Judy wrote: > There could not have been an atonement if Jesus > had the blood of Adam coursing through his veins > because then he would have been born in sin and > he would have had a sin nature like the rest of > us and this would have disqualified him because > the sacrifice had to be a male who was perfect > and without blemish. Scripture teaches that > "he was made sin for us who knew no sin that > we might be made the righteousness of God in > Him" (2 Cor 5:21).
We may have some deeper differences than atonement that concerns the sin nature and how it effects us. I do not believe that the sin nature in itself makes us guilty before God. I believe that the sin nature within us is simply a drive towards selfishness, which is a drive toward sin. However, if one resists this sin nature, he would be blameless. The Scriptures actually call some men blameless, such as Job, so I don't follow you on how Jesus must be distinct from the Adamic race in order to be a blameless sacrifice. The Bible teaches that the life is in the blood, but from my perspective, that simply points out how the soul interfaces with the physical body. In the Hebrew, it literally reads that the soul is in the blood. It seems to me that if a lamb could be blameless and worthy of being a blood sacrifice, how much more could a human being who never sinned yet was descended from Adam be blameless and suitable for the ultimate sacrifice for mankind. Jesus knew no sin but he did know temptation. I have some Scriptures in mind, but no time to continue this right now. Maybe later. If you care to comment on how you see the sin nature, maybe we will get closer to the difference in our basic assumptions that ultimately divides our understanding on this issue. To recap, I believe that Jesus had a sin nature in his flesh, because he was descended from Adam, but I do not believe that this sin nature was something that brought him guilt or defiled him. It was simply a drive of his flesh that was directed toward selfishness and so he experienced many of the same difficulties that we do when we are tempted and weakened by our bodies of flesh. Oh yeah, the reason for the virgin birth? Only because it was a sign given to king Ahaz by Isaiah. Signs of prophets served to bolster faith in those who believed the prophets. I'm sure this sign bolstered Mary's faith quite a bit and gave her great assurance in raising Jesus. Some might think that Jesus was a perfect child that every mother would want, but just seeing his behavior at the Temple when he was twelve ought to clue us in that Mary had her hands full raising Jesus. :-) Peace be with you. David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
