사람들은 다른 사람에 대해 부정적인 판단을 내리는 일반적인 경향이 있습니다. 고등학교에서는 이러한 경향이 파벌에서 나타납니다. 인기 있는 몇몇 아이들이 한 그룹에 들어가면 점차 자신들이 더 좋아하기 때문에 다른 아이들보다 낫다고 생각하기 시작합니다. '끼지 못한' 아이들은 동정이나 경멸의 대상이 되거나 심지어 잔인한 농담의 대상이 될 수도 있습니다. 어떤 식으로든 파벌은 다른 사람들을 하위 계층의 인간으로 미묘한 판단을 내립니다.

다른 사람을 무시하는 경향은 다양한 종교에서도 동일하게 나타납니다. 일부 종교 집단은 자기중심적이어서 다른 신앙을 가진 사람은 천국에 갈 수 없다고 믿습니다. 극단적으로 말하자면, 이런 태도는 속물적인 10대 파벌보다 훨씬 더 잔인합니다.

성경의 가르침은 이와는 상당히 대조적입니다. 우선, 하나님의 말씀에 따르면 우리는 사람들을 "구원받은 사람" 또는 "죄인"으로 분류해서는 안 된다고 말합니다. 예수님은 말씀하셨습니다,

"너희가 정죄받지 않도록 판단하지 말라. 어찌하여 형제의 눈 속에 있는 티는 보고 네 눈 속에 있는 들보는 생각지 않느냐?"라고 말씀하셨습니다. (마태 복음 7:1, 3)

제자 야고보는 이렇게 말했습니다: "구원할 수도 있고 멸망시킬 수도 있는 한 분의 율법 제정자가 계십니다. 네가 어찌 다른 사람을 판단하겠느냐?" (야고보서 4:1)

주님이 지상에 계실 때 교회 지도자들 사이에는 판단하는 태도가 만연했습니다. 많은 사람들은 메시아가 오시면 유대인만 구원하고 다른 사람은 구원하지 않을 것이라고 생각했습니다. 예수님이 오셨을 때 그들은 유대인이 아닌 사람과 유대인 모두와 어울린다고 정죄했습니다.

예수님은 이런 태도를 경계하셨습니다. 한번은 예수님께서 자신은 구원받았고 다른 사람들은 구원받지 못했다고 "스스로 믿는" 사람들과 대화하고 계셨습니다. 예수님은 그들에게 두 가지 기도를 생각해 보라고 하셨습니다: "하나님, 제가 다른 사람과 같지 않음을 감사합니다."와 "하나님, 죄인인 저에게 자비를 베푸소서!"입니다. 예수님은 자신이 죄인이라고 생각한 사람을 칭찬하셨습니다. (누가 복음 18:9-14)

자신을 구원받았다고 생각하는 것보다 죄인이라고 생각하는 것이 더 낫습니다.

길가에서 부상당한 사람을 돕기 위해 멈춰 섰던 선한 사마리아인의 비유를 기억하실 것입니다. 이 사마리아인은 (유대인의 관점에서 볼 때) "잘못된" 신앙을 가지고 있었지만, 예수님은 그 사마리아인이 선한 사람이기 때문에 이웃으로서 사랑해야 한다고 말씀하셨습니다. 사실 예수님은 영생을 원하는 사람은 이 사마리아인과 같아야 한다고 말씀하셨습니다(누가 복음 10:29-37), 사마리아인은 기독교인도 유대인도 아니었음에도 불구하고 말입니다. 예수님은 어떤 교회에 속해 있는지가 아니라 그 사람의 마음속에 무엇이 있는지를 보셨고, 지금도 보고 계십니다.

성경은 천국에 갈지 말지를 결정하는 것은 단순히 무엇을 믿는지가 아니라 그 사람이 살아가는 방식이라고 분명히 말합니다. 예수님은 "나더러 '주여, 주여' 하는 자마다 천국에 다 들어갈 것이 아니요 다만 하늘에 계신 내 아버지의 뜻대로 행하는 자라야 들어가리라"고 말씀하셨습니다. (마태 복음 7:21)

다시 말하지만, "그는 각자에게 그의 행위대로 갚아 주실 것입니다." (마태 복음 16:27)

""선을 행한 자는 생명의 부활로, 악을 행한 자는 정죄의 부활로" 갈 것이라고 주님은 말씀하십니다. (요한 복음 5:29)

신앙뿐만 아니라 사람의 삶이 영원한 제비를 결정하기 때문에 예수님은 많은 기독교인이 악한 삶을 살았기 때문에 구원받지 못할 것이라고 예언하셨습니다.

