He tried to disprove my conclusion by quoting parts of three passages from the Bible (Tanach) to prove his own contention that good deeds cannot atone for sin. The first two he mentioned were Isaiah 64:5 which reads "...all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags..." and Psalm 14:3 which says "...there are none who do good...".
I proceeded to show him where each of the two passages actually refers to Jews who were involved in what in Biblical times were considered heathen religious practices and beliefs. The reference in Isaiah 64:5, to all our righteousness being like filthy rags, is to those who "...burn incense upon the (altars of) bricks, sit among the graves..." (Isaiah 65: 3,4) and otherwise engaged in religious practices which in Biblical times were considered heretical.
Similarly, the reference in Psalm 14:1 (and Psalm 53:4 which uses almost identical words) talks specifically of those who committed "abominable works," the word ABOMINABLE meaning heathen or pagan. For example, the word is found in the Bible where it reads, "And he did very abominably in following idols..." (First Kings 21:26). It also is found in the Greek Testament, which Christians usually call the "New Testament", that says "(we) wrought the will of the gentiles when we walked in...abominable idolatries" (I Peter 4:3).
With a genuine look of pain in his face and the sound of utter frustration in his voice, my missionary friend asked me once again, "So, tell me, just how does a Jew find salvation today?" I replied that a Jew finds salvation today just as he or she did in the past. In fact, I told him the Bible also says that he, a Gentile, can atone for his sins by doing good deeds just as Jews can.
I suggested to him that he unwittingly had stumbled on the clue in the third Bible passage that he previously had given, namely, Ecclesiastes 7:20 which says: "There is not a righteous person on earth who (only) does good and does not sin" on occasion. Harvey Guthrie, Jr., Dean of the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, explains that the context of this verse in his comments about Ecclesiastes 7:15-21, which includes verