So, to most of the people who would read this, there's no great revelation here. However, to a guy who was brainwashed with hard-core Naz come-to-the-alter holiness, sorting this out is actually a very nice step on my way to a stable and sustainable belief system. It's surprising that this has only now sort of congealed in my mind.
At any rate ...
So, in the old testament, even the righteous made sacrifices as redemption for sin. They did this under the premise that everyone sins - even committed unintentional or incognizant sins, and even though they were "holy", they still needed that redemption. In point of fact, it is the ongoing act of sacrifices for redemption that seals the contract MAKING them holy.
In the new testament, the sacrifice is Jesus. The main "magic" of Jesus is that I no longer have to keep sheep and doves as sin offerings, because Jesus was the perfect offering, once for all.
Which leads us to the fact that, although we are "holy", we are still sinners. BUT, Jesus calls sinners to repentance.
Repentance, then, is a multifaceted act. 1- there is the identification of a shortcoming in our life. 2- there is a conscious decision to make a change. 3- there is the application of will, energy, and effort to alter our b3havior. 4- Eventually, over time, the new pattern becomes ingrained and very natural to us, and the repentance is more-or-less complete.
At any rate ...
So, in the old testament, even the righteous made sacrifices as redemption for sin. They did this under the premise that everyone sins - even committed unintentional or incognizant sins, and even though they were "holy", they still needed that redemption. In point of fact, it is the ongoing act of sacrifices for redemption that seals the contract MAKING them holy.
In the new testament, the sacrifice is Jesus. The main "magic" of Jesus is that I no longer have to keep sheep and doves as sin offerings, because Jesus was the perfect offering, once for all.
Which leads us to the fact that, although we are "holy", we are still sinners. BUT, Jesus calls sinners to repentance.
Repentance, then, is a multifaceted act. 1- there is the identification of a shortcoming in our life. 2- there is a conscious decision to make a change. 3- there is the application of will, energy, and effort to alter our b3havior. 4- Eventually, over time, the new pattern becomes ingrained and very natural to us, and the repentance is more-or-less complete.
