Website owner: James Miller
Q. What was the message of Jesus? What did he preach? A. He preached an urgent message of: "Repent! Turn to God! Turn away from your sin! Live right -- live by the highest standard of right!" See Matt. 4:17. He endorsed John the Baptist who preceded him preaching the same message and had John the Baptist baptize him. Jesus spoke frequently of hell and eternal damnation. He taught that "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you will in no way enter the kingdom of heaven". He taught that the unrepentant sinner would burn in an everlasting hell. He preached essentially the same message as the great prophets of the Old Testament: "Repent and turn to God!" Q. What was the standard of morality taught by Jesus? A. It was the same standard as the Old Testament. The Ten Commandments. Love God. Do the right thing by your neighbor. Do not steal, murder or commit adultery. Honor your father and mother. Like David of the Old Testament Jesus emphasized the importance of "the rightness of the heart", and of obeying the spirit of the law and not just the letter. The standard of morality taught by Jesus, in a way, went even further than that of the Old Testament. For example, he said, "You have heard that it has been said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy', but I say to you, 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you'". Q. The New Testament teaches that the main purpose of Christ's coming down to earth was to atone for the sins of man through his death on the cross. Did his death on the cross atone for the sins of all men i.e. even the sins of the wicked? Or just for the sins those who love God and are following in his way? A. If his work on the cross provided atonement for the sins of the wicked even the wicked would go to heaven and we know that will not happen. It only provided atonement for the sins of those who follow in God's way. July 1997
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