Allah niyə belə sərtdir?
These days, so much is said about Jesus’ love and forgiveness that we often get the idea that He has a more liberal attitude towards sin than God had in the past. Amma, əslində, his standards are really much tougher.
Qazanmaq üçün Cəhənnəmə və ya Ödəmək üçün Cənnətə qayıtmaq üçün bura klikləyin, və ya aşağıdakı alt mövzulardan hər hansı birində:
If linguistic analysis of Jesus’ teachings tends to confirm, rather than deny, that Jesus did indeed warn us of the dreadful possibility of a fate worse than death, then we have to ask, “Niyə?” Why does God have to be such a perfectionist? And why couldn’t an all-powerful God simply create a world in which everybody loves everyone else? Why can’t he eliminate evil without eliminating those who commit evil acts? Maybe we agree that some are just so wicked that they have to be eliminated: but surely most people aren’t bu pis? And in any case, couldn’t the really bad ones just be painlessly eliminated? Isn’t the punishment worse than the crime itself?
Has Jesus’ teaching on this issue been overstated, or have we seriously misunderstood the severity of the situation? To begin to understand the answers to these questions we need to take a much closer look at Jesus’ təlimlər…
Tövbə ehtiyacı
İsa’ ministry begins with John the Baptist’s message, telling the people that they need to repent, because the Messiah is coming. The Good News begins with the Bad News: God is coming and we are in no fit state to meet with him.
He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “Siz gürzə nəsli, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones! Even now the axe also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.”(Luk 3:7-9.)
Matthew reveals that, initially, John’s message had the agreement of the highly religious Pharisees and Sadducees (Mat 3:7). But then he started attacking their sins; and they started having second thoughts (Jn 1:19-25).
Following John’s arrest, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God and setting people free (Lk 4:18-19). Amma, just like John, he continued to emphasize the need for repentance (Mk 1:14-15).
Raising the Standard
But here we must face up to an emphasis in Jesus’ ministry that directly contradicts much of the modern portrayal of his teaching. These days, much is said about Jesus’ əfv, love and willingness to overlook people’s past failures. The impression generated is that Jesus has a more liberal attitude towards sin than God had in the past: but this is simply not true.
“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill. For most certainly, Sənə deyirəm, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished. Whoever, buna görə, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness aşır ilahiyyatçılar və fariseylərinki, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mat 5:17-20)
İsa’ standards are actually much tougher. Doğru, he is indifferent or even scathing towards outward show and appearances (bax, məsələn, Mat 15:1-20; Mk 2:23-28). And he displays an incredible readiness to forgive even the most serious sins (Jn 8:3-11; Lk 19:2-10; Lk 23:39-43). But when it comes to the inward attitudes of the heart, he is far more demanding.
“You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.’ But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna. (Mat 5:21-22. Həmçinin baxın Mt 5:23-48.)
Do all roads lead to God?
This is a common saying; and all but the most unforgiving of us would like to think it was true. We want to believe that, regardless of how well or badly we do, we will all end up in heaven. Amma, whenever this idea is discussed, Jesus firmly denies it.
“Mənə deyən hər kəs deyil, 'Ya Rəbb, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Ya Rəbb, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, 'Mən səni heç tanımırdım. Away from me, you evildoers!'” (Mat 7:21-23).
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Mat 7:13-14)
Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” Onlara dedi, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, Sənə deyirəm, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (Luk 13:23-30)
İsa cavab verdi, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Joh 14:6)
Hətta, eyni zamanda, Jesus consistently portrays his Father as not wanting anyone to perish (e.g. Mt 18:10-14). Belə ki, if God is omnipotent, why can’t he prevent it?
The ‘Broad Sweep’ of Scripture
Right from the outset of his ministry, Jesus told his disciples that many false prophets and teachers would come and seek to distort his teaching and lead others astray (e.g. Mk 13:22-23, Mt 7:15, Lk:21:8). He especially warned them against allowing themselves to be silenced by fear or undue regard for human opinion:
Çünki kim bu zinakar və günahkar nəsildə məndən və sözlərimdən utanar, Bəşər Oğlu da ondan utanacaq, O, Atasının izzəti içində müqəddəs mələklərlə gələndə.” (Mar 8:38)
Qubaqla, few doctrines of scripture have been subjected to more widespread misrepresentation, than Jesus’ teaching on love and judgement. The result has been that the Christian church has been largely divided into two opposing camps – those who are so vocal in their insistence on God’s judgement that most non-Christians keep as far away from them as possible: and those who dare not suggest that God would ever intervene to punish evil. The worst of it is that both groups imagine they are conforming to what they describe as ‘the broad sweep of scripture;’ whereas each is so focussed on one side or the other that both fail to recognize the scriptures revealing the other side of the picture.1
Judgement and Mercy
The true ‘broad sweep of scripture’ is that God is the ultimate source and defender of both love və ədalət. The two are inseparable; coexisting in a constant state of voluntary tension, maintaining a balance between our personal desires and those of others. Bu, essentially, is what love is all about; placing the same, or even greater, value on the desires and feelings of others as you do on your own.
Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets. (Mat 7:12[\x])
Jesus both taught and demonstrated these principles himself; constantly placing our needs before his own; willing to lay down his own life, regardless of cost, in order to spare us from the condemnation that we deserved. Yet at the same time, as our defender, there comes a point where he must intervene to protect us from the actions of those who would do us harm. But this is an incredibly difficult choice, Gördüyümüz kimi…
Harvest Time
One of the chief ‘broad sweep’ themes contained in Jesus’ teaching is that of harvest and fruitfulness.
He set another parable before them, söykənmək, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also. The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?’ “Onlara dedi, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, 'Xeyr, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Birinci, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ‘ ” (Döşəmək 13:24-30)
Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, söykənmək, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.” He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Buna görə də yabanı otlar yığılıb odda yandırılır; bu yaşın sonunda da belə olacaq. Bəşər Oğlu mələklərini göndərəcək, Onlar büdrədən hər şeyi Onun Padşahlığından toplayacaqlar, və pislik edənlər, və onları od sobasına atacaq. Ağlama və diş qıcırtıları olacaq. Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Mat 13:36-43)
He spoke to them many things in parables, söykənmək, “Görmək, a farmer went out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mat 13:3-9)
“Hear, sonra, the parable of the farmer. When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside. What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it; yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and brings forth, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.” (Döşəmək 13:18-23)
Don’t you say, ‘There are yet four months until the harvest?’ Görmək, Sənə deyirəm, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit to eternal life; that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you haven’t labored. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” (Joh 4:35-38)
All the gospels emphasize this message, making it abundantly clear that:
a) God’s expectation of us is fruitfulness; although he will wait patiently until harvest time;
b) that our time on this earth will end with a thorough assessment of the extent to which our lives have produced the desired fruit; və
c) that those who have lived their lives without doing so will be rejected.
Haşiyələr
- One of the earliest and most extreme examples of this type of polarized teaching was the Marcionite heresy, propounded by Marcion of Sinope, c. 144AD. Marcion was so convinced that Jesus was the very embodiment of God’s mercy that he refused to believe that the scriptures dealing with God’s judgements against sin could possibly come from the same source. Əvəzində, he rejected the entire Old Testament and most of the New, (apart from Luke’s gospel and Paul’s epistles), as false teaching from a tyrannical ‘pseudo-god’ who sought to enslave us.
