وجبـــــــة روحيـــــ(†)ــــــــــة يوميـــــــــة

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





In the Lord Jesus Christ's holiness, He appeared to everyone to be separate from sinners and the only good One. That is why He said to the Jews, defying them: "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" (Jn. 8:46), and said about the Devil: "The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me" (Jn. 14:30).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





The Apostles testified to the Lord, saying that He "was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15); He "knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:2 1); "in Him there was no sin" (Un. 3:5), and that He "committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth" (1 Pet. 2:22).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





Even strangers and enemies testified to Christ with the same testimony. Judas who handed Him over, said: "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood' (Matt. 27:4), and Pilate who sentenced Him to death, said: "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person" (Matt. 27:24), and Pilate's wife sent to her husband, saying: "Have nothing to do with that just Man" (Matt. 27.19).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





Even the Devil witnessed to Christ, saying: "I know who You are the Holy One of God' (Mk. 1:24); (Lk. 4:34).
(10) Even Jehovah's Witnesses testified to Christ in their magazine Watchtower (Arabic issue of June 1953, p. 96), in their reply to a question about the words of Solomon the Sage: "One man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among all these I have not found' (Ecc. 7:28). They said that the number 1,000 is a symbol of wholeness, and that a thousand men is a symbol of all men, . And if there is no woman among all women who is good and without sin, there is only One found among men who is good, that is, Jesus Christ, the only One with this quality who lived on earth.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





Conclusion: Christ Is God
(1) If there is no one good but One, that is, God, and it has been proved that Christ is good or rather that He is the only good One, then Christ is God; He who is separate from sinners and has become higher than the heavens.
(2) If God alone is holy (Rev. 15:4) and it has been proved that Christ is holy, then Christ is God.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





When the rich young man asked the Lord: "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?", why did the Lord reply: "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God" (Matt. 19:16,17)? The reply:
The Jews were accustomed to calling their teachers good teacher'. So the Lord Jesus Christ wanted to ask the young man: "Are you giving Me this title as a routine custom, as you would do for other teachers? If so, know that no one is good but One, that is, God. And do you believe that I am this God?"
The Lord Jesus Christ did not say that He was not good but rather, on another occasion, He said: "I am the, good shepherd" (Jn. 10: 11), and He also said: "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" (Jn. 8:46)

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III








With Respect to Him Being the Forgiver of Sins
(A) God Is the One Who Forgives Sins
(1) David the Prophet says in the Psalm: "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul,.. who forgives all your iniquities" (Ps. 103: 1), and also: "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You" (Ps. 130:3,4).
(2) It is written in the Book of Exodus: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious... forgiving iniquities and transgression and sin" (Ex. 34:6,7).


(3) The Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray to God asking for the forgiveness of our sins, in the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:12), and asked us to forgive others in order to deserve God's forgiveness to us (Matt. 6:14,15).
(4) The Jews understood this fact and believed that no One could forgive sins except God alone.

(B) The Reason Why God Alone Is the Forgiver of Sins:
(1) Forgiveness is an entitlement of God alone, because actually sin is committed against God. It is a breach of His commandments, a transgression of His law and a rebellion against His kingdom. It is also lack of love towards God, preferring evil to Him; it is ingratitude to Him. Sin is a rejection of God. This is clear from the words of the Lord: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me... They have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel" (Is. 1:2-4).
(2) Even the sins which people commit against each other, before being sins against man, are foremost sins against God; against His commandments, against those whom He created. That is why David says in his Psalm of Repentance: "Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight" (Ps. 51:4). When Nathan faced him with his sin, he said: "'I have sinned against the Lord 'And Nathan said to David, 'The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die' " (2 Sam. 12:13,14).
See also (Mic. 7:9); (Is. 42:24); (1 Kin. 8:45,46) and (Deut. 1: 4 1).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III







With Respect to Him Being the Forgiver of Sins
(A) God Is the One Who Forgives Sins
(1) David the Prophet says in the Psalm: "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul,.. who forgives all your iniquities" (Ps. 103: 1), and also: "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You" (Ps. 130:3,4).
(2) It is written in the Book of Exodus: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious... forgiving iniquities and transgression and sin" (Ex. 34:6,7).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III







The Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray to God asking for the forgiveness of our sins, in the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:12), and asked us to forgive others in order to deserve God's forgiveness to us (Matt. 6:14,15).


The Jews understood this fact and believed that no One could forgive sins except God alone.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III





The Reason Why God Alone Is the Forgiver of Sins:
(1) Forgiveness is an entitlement of God alone, because actually sin is committed against God. It is a breach of His commandments, a transgression of His law and a rebellion against His kingdom. It is also lack of love towards God, preferring evil to Him; it is ingratitude to Him. Sin is a rejection of God. This is clear from the words of the Lord: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me... They have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel" (Is. 1:2-4).
(2) Even the sins which people commit against each other, before being sins against man, are foremost sins against God; against His commandments, against those whom He created. That is why David says in his Psalm of Repentance: "Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight" (Ps. 51:4). When Nathan faced him with his sin, he said: "'I have sinned against the Lord 'And Nathan said to David, 'The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die' " (2 Sam. 12:13,14).
See also (Mic. 7:9); (Is. 42:24); (1 Kin. 8:45,46) and (Deut. 1: 4 1).