OT: Bible Discussion (Split from Real World Sensitivities)

[SlipperyJim]

Originally Posted by thejeff

So God cannot forgive? The sins must be paid for? He is incapable of just forgiving them?

God did "just" forgive them. He's capable of doing it, and He did it. He paid the price for it.

Originally Posted by thejeff

Why did someone have to pay a price for all of that sin?
If someones hurts me, then repents, I don't have to choose between beating them up and beating myself up, I can just forgive. But God can't. Someone must pay. So he hurts himself.
To me, this is nonsense.

No, all forgiveness has a price. When the sin is not very great, the price is not very high. If I step on your toe, you can forgive me easily. On the other hand, if I massacre your family with a chainsaw, you might find forgiveness a little more difficult. The worse the sin, the harder it is to forgive.

It's only reasonable that the sins of the entire human race -- past, present, and future -- would require a whole lot of forgiveness. That much forgiveness can't come cheap.