Now it’s Mr. Ezekiel vs Mr. Paul
In the Old Testament book Ezekiel, Ezekiel the prophet preaches that each person accounts for him- or herself. Everybody is going to be judged according to their deeds
Ezekiel18:20 Good people will be rewarded for doing good, and evil people will suffer for the evil they do. ... 24 But if a righteous person stops doing good and starts doing all the evil, disgusting things that evil people do, will he go on living? No!
Ezekiel
But in the New Testament letter 1 Corinthians, written by the apostle Paul, Paul preaches that children are automatically holy so long as their parents are Christian. The children are holy simply because the parents are Christians
1 Corinthians7:14 [T]he unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
Paul preaches that, if an unbelieving husband has a Christian wife, he gets a free pass, too. That is, he’s sanctified and blessed. Isn’t that nice? So the husband or child needn't believe in Jesus if the wife is Christian.
But certainly it wasn't what Ezekiel the prophet preached centuries before Christianity. He preached everybody is held accountable for themselves. To repeat Ezekiel ...
Ezekiel18:20 Good people will be rewarded for doing good, and evil people will suffer for the evil they do.
Furthermore this is the Paul who judges every one of us a sinner. In the New Testament letter Romans, by Paul, he teaches that everybody is unrighteous--everybody is a sinner, period
Romans 3:10 As the Scriptures say: There is no one who is righteous, 11 no one who is wise or who worships God. ... 22 God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all: 23 everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence.
Recap: Paul declares that non-believing children can be holy and unbelieving husbands can be sanctified. The only thing they need is a Christian mother or wife. But Paul also says everybody is a sinner. So will the real Paul please stand up! Thus Ezekiel vs Paul.
1 Corinthians
Paul preaches that, if an unbelieving husband has a Christian wife, he gets a free pass, too. That is, he’s sanctified and blessed. Isn’t that nice? So the husband or child needn't believe in Jesus if the wife is Christian.
But certainly it wasn't what Ezekiel the prophet preached centuries before Christianity. He preached everybody is held accountable for themselves. To repeat Ezekiel ...
Ezekiel
Furthermore this is the Paul who judges every one of us a sinner. In the New Testament letter Romans, by Paul, he teaches that everybody is unrighteous--everybody is a sinner, period
Romans 3:10 As the Scriptures say: There is no one who is righteous, 11 no one who is wise or who worships God. ... 22 God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all: 23 everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence.
Recap: Paul declares that non-believing children can be holy and unbelieving husbands can be sanctified. The only thing they need is a Christian mother or wife. But Paul also says everybody is a sinner. So will the real Paul please stand up! Thus Ezekiel vs Paul.
No comments:
Post a Comment