<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>flyfree</b></i>
When the Messiah comes....we will ask him, Are you coming? or, Are
you returning? If he says he is coming, then we will all be Jewish.
If he says he is returning, then we will all be Christians. Until
that day, no one will know if the other is right or wrong..
Does anyone agree with me? </end quote></div>
I was going to ignore this question, but tonight I was woken at 1 AM and felt led to respond to it. However, I must make it clear it is not for this reason I believe, but for the reason already stated above.
Being Jewish, you believe you are saved only by righteousness. Jesus never contradicted that, for He said, "Do not think I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." and "For I say to you unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:17,20
However, as Christians, we say we are saved by faith because we recognize there is no one who can attain this level of righteousness on their own. Jesus did not die on the cross so that past sins could be forgiven; that would be pointless, for God already had the power to forgive sins. For example, Ezekiel 33:14-16 says, "But when I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness, if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which ensure life without commiting iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live."
Christ died on the cross, rather, to free us from sin, that is, to cleanse us from unrighteousness and give us the power to turn and remain free from sin. As Christians, we say we are saved by faith because it is only through our faith we are open to recieve the freedom from sin that Christ has given us, and only through that power we are able to attain the righteousness which is required for us to be saved.
It is for this reason that Christ is absolutely essential, for both Jews and Christians alike. You say you are Jewish, great! I only ask that you seek righteousness from God, and not from yourselves. I am not even asking you to believe in Jesus, but only God whom you already believe in. After all, God is the only one who knows what is truly righteous and what is not, so shouldn't we all be looking to Him in the first place?
Do not tell me, therefore, "I will have my views and you can have yours," but rather, "This is what God has given me, so this is how I live." You say no one can know if the other is right or wrong; I say God knows, so look to Him.
