January 15, 2004
Can we spiritually atone for the sins of others?
Mark 2:1-5. And when He (Jesus) returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and He was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." [my emphasis]
This passage of the Bible has always fascinated me because of one thing: this man’s sins were forgiven because of the faith of his friends, not by his faith. St. Jerome equated this paralytic to one who is unable to come to God because of “spiritual paralysis.” This suggests that through our faith others may be saved. Wow!
Ultimately this goes back to prayer and its ability to change the world. These men had faith that Jesus could heal their paralytic friend, so they took him and did whatever necessary to bring about his healing (physical and spiritual). I think it’s important for us to remember that we can bring about spiritual healing in others through our faith that Jesus can do anything and wants to heal those in most need of His mercy.
Pray for your lost friends and family today. I’m asking God that my faith may be strong enough to help them. One final note: the friends didn’t just have faith, they acted on it. This suggests we must do as well as pray.
God bless,
Jay
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Great post. I think the particular verses you cited complement the scripture that tells us to pray always and persist in our faithfulness and prayers!
now you're talking! with God nothing is impossible, i don't know if the paralytic believed Jesus is the Son of God, but he probably did believe that he could be healed. God uses the Holy Spirit to search our hearts so deeply that God wants to reward us by our faith. think of those guys testimony afterwards, true evedince of Jesus and the Father, just awesome. Jesus sees our faith, the woman with the issue, Jairus, the blind man, the woman at the well and He blesses others that we love and care about through our praises of Him. that's the power found in laying hands, baptizing someone with the Holy Spirit through the Holy Spirit. of course we can't see their faith but we do witness the power of their belief and to God that's enough to work with.
Paul
Posted by: Paul Baccus at January 30, 2004 11:56 AMJay,
I believe you are getting into dangerous territory here when you almost make a doctrine
from this one verse... If I am understanding you
correctly I hear you saying that we can pray someone into heaven ? These men had great faith
yes, but you suggest that it was not the man's
faith that Got him healed and NOTE HIS SINS FORGIVEN.
Your post seems to suggest that we can pray
or have faith for an unbelieving loved one or friend and OUR fatih gets them their Salvation.
That takes the responsibility for a persons salvation away from them. As suggested in the
post above. The Paralytic must have had faith
also. I don't believe that this verse is telling
us that we can pray someone into heaven against
their will.... The paralytic had to be willing also... God knocks on the hearts of everyone...
God does not force His will on people.. We have
to invite Jesus and God into our hearts and our
lives....
In His Grace,
Clem
Posted by: Clem at August 29, 2004 11:06 AMJay,
I forgot the most important thing.. Jesus is the
ONLY atonement GOD accepts for our salvation ...
If we could atone for our sins or any other person's sins physically or spiritually there would have been no need for Jesus to die on the
cross... I think this is an eample of how someone can take a verse out of context and make
a weird doctrine out of it....
Atonement is in the Blood... That blood was the
blood of Jesus. Not the Blood of Clem or Jay...
In Christ,
Clem
Posted by: Clem at August 29, 2004 11:11 AMClem, dont forget about the end of the book of Job. The Lord tells Job's "friends" to ask Job to make an atonement for them. For some strange reason, the Lord often chooses to have us intercede for one another rather than interact with him in a fashion which precludes the involvement of others. Perhaps this is to teach us to love our neighbors.
Posted by: Richard Wan at August 30, 2004 03:35 PMRichard,
With all due respects.. That was before Jesus.
(Old Covenant) The priests in the temple used to offer sacrifices for atonement for the people. That atonement was temporary and a shadow of the
atonement of the Cross...
The New Testiment (New Covenant) teaches that the blood of Jesus and not the blood of bulls and goats is the only true and lasting atonement for our sins. We can not make atonement for ourselves or for others. We must abide in Christ and He must abide in us..
Our prayers may help in the process of God softening the hearts and minds of friends and relatives to receive the Gospel, But each person must make the choice for them selves.. I can not make the decision for my Brother or my mother. They are responsible for their own souls. I can not atone by a good work of mine
for the sin of a brother or a sister..
Each man and woman will stand before GOD in judgment for their life and nobody elses.
In Search of His Truth,
Clem
Posted by: Clem at August 31, 2004 09:22 AMSo, Clem, then what did Jesus do here? Are you saying that Christ was wrong in this passage? Scripture is clear, you're just upset that it doesn't agree with your interpretation of other verse.
Remember, St. Paul wrote that he "complete[s] what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" (Col 1:24). And that's in the New Testament.
Please offer us an explanation of why Scripture says Christ forgave one man's sins because of the faith of others, if I am incorrect.
God bless,
Jay
Jay,
If you are refering to the verse you quoted about the paralytic, All it says is " When Jesus saw their faith.. You assume that the THEIR only refers to His friends and does not include the faith of the paralytic. No where does it make a distinction or specifically say the faith of his friends only. Or does it say or imply that the Paralytic lacked faith ... If it does
then show me where ?
You choose to interpret the verse to mean the paralytic lacked faith and was not included in the their . I choose to include him... Who is to say which interpretation is correct ? The RCC? This is a weak example. It could be read either way depending on your point of view..
If you want to prove that a friends faith can save another friend.... There is nothing in the structure of the sentence that suggests that the
paralytic was lacking in faith..
Again Jay the Col 1:24 read in context does not mean what you are trying to make it say which is
to sacrifice for a particular person's salvation.
It is more like he is playing a part in it as anyone would who brought the gospel to an unbeliever.
However the person still has to make up their own minds and make the choice for themselves to
accept or reject Jesus. No one can make that deceision for another person...
And you say that protestants twist scriptures...
If you are saying I can have faith to get someone
else saved without their choosing it for themselves that is totally UNscriptural and goes against what Jesus and the Apostles taught...
If you are saying something else about this subject I am missing your point ... But you can not choose salvation for another by faith... You then take away that person's free will...
Clem