"그 날에 많은 사람이 내게 이르되, '주님, 주님, 우리가 주의 이름으로 선지자 노릇하며 주의 이름으로 귀신을 쫓아내며 주의 이름으로 많은 권능을 행하지 아니하였나이까' 하리라. 그러면 나는 그들에게 '나는 너희를 알지 못하였으니 불법을 행하는 자들아, 내게서 떠나가라'고 선언할 것이다." (마태 복음 7:22-23, 누가 복음 13:25-27)

비기독교인이 구원받을 수 있는 한 가지 이유는 이웃을 사랑할 수 있기 때문입니다. 이웃을 진정으로 사랑하는 사람은 비록 깨닫지 못할지라도 그리스도도 사랑합니다. 예수님은 "너희가 여기 내 형제 중에 지극히 작은 자 하나에게 한 것이 곧 내게 한 것이니라"고 말씀하셨습니다. (마태 복음 25:40)

이웃에 대한 사랑이 없는 예수님에 대한 믿음은 무의미합니다.

"내가 모든 믿음이 있어 산을 옮길 수 있어도 사랑이 없으면 내가 아무 것도 아니요." (1 고린도전서 13:2)

반면에 진정한 사랑은 겉으로 고백하는 종교와 상관없이 마음속으로 주님을 알고 있다는 표시입니다.

"사랑은 모든 것을 믿는다." (1 고린도전서 13:7)

"선을 행하는 자는 하나님께 속한 자이지만 악을 행하는 자는 하나님을 보지 못했습니다." (3 요한 복음 1:11)

"사랑은 하나님께 속한 것이므로 사랑하는 사람은 누구나 하나님으로부터 나서 하나님을 알고 있습니다. 하나님은 사랑이시니 사랑 안에 거하는 사람은 하나님 안에 거하고 하나님도 그 안에 거하십니다." (1 요한 복음 4:7-11)

요약:

일부 기독교 교회에서는 이렇게 가르칩니다: 오직 기독교인만이 구원받는다.

성경이 실제로 말하는 것(그리고 새로운 기독교 교회가 가르치는 것)입니다: 모든 종교의 선한 사람들은 구원을 받습니다.

신그리스도교회의 가르침에서 인용한 몇 가지 참고 자료 : 천국과 지옥 318-328, 주님의 신성한 섭리 326

이 유용한 사이트의 저자 John Odhner의 허락을 받아 사용: http://whatthebiblesays.info/Introduction.html

10042. 'And you shall take one ram' means the good of innocence in the internal man. This is clear from the meaning of 'a ram' as the good of innocence and charity in the internal man, dealt with below. Since sacrifices and burnt offerings of rams and lambs are referred to in this chapter, the general meaning of the living creatures offered in sacrifices and burnt offerings must be stated. Those creatures were oxen, young bulls, and he-goats; rams, she-goats, and he-kids; and he-lambs, she-lambs, and she-kids of she-goats. Anyone who does not know what these creatures serve to mean cannot possibly know what is meant by a sacrifice or burnt offering of any of them in particular. It should be recognized that all living creatures on earth serve to mean things such as reside in the human being, which in general consist in affections present in his will and in thoughts present in his understanding, and so consist in forms of good and in truths; for forms of good belong to the will and truths to the understanding. And since those things consist in forms of good and in truths they also consist in love and faith; for all aspects of love are called forms of good, and all matters of faith are called truths.

[2] The reason why these different kinds of living creatures serve to mean such things lies in representatives in the next life, where creatures belonging to many genera and countless species appear. Such creatures there are wholly lifelike appearances corresponding to spirits' and angels' affections and thoughts. The truth of this is evident also from the visions of the prophets spoken of in places throughout the Word; for all the things that were seen by the prophets are such as appear in heaven before angels' eyes. This explains why mention in the Word is so often made of beasts or animals, each of which serves to mean something belonging to one of the categories of things residing in the human being. As to his outward self the human being is no more than an animal; but his inward self makes him different. By means of his inward self both this inward self and his outward self can be raised towards heaven and up to God, and can as a consequence receive faith and love. This is why animals were used in sacrifices and burnt offerings. The person who knows nothing of all this cannot possibly know the reason why it was commanded to offer young bulls, rams, or he-lambs on one occasion, oxen, she-goats, and she-lambs on another, and he-goats, he-kids, and she-kids of she-goats on yet another. What other reason could there be for these differences? For the meaning of animals or beasts in the Word as forms of good or evils present with a person, and also truths or falsities, see 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 776, 1823, 2179, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 7523, 7872, 9090; and for their use in sacrifices on account of that meaning, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830.

