Now there is a HEART revealing ATTITUDE. For the 10 years after I first studied this doctrinal POV I always, at least HOPED it was true. Because it at least spoke of a Jesus who was more loving and more forgiving than I was indoctrinated to believe in.
MAT 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48* Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
It's pretty obvious that 'being perfect' is a pretty high goal for most to even HOPE for, let alone BELIEVE in. Not only is it too lofty of a goal for the church to reach, but apparently not even the LORD that most believe in, can even hope for.....except in these verses above.
It's an unattainable goal,to be perfect as Jesus was perfect. God knows. Because by God's will we were born imperfect. Because the sins of the father of humanity, Adam, passed unto his offspring,humanity in toto.
However, adding that perfect attribute to scripture insures no believer in it shall ever feel good enough. And as such while they are told they are no longer enslaved to sin,they instead are enslaved to the ideology they must strive to be perfect like Christ was.
I don't think we can ever dismiss the influence those who compiled the New Testament had on its final draft.
In fact that influence and practice is what led Luther to revolt against the institution of Romes Catholic church.
Further, If we read the OT first and if we opine, God does not change! He is the same yesterday,today,and forever, and we accept Jesus was God in flesh who dwelt among us,we realize God said he held regret for having created humans.
If we have ever uttered the Lord's prayer,or concur with its tenets, we must concede we are exactly as God willed us to be.
Many people don't reason out what they hold faith in.
We seek to be saved not from Satan. But from God.
God judges whether we go to Heaven or Hell. And this after he'd already predetermined our fate in that regard before he created the world, or anything at all.
His judgement of us already occurred before we were born. And before the world was created.
No one comes to Jesus unless God calls them.
Because God elected whom he would save,by name,before anything was made.
Even before the fall.
Think about that.
We're born by God's will as sinners first. And we die that way unless God saved us by name before he created the world.
We wonder why some Christians act badly? Maybe because they're not in God's Lamb's Book of Eternal Life (Salvation). And as such the HS does not dwell in them.
Romes influence on scripture is unmistakable.
Because if God does not change, he certainly wouldn't tell us to love our enemies when he slaughtered his.