To say that all six million Jews who died in the holocaust are in Hell, is a twisted interpretation of Christian theology. I am a Jew, and I became a Christian. Jesus was Jewish. The disciples were Jewish. The first 8,000 converts were Jewish. Christianity went "to the Jew first." It came through the Jews, from the land of the Jews, to the Jews. Any Jew who believes the Scriptures will come to Christ. Those who don’t, wont.
Why then would anyone say that all Jews who died at the hands of Nazis are in Hell? Presumable it's because they are offended that Jesus spoke of the exclusive nature of salvation. He said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me" (John 14:6). That is exclusive, but that is what the Jewish disciples preached to their Jewish hearers: "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12).
This is the teaching of the Jew who (under the inspiration of the God of the Jews), wrote, "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son" (2 John 1:9). When God spoke to the Jews in their Scriptures, He promised to give them "one way":
"Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: and I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."
So if you are offended that there is only one way to God, your argument is with Him.
The moral Law (which was given to the Jews) leaves each of us guilty before God, and any attempt on our part to offer Him good works through religious works (praying, fasting, doing good, etc.), are not "good works" at all, but attempts to bribe the Judge. Scripture teaches that those who offer religious works are motivated by a guilty conscience (see Hebrews 10:22), and we are also warned that God will not be bribed (see Proverbs 15:8). The only way for us to be saved from Hell (our just punishment under God's Law) is if the Judge extends mercy. That’s what happened at the cross. God in Christ was paying our fine, so that our case could legally be dismissed. When anyone repents and trusts the God-given Savior, they receive forgiveness of sins, and the gift of everlasting life (See Romans 6:23).
Salvation from death is exclusive to Christ, but open to all (see Acts 2:21). It is open to the Jew and the Gentile, to those who are black or white, to the wise and to the fool. Many atheists have become Christians, but before they could do so they had to make one small change (see Hebrews 11:6). It is easier for a needle to go through the eye of a camel, than for an atheist to enter the Kingdom of God. Psalm 10:4 tells us why:
"The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts."
That was true in my life. But I guess it's not true for the atheists who camp on this site. They think about God all the time...and how He doesn't exist. Funny that.
Friday, October 9, 2009
The Eternal Destiny of the Jew
