What do you want? You want me to cite a passage where the Father says this explicitly? I don't think you are going to find a passage like this. We assemble the picture from the words of Jesus and his apostles. With regard to salvation being offered to those with honesty and contrition etc. Review Paul's argument in Romans 4, especially his take on Psalms 32.
Review and meditate on the passages found in the New Testament that speak about the reason why God raised Jesus from the dead.
Think about it for a minute. If the purpose of Jesus' death on the cross was to procure our release from sin and to become the basis for receiving eternal life, then his DEATH served that purpose. Why bring Jesus back to life? Some people who grow up in the church learn about the fact that Jesus died for their sins. But many of them treat the death of Jesus as a "fate accompi" not giving much attention to it. Now that Jesus dealt with our sins and brought us forgiveness, now we can figure out how to make our marriages better, how to have better kids, and how to improve our economic situation. Those with this attitude (not speaking about you of course) never give the cross another thought. Jesus has done everything he needed to do. Now we can get on with living the abundant life.
Might his resurrection serve another purpose? I can think of a couple. For one, according to Paul, God raised Jesus from the dead in order to authenticate Jesus as the one who would save his people from their sins. The promise of salvation through a son of God was predicted in the Hebrew scriptures, and it was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that identified HIM to be the fulfillment of that promise Romans 1:1-6
Did Jesus save them from their sins at the cross? Yes and no. Yes, in that the death of Jesus on the cross dealt with the enmity between god and man, but no, in that the cross does not save us from the inevitable consequence of sin, i.e. death. The deliverance of the saints from the sting of sin, which is death, takes place later, the moment Jesus shouts, "come forth" and those in Christ rise from the dead to live forever with the Lord. We know this from the accounts in John's gospel where Jesus reveals to both Martha and Mary that he has been granted the authority to raise people from the dead, and he proves his case by example. And if we read through the Gospel of John carefully, we come to learn that the Father has granted his son Jesus the authority over who will enter into his kingdom and who will be left behind. John 5:21 for instance.
On what basis does Jesus then grant eternal life? Paul says we are justified by faith, but what is the content of that faith? Well, among other things, those who die in the Lord, are trusting that Jesus will call them out of the grave when the time comes. And if you think about it, trusting in a promised inheritance, which will be given to you after you die, takes a lot of faith and trust. This is the faith of Abraham, that our hope lies far beyond our own life expectancy. The Spirit intercedes for us now, Romans 8:26-27, but when the time comes, Jesus will intercede for us according to the power of an indestructible life. Hebrews 7:6 God raised Jesus from the dead so that he might save forever those who draw near to God, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
For the most part, those who wish to reconcile with each other often times need an intercessor, and in this case, Jesus is our intercessor, who went before God himself and makes an appeal on our behalf.
I don't know what else to say at this point.
<<<You want me to cite a passage where the Father says this explicitly?>>>
Of course not. What I am saying is that Hebrews 9 nowhere effectively say that “the Father promises to accept the offering provided that Jesus' followers have the proper inwardness -- contrition, penitence, honesty, faith, hope, love and etc.”
<<<With regard to salvation being offered to those with honesty and contrition etc. Review Paul's argument in Romans 4, especially his take on Psalms 32.>>>
Romans 4 nor the part of Psalms 32 impress anything about salvation being an offer or is offered.
<<<Review and meditate on the passages found in the New Testament that speak about the reason why God raised Jesus from the dead.>>>
Among such passages, here’s one:
Romans 4:25 who was delivered up because of [dia] our offenses, and was raised because of [dia] our justification.
dia: through, on account of, because of
It was on account of our justification. May I ask, what can you say about that? How is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead said to be on account of our justification?
At this point, I still do not see any reference scriptures in your post that effectively supports the position that ““the Father promises to accept the offering provided that Jesus' followers have the proper inwardness -- contrition, penitence, honesty, faith, hope, love and etc.” And it is because there’s none, at least in mu reading. That is why I am asking.
Anyway, moving on, let me comment on some points in the rest of your post.
<<<no, in that the cross does not save us from the inevitable consequence of sin, i.e. death.>>>
The cross sure does not save us from death, if the death you refer to is that state of the body without the spirit, or the world’s definition of it. But that is not what death is, at least as I understand it that is spoken in scriptures in relation to sin.
Tong
R4354
