ArchivedThe Savior, First SinPeace to all those involved in this discussion May I say actually, there is no difference whatsoever in the aql al saleem of Islam and the sincere repentance required of a Christian. The huge difference is that whilst repentance can clean up sin, it can't clean up the inner shame that results from sin. When I sin, I don't only "damage" my own self and my relationship to God, I am left with the shame of what I have done. In Isaiah 53 it says that he bore our sins, and he took away our shame. You see, even if I don't think about original sin... I KNOW I am a sinner and that no matter how hard I try I keep on sinning. Okay, maybe they may be considered "little" sins, but Jesus said that even to think ill of someone and hating them in your heart is like murdering them in real life. Christians don't believe it's only the sin that defiles you it's also the attitude of your heart. No matter how many times you as a Muslim confess your sins, even go to hajj, you have to keep up all the requirements of Islam to ensure you stay in submission to islam and walk according to his requirements. But, you still have to work towards your salvation by keeping on doing those good deeds all your life. .. but you are never free from the shame that is associated with the sin you have committed. I personally believe that the relief of the day of repentance experienced on the hajj, is that you spend a day truly aware of your shame before Almighty God. Can any Hajji tell me how long that relief lasts for once you leave the "holiness" of mecca and return to your own world? How long does that relief last for, before again you begin striving to meet what you know in your heart, is the requirements of God? As I read the Old and New Testament, I see that this was no after thought of God. It was in His plan before He even created man. Jesus is described as the "one who came in the fulness of time" and who was "the lamb, slain before the foundation of the world." The entire history of man, is not about me striving to be good enough to be accepted by God, it's about me being in a restored relationship with Him, so I "no longer need be naked and ashamed before him" as Adam and Eve were in the Garden. As Adam's attempts to make himself acceptable to God, left Him afraid to enter the presence of God (Genesis 3) so also my own personal attempts, no matter how sincere, leave me in the same place of not knowing, of wondering, of being afraid to say "yes, my sins are forgiven".. A Christian simply admits that as illogical as it may seem, "I am a sinner, I will never attain the holiness required by a totally holy God. Left to myself, I would never be able to attain paradise, no matter how sorry I am for my sins. I will always continue to sin, will always continue to carry the shame of my sin." the Christian then throws himself/herself on the mercy of the All merciful God and says "I know that what I can't do for myself, God has done for me in Christ." Now, does this stop me being accountable for my sin? Does this give me free license to keep on sinning? Absolutely not, for now, accepting the God stepped into time and underwent the ultimate penalty for all my sins, how could I then throw it all back in his face and keep on sinning? Wouldn't my sin be all the greater for that? There is no dual logic for the Christian. Chritianity is simply a statement that no amount of repentance can cover the shame or the reality of my sin. It throws my dependance so utterly and completely on God as the ONLY way of salvation. Who then receives the honour and the worship? It's not me who has earned my salvation, it's Him who has given it to me. How then do I respond? By living a life that is totally worthy of Him .. and here now is the reason for the good works and religious acts. It's not to enable me to be acceptable to God.. it's my act of worship Why do you think Christians say they will spend eternity not in a place with endless pleasures, but in worshipping God? It's because in the end, why would we who are believers want to do anything less than to honour, worship and love the one who provided the only path to our salvation. Who loved us enough, to do for us, what we could never completely do ourselves. To HIM alone be all the praise, honour and glory Amen |
🌈Pride🌈 goeth before Destruction
When 🌈Pride🌈 cometh, then cometh Shame