Red Sky at Morning
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- Mar 15, 2017
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This came out of a thread on Beer, but the question was so central that I thought it might make an interesting thread.
"How do Muslims take things out of context?
Are you not taking what Jesus said out of context when he said "why do you call me good?" by comparing what he said there with something else he said at another time in a completely separate conversation?
If I were to mash up a bunch of different quotes from you, from completely different posts and use them to say you said something and this is what you meant by it, you would say I'm twisting your words, so why do you do that with what Jesus said?"
This question comes up so frequently in such discussions...
The phrase "why do you call me good?" is frequently understood by Muslims to mean that Jesus is here creating separation between his own moral goodness and the superior true standard of God's goodness.
The story of the "rich young ruler" might just be the most important story of all for Muslims to understand from a Biblical perspective. The meaning might be counter-intuitive to many but it really is worth considering.
An better understanding of the rich young ruler of Matthew 19 would revolutionise your understanding of the message of the Gospel, as well as show you the purpose of this rhetorical device Jesus uses.
In order to frame the question, the wider question of the passage needs to be considered...
Why did Jesus tell the rich young ruler he could be saved by obeying the commandments?
To understand Jesus’ response to the rich young ruler’s question—“What must I do to be saved?”—we must consider three things: the background of the rich young ruler, the purpose of his question, and the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The young man had asked Jesus, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). Jesus responded, “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments” (verse 19). At first glance, it appears that Jesus is saying that the young man and, by extension, all people must obey the commandments in order to be saved. But is that really what He was saying? Since the essence of the salvation message is that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9), why would Jesus offer the rich young ruler an “alternative plan”?
This link goes on to explore further...
https://www.gotquestions.org/rich-young-ruler.html
Exploring the possible answers together might be quite interesting though?
"How do Muslims take things out of context?
Are you not taking what Jesus said out of context when he said "why do you call me good?" by comparing what he said there with something else he said at another time in a completely separate conversation?
If I were to mash up a bunch of different quotes from you, from completely different posts and use them to say you said something and this is what you meant by it, you would say I'm twisting your words, so why do you do that with what Jesus said?"
This question comes up so frequently in such discussions...
The phrase "why do you call me good?" is frequently understood by Muslims to mean that Jesus is here creating separation between his own moral goodness and the superior true standard of God's goodness.
The story of the "rich young ruler" might just be the most important story of all for Muslims to understand from a Biblical perspective. The meaning might be counter-intuitive to many but it really is worth considering.
An better understanding of the rich young ruler of Matthew 19 would revolutionise your understanding of the message of the Gospel, as well as show you the purpose of this rhetorical device Jesus uses.
In order to frame the question, the wider question of the passage needs to be considered...
Why did Jesus tell the rich young ruler he could be saved by obeying the commandments?
To understand Jesus’ response to the rich young ruler’s question—“What must I do to be saved?”—we must consider three things: the background of the rich young ruler, the purpose of his question, and the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The young man had asked Jesus, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). Jesus responded, “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments” (verse 19). At first glance, it appears that Jesus is saying that the young man and, by extension, all people must obey the commandments in order to be saved. But is that really what He was saying? Since the essence of the salvation message is that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9), why would Jesus offer the rich young ruler an “alternative plan”?
This link goes on to explore further...
https://www.gotquestions.org/rich-young-ruler.html
Exploring the possible answers together might be quite interesting though?