The proverb implies that the sins of the fathers will be
imputed to the children. The Lord says
such is not the case, each person stands on their own in judgment before
Him. We are not victims of genetic
inheritance in the sense that we were determined to do certain things. Genetic predisposition and actions are two
different things. The Lord says that we
are judged according to what we do. If we
do as commanded, repent and turn from iniquity, then we will be counted as
righteous. If we turn from righteousness
to iniquity we will be judged as guilty.
Does that change with Jesus? We are
counted righteous for His sake but don't our actions reveal something? He is the ability to turn from sin to
righteousness, if that doesn't happen in our lives then we are still judged as
guilty, a mere confession of Him without life change is nothing more than
taking His Name in vain.
The parable of the Good Samaritan tells us that actions
matter as well as knowing the commandments.
The lawyer attempts to put Jesus to the test by asking which is the greatest
commandment. The thing to remember here
is that this is not a secular lawyer but one whose specialty is the Law, the
Bible. Jesus answers satisfactorily and
then the follow up is to explain the commandment to love the neighbor. It is necessary to know who I have to love as
my neighbor. Jesus doesn't answer that
question directly, He simply points to one who has fulfilled the duty, a
Samaritan, a despised cousin of the Jews.
Today, it would perhaps have a Muslim hero. It doesn't mean that the person is righteous
or right in their theological understanding but it implies that the person has
understood and fulfilled that particular commandment. Your neighbor is anyone who needs you to be
their neighbor. We are responsible for
loving all humankind. Love, however,
isn't an emotion, it is action on their behalf at our own cost.
Jesus is a priest as the others were, He was declared a
priest by an oath but the oath was God's. He is a better priest, however,
because He continues so forever. The resurrection
from the dead has shown His priesthood is continuing to this day. Like a priest, Jesus offered a sacrifice for
sin, but it was the perfect sacrifice of self, once-offered, and it need not be
duplicated. There is no need for further
sacrifice because this one was accepted for all. Other priests offered animal sacrifices but
Jesus fulfilled all righteousness and we know that He did because of the resurrection. He is the representative man, unlike animal sacrifices. We need neither priest nor sacrifice, He is
sufficient on both counts. His love for
us wasn't only a declaration in words but a declaration in action and calls us
to love one another as He has loved us.
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