You are being purposefully obtuse, which is certainly your prerogative! No one is disputing the deity of Christ, at least not me. But when Jesus Christ was on the earth as the Son of Man, he never insisted that anyone apologize to him or ask him directly for forgiveness, unlike many Christians today.
_________________Todd
I didn't say you denied the deity of Christ. But, as deity, Christ endured with patience our sinfulness. You are right that He never insisted that anyone apologize. But He did demand that everone should repent, which includes that plus more.So again, I am not suggesting you're denying the deity of Christ. I am suggesting that the position that Jesus never was offended by anything done to Him goes against every bit of Scripture that applies to Jesus as He is God manifested in the flesh--since God hates sin. Jesus expressed patience and forebearance, but ultimately, the Sacrifice He made on the cross was due to sin, making it even possible for men to repent and be saved, which He commanded. If Christ had exacted any degree of retribution, any degree of payment, any degree of justice other than the cross, He'd have destroyed the whole world in judgment. But He didn't come to destroy men's lives. He came to save them. So His patience and mercy with those around Him was grace displayed in and through Himself.And yet, what DID Jesus do? He commanded and taught on forgiveness, which is what this thread is about. He also lived and embodied that teaching, as displayed on the cross.
Ok Havok- It’s obvious I have failed miserably in trying to make my point. Jesus walking around on the earth was a man- a man like you and me. He was not walking around as God in a glorified state. As a man, he was subject to slights and insults from his fellow men. Some of these were unintentional, just like we experience. Some were intentional. He likely experienced more of these than we do. Yet he never once said that such slights and insults offended him personally, nor did he act like they did. Of course when he preached, he commanded men to repent. But he was not talking about repenting of offenses to him personally, but to the Father. Just like today when a preacher is preaching repentance he is not talking about offenses done to him personally. Now I realize there is a point that you keep coming back to that Jesus is God so he really is talking about himself. I’m sorry but I can’t agree in the context of his teaching and preaching. Just like when he prayed “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” He was not praying to himself. He had already forgiven them, assuming what they did offend him. Offense is a subjective, not objective thing. You might be offended is someone casts aspersions on a friend, but it doesn’t mean the friend is offended.
Well, let us end this discussion (between us) ammicably and agree that when someone is offended, the teachings of Jesus apply regarding forgiveness.If there is something beyond that of which I am too immature as a believer to have grasped as of yet, then the Holy Spirit, who'll lead me into all truth, will teach it to me through the testimony of the Scriptures.
Sounds good. Just for the record I don’t think you’re a immature Christian. And I might be dead wrong.
