to drop a few drops of blood onto the ark, which contained the tablets with the 10 commandments.
By this the sins were covered, not forgiven. The sins were still remembered, they would only not have effect anymore in their live...
By this, they forgot why they shouldn't sin... sin would stick to them, cling on to them, they were never free from sin.
Now jesus comes into action. He changes the way sin is treated. Instead of covering sin, sin is forgiven.
The law of moses still applies into daily christian life, "no letter of it shall be undone".
But the difference is, sin is forgiven, people are free from sin, beacouse Jesus, heavens perfect lamb, died for us. And when he died, the curtain that seperated the holy part of the temple from the holiest of the holiest torned, showing that sin would no more be covered, but forgiven. there was no more need for covereing, no more need for a holiest of a holy part in the temple.
And people are not judged for what they do. It is their hearts that are judged. Jesus looks straight into your heart and sees your intentions.
Some people are bonded by sin, they cannot escape from it just like that. They don't wish to sin, but they can't help doing it over and over again. They try everything in their might to stop it, but they can't.
These people ultimately finally discover that they can't break teh bonds of darkness, and that only jesus can do that... and all they have to do is ask for it... so simple that it is hardly thought of.
These people will get into heaven, couse their intention is good, and they hate sin, and they wish to get rid of it.
Now you have people who deliberately sin, they know they sin, and they know they shouldn't have, and they know that they don't have to do it, but they do anyways.
These people won't get into heaven until they make a rigourous change in their life style.
It is all about intention. if your heart chooses to follow jesus, and you listen to what jesus says to you, you will live a life without sin.
But mens flesh is weak, and so is his spirit, and satan will always look for a hole to work through...
he will throw all sorts of things at you to lure you away from your relationship with jesus.
it can be big things, like a friend that breaks up which causes you go get stuck into wordly problems... or it can be by letting thoughts slip in that aren't purely christian which causes you to find another way of believing but that is not christian, but looks so like it that a person hardly sees the difference.
If you live in close relationship with jesus, and you let him share in everything that you do(even going to the toilet you do with jesus), you will not be able to get stuck in sin. Jesus will correct you one way or the other.
anyways, I've got to stop now....
Michael