Pocăi – din ce?

Is repentance just about regret for major mistakes we have made, or is it more about lifestyle choices?

Pocăinţă

Iisus’ precursor, Ioan Botezătorul, taught that anyone who wished to become a true follower of God must repent, confess their sins and be baptised. But repentance had to be far more than just an acknowledgement of wrongdoing. It had to change our value system and lifestyle from selfish and wrongful actions to compassion and justice.

Raising the Bar

Jesus began his ministry echoing John’s call and similarly requiring people to be baptised (Jn 3:22-4:2; Mat 28:19; Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38). But Jesus did not merely endorse John’s message: he dramatically raised the standard! And then he summed it up by saying, “fii perfect, așa cum Tatăl vostru din ceruri este desăvârșit” (Mat 5:48). But surely that’s impossible – or is it?

Sin No More

On two occasions we find Jesus telling people to ‘sin no more.’ Was he seriously suggesting that it is possible to live without sin? Both the apostles Paul and John tell us that Christians have everything they need to conquer the temptation to sin. Dacă da, then we have no valid excuse for sinning in the future.

Este un creștin adevărat incapabil de păcat?

Some cite the apostle John (1Jn 3:9) to argue that if someone does sin again then it proves they are not a real Christian. Această învățătură este cunoscută ca „perfecționism fără păcat”.’

Dar este ceea ce Isus – sau chiar John – chiar predat? Nu. Ancient Greek verbs contain shades of meaning that cannot be expressed in English without using a lot of extra words. When these are taken into account, as confirmed by the rest of John’s letter, a more complete rendering of this verse might read something like this:

Anyone born to become a full-grown child of God does not produce a sin in a given circumstance, because God’s seed remains in him; so that he is not empowered or motivated to sin, because he is born to be a child of God.

A child may be very unlike its parents to begin with: but as it matures it should increasingly display the family likeness. Dragoste, righteousness and purity are essential aspects of God’s nature and, despite lapses, will become increasingly dominant in our lives. Otherwise we cannot be a true child of God.

Lecții din Evanghelii

Privind mai atent la Isus’ abordări practice cu probleme legate de păcat și pocăință.

Pretenții false

Isus a evidențiat pentru critici deosebite două modele de comportament care, în timp ce părând bun și evlavios, sunt cu adevărat înșelăciuni periculoase.

Aroganța neprihănirii de sine

În prima sa scrisoare, Ioan subliniază că oricine pretinde că este „fără păcat” se înșală pe sine (1Jn 1:8). One particular parable of Jesus vividly demonstrates that he had a similar view of such people. Yet he himself openly challenged his enemies to prove him guilty of any sin.

Necesitatea Schimbării

Some professing Christians have been led to think that if they just welcome Jesus as their Saviour, they are forever free from any risk of God’s judgement. În sensul că nu ne mai rămâne nimic de făcut pentru a ne câștiga mântuirea, asta este absolut adevarat. Dar a sugera că Isus nu se așteaptă la nicio altă schimbare în viața noastră este o înșelăciune mortală. This section demonstrates why.

Cum se ocupă Isus de păcat

How does the teaching of Jesus and his apostles tally with Jesus’ own example?

Isus iartă păcatul

Una dintre trăsăturile lui Isus’ ministry that most antagonised the religious establishment was his readiness to forgive people’s sins. They recognised this as a claim to Divinity („Cine poate ierta păcatele decât numai Dumnezeu?’ – Mk 2:7). Dar în ciuda riscului pentru el însuși, Isus s-a grăbit să-și declare iertarea.

Ce a fost Isus’ Atitudine față de recidiva?

When Jesus told people to ‘Sin no more,’ does this mean that he was not prepared to give them another chance? What about when he told Peter to forgive his brother 770 ori?! (Mt 18:21-22.) Or what about his warning that we should not judge others? (Mat 7:1-3.)

Dar atitudinea Lui față de discipolii Săi’ Păcate?

Iisus’ disciples were far from perfect; and he did not hesitate to confront their bad behaviour. Dar, după ce i-a mustrat, he never held it against them or gave up on them.

Păcatul și Biserica

Istoric vorbind, biserica nu a reușit adesea să se ridice la înălțimea lui Isus’ standardele. Este aceasta o situație acceptabilă??

Dar după Înviere?

Although Jesus was not physically present very often after his Resurrection, he sent the Holy Spirit in his place to guide the fledgeling church. So we should look to see how the Holy Spirit dealt with sin in the church.

Isus al Apocalipsei

În Rev 2:1-3:22, Jesus issues a number of severe warnings about the penalty to be expected if the churches continue in their current sins. When we consider the gross nature of some of these, it is surprising to see how patient Jesus has been with them: but also how severely he rebukes complacency and half-heartedness.

În Rev 5:1-14 we learn that the only person God considers fit to act as judge against the human race is the one who would rather die himself than condemn anyone who can possibly be saved. But the final chapter warns that there will come a point where change is no longer possible and judgement must fall.