[3] So far however as sacrifices and burnt offerings of those creatures are concerned it should be recognized that,

1. Representative worship among the Jewish and Israelite nation consisted first and foremost in sacrifices and burnt offerings.

2. Sacrifices and burnt offerings in general served to mean the regeneration of a person by means of the truths of faith and forms of the good of love received from the Lord, and in the highest sense the glorification of the Lord's Human.

3. Everything belonging to worship - all the different things constituting it, thus worship in all its variety - was represented by the sacrifices and burnt offerings; and this is why it was decreed that different kinds of living creatures should be used.

[4] But to deal with these considerations in detail,

1. Representative worship among the Jewish and Israelite nation consisted first and foremost in sacrifices and burnt offerings

This is clear from the fact that they were used for every sin and all guilt, and also for every consecration and admission to office, besides being used daily, on every sabbath, at each new moon, and at every feast; and for this reason the altar was the holiest object of all. Every other act of worship among that nation grew out of an occasion for sacrifice, which explains why it says in Daniel, when the abolition of representative worship is the subject, that the sacrifice and the offering will cease, Daniel 9:27, and the continual [sacrifice] will be removed, Daniel 8:10-13; 11:31; 12:11. In particular 'the continual' means the sacrifice that was offered daily, and in general all worship. But see what has been shown already on these matters,

Sacrifices in general mean all representative worship, 923, 2165, 6905, 8680, 8936.

The altar was the chief representative of the Lord and consequently of worship, 2777, 2811, 8935, 8940, 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964.

The ancients before Eber knew nothing about sacrifices, 2180.

Sacrifices were established in Eber's time, existing from then on among the Hebrew nation, and consequently among the descendants of Jacob, and why they did so, 1128, 1343, 2180, 2818.

Sacrifices were not commanded, only permitted, 2180.

[5] 2. Sacrifices and burnt offerings in general served to mean the regeneration of a person by means of the truths of faith in the Lord and forms of the good of love to Him, both received from the Lord

This is clear from the fact that all aspects of worship have regard to purification from evils and falsities, the implantation of truth and good, and the joining together of these, thus to regeneration since by means of those three a person is regenerated. This explains why sacrifices and burnt offerings were offered for every sin and all guilt; and it says, when they were offered, that it was expiated and would be pardoned, Leviticus 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 18; 6:7; 7:7; 10:17; 14:18-19; 15:30-31; 16:6, 24; 17:11. The pardoning of sins, expiation, propitiation, and redemption are nothing other than purification from evils and falsities, the implantation of goodness and truth, and the joining together of these, which is regeneration, 9076, 9452-9454, 9937, 9938. The whole process of regeneration is also described by the specific observances belonging to each sacrifice and burnt offering, and a clear view of that process emerges when the internal sense is used to unfold the representative elements of it, 10022.

[6] In the highest sense sacrifices and burnt offerings serve to mean the glorification of the Lord's Human

This is so because all the ritual observances belonging to worship that were established among the Israelite and Jewish nation had regard solely to the Lord; thus more than all else the sacrifices and burnt offerings - by which in general everything belonging to worship was represented, as shown above - had regard to Him. Furthermore the only source of human regeneration is the Lord, 9486, 9487, 9506, 9715, 9809, 10019. When therefore the Word deals with human regeneration the subject in the highest sense is the glorification of the Lord's Human; for the regeneration of a person is an image of the glorification of the Lord, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688. Glorifying His Human implies making it Divine, whereas regenerating a person implies making him heavenly, in order that what is Divine and the Lord's may dwell in him.

[7] 3. Everything belonging to worship - all the different things constituting it, thus worship in all its variety - was represented by the sacrifices and burnt offerings; and this is why it was decreed that different kinds of living creatures should be used

This is clear from all the different situations for which sacrifices and burnt offerings were prescribed - for sins committed through error, and for sins not committed through error; for every trespass and uncleanness, whether on the part of a priest, the whole congregation, a leader, or any ordinary person ¹ ; for cleansing from leprosy; for purification after childbirth; for consecration of the altar, the tent of meeting, and everything in it; for the cleansing of these when Aaron went once a year into the holy of holies; for the admission of Aaron and his sons to the priestly office; for the consecration of Nazirites; and in general at the three feasts, at each new moon, on the sabbaths, and morning and evening ² every day; and in addition votive offerings and free-will offerings.

