Interesting Questions-32
Salvation made cheap
Letter to the Editor:
GOD'S MESSAGE, March 2009, p.4
YOUR MAGAZINE IS part of my readings and through
it I found out that unlike most of the Christian sects, the Iglesia
ni Cristo doesn't believe that Christ is God. This didn't surprise
me that much for you have a very good point in arguing that if the
Son is God too, together with the Father, then there would be more
than one God, and that
would obviously contradict the monotheism
endorsed by Christ Himself.
However, I am wondering, if Jesus Christ
were just a man and not God, then wouldn't that render His death for
mankind's salvation as a cheap sacrifice? For if Christ
were purely human, kept free from sin by God, and then sent to His
death on the cross, then that would have not cost God much, for He
could have created a million such men.
Peter John Ambrocio
Valenzuela City, Philippines
Editor's reply:
We are pleased to know than our magazine is
part of your readings.
The underlying, argument in your question
appears to suggest that the only way mankind's salvation could be
considered a great sacrifice or a manifestation of God's great love
for mankind is if and only if it were no less than God Himself who
had died on the cross—that if He who suffered the pains of that
harsh death were just "purely human" and not God, then salvation
would not be priceless but a "cheap" one.
Highly subjective as it is, this contention fall
short of biblical substantiation. In fact, to suggest that God's
plan of salvation is 'cheap' if He who died on the cross were not
God is not only to question God's goodness but also to utterly
contradict what the Holy Scriptures teaches regarding salvation.
God, according to the Bible, is immortal
(I Tim. 1:17)- Therefore, for Him to die whatever reason or
purpose is a direct violation of biblical teachings. And to suggest
that God underwent "incarnation" or
willfully became a mortal man to be able to die for us is to further
promote an idea which is grossly opposed to the will of God who
clearly declared, "I am God, and not man" (Hos.
11:9, New King James Version) and "I am the LORD, and
I do not change" (Mal. 3.6, Today's English
Version)
I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I
will not destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man. The Holy One in
your midst; And I will not come with teror. (Hosea 11:9, New King
James Version)
"I am the LORD, and I do not change. And so you,
the descendants of Jacob, are not yet completely lost.
(Malachi 3:6, Today's English Version)
Concerning the greatest manifestation of God's
love for mankind, this is the teaching of the Bible:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life." (John 3:16, NKJV)
So that people would have the opportunity to
attain everlasting life, the Bible says. "He [God] gave His only
begotten Son." Notice that it doesn't say, '"God gave Himself.
Clearly, therefore, the one that was given as sacrifice for man's
redemption is not God Himself but His Son Jesus Christ.
Concerning the nature of the Son Jesus Christ, He
Himself said, "But now you seek to kill Me, a Man
who has told you the truth (John 8:40, Ibid) And to stress the fact
that He is distinct from God, Christ further stated, 'Why do you
call me good? No one is good but God alone" (Mark 10:18, Revised
Standard Version)
The fact that Christ is man
and not God does not mean, however, that Jesus Christ is just an
"ordinary man" like us. Christ is far greater than all of us—He is
the only man who was exalted to be, among others, Prince and
Savior (Acts 5:31), made Lord (Acts
2:36), Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5), all authority
in heaven and on earth was given to Him (Matt. 28:18),
yet despite these honors and powers, He possessed, He remained a
man—humble ; and completely obedient to His Father (Phil 2:8).
Indeed, Christ is God's "only begotten Son" whom He loved so much
and in whom He is well pleased (Matt, 3:1 7). Considering all of
these, plus the fact that Christ committed no sin
and has never transgressed any of His Father's will (I Pet.
2:21-22), only the heartless and callous would say that His
voluntary act of supreme sacrifice through death by crucifixion does
not "cost" or mean much to His loving Father in heaven.
The truth is, behind Christ's sacrificial death for the Church is
the unquestionable and priceless love of God for mankind:
"In this the love of God was manifested toward
us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we
might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins." (1 John 4:9-1O, NKJV)
You said that God, being Omnipotent,
could have created a million Jesus Christ. But the fact
is He created only one Christ (Col. 1:15) and this is according to
His divine plan or wisdom (1 Cor. 2:7, 2). To suggest that the death
of one Christ who is "truly human" (I Tim. 2-.5, Contemporary
English Version) is not "enough" manifestation
of God's great for mankind is therefore, an affront to the
sacrifices God and Jesus Christ made for
mankind and a disgrace to the "precious blood of Christ" with which
the true Christians were redeemed:
"God will do anything for us. God even let his
own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for us all." (Rom. 8:32,
Easy to-Read Version")
"Jesus Christ did the things God wanted him to
do. And because of that, we are made holy through the
sacrifice of Christ's body. Christ made that sacrifice one
time—enough for all time." (Heb. 10:10, Ibid.)
''You know that you were ransomed from the futile
ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as
silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (I Pet. 1:1
8-19, RSV)
Lastly, it should be noted that the biblical
truth that Jesus Christ died on the cross all the more proves that
He is man and not God, for God, unlike man, is immortal (Heb. 9:27;
I Tim. 1:17)
___________________
Bible Study
Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free
to visit the
Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or
an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question
you have in mind.