[8] Since sacrifices and burnt offerings were prescribed for so many different situations and they represented all the different things constituting worship, it was also decreed that different kinds of creatures should be used - young bulls, oxen, and he-goats; rams, she-goats, and he-kids; and he-lambs, she-lambs, and she-kids of she-goats. Sacrifices and burnt offerings of young bull, ox, and he-goat represented the purification and regeneration of the external or natural man; those of ram, she-goat, and he-kid represented the purification and regeneration of the internal or spiritual man; and those of he-lamb, she-lamb, and she-kid of the she-goats represented the purification and regeneration of the inmost or celestial man. For there are three degrees that follow in order in a person, namely celestial, spiritual, and natural, see 9992, 10005, 10017; and if a person is to be regenerated the things that are internal and those that are external must be regenerated, see the places referred to in 9325(end).

[9] But what is meant specifically by the sacrifice and burnt offering of a ram that are referred to in the present chapter is clear from places in the Word where sacrifices and burnt offerings of rams are described or where a ram is mentioned. From those places it is evident that 'a ram' means the good of innocence and charity in the internal man, and that a sacrifice and burnt offering of it mean purification and regeneration of the internal man, and so the implantation of the good of innocence and charity there. This meaning of 'a ram' is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

All the flocks of Arabia will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; they will come up with acceptance on My altar. Isaiah 60:7.

This refers to the Lord, and to heaven and His Church. 'The flocks of Arabia' are all the forms of good belonging to the internal man, 'the rams of Nebaioth' are the forms of the good of innocence and charity there, 'flocks' being forms of good that belong to the internal man, see 8937, 9135, 'Arabia' a place where good exists, 3268, and 'Nebaioth' those there who are governed by that good, 3268, 3686, 3688.

[10] In Ezekiel,

Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, [these were] the merchants of your hand through [the trading of] small cattle, and rams, and he-goats. Ezekiel 27:21.

This refers to Tyre, by which is meant the Church where cognitions or knowledge of good and truth exist, 1201. 'The merchants' are those who possess them and pass them on, 2967, 4453; 'cattle' are forms of the good of love, 'rams' forms of the good of charity, and 'he-goats' forms of the good of faith. In the Word reference is made to 'flocks', 'small cattle' ³ , and 'members of the flock', for which the original language has distinct and separate terms. By 'flocks' internal things in general are meant, by 'members of the flock' the same things in particular, and by 'small cattle' inmost things in particular. But by 'herds' external things are meant. In Jeremiah,

I will cause them to come down like small cattle to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. Jeremiah 51:40.

'Small cattle', 'rams', and 'he-goats' here have much the same meaning.

[11] In Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am judging between members of the flock and members of the flock ⁴ , between rams, and between he-goats. Ezekiel 34:17.

'Between members of the flock and members of the flock' stands for between those with whom interior things of good and of evil are present. 'Between rams and between he-goats' stands for between those with whom charity and consequently faith are present and those with whom truths of faith without charity are present. 'Rams' here have the same meaning as 'sheep', rams being male sheep. For the meaning of 'sheep' as those with whom charity and consequently faith are present, see 4169, 4809; and for that of 'he-goats' as those with whom truths that are called the truths of faith are present but without charity, 4169(end), 4769. The ram and the he-goat in Daniel 8:1-end have the same meaning, as do the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:32-end.

[12] In Moses,

If a soul has sinned through error he shall bring his guilt offering to Jehovah, a ram without blemish out of the flock. Leviticus 5:15, 18; 6:6.

By sacrifices of rams is meant purification of the internal man and the implantation of the good of innocence there; for sin committed through error is sin owing to ignorance that has innocence within it, and the innocence of ignorance belongs to the internal man.

[13] In the same author,

At new moons they were to offer two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs, and afterwards a he-goat of the she-goats. The same thing was to be done every day during Passover, and also on the day of the firstfruits. Numbers 28:11, 15, 19, 22, 27, [Numbers 28:30.]

All this was done in order that the purification of the whole person - the external, the internal, and the inmost - might be represented. The purification of the external man was represented by the sacrifice and burnt offering of the young bulls, of the internal by those of the ram, and of the inmost by those of the lambs. And since purification was represented, so too was the implantation of the good of innocence; for a young bull is the good of innocence in the external man, a ram that good in the internal man, and a lamb that good in the inmost man, as has been stated above. The reason why the last of the creatures was a he-goat was that 'a he-goat' means the truth of faith in the external man, and the truth of faith there is last and lowest, 9959. Since the forms of good and the truths present with a person follow one another in this order, therefore also the gifts of the princes of Israel when the altar and the tent of meeting were anointed were a young bull, a ram, and a lamb for burnt offerings, and a he-goat of the she-goats for a sacrifice, Numbers 7:15-17, 21-23, 27-29, 33ff.

From all this it may now be recognized that 'a ram' means the good of innocence and charity in the internal man.

각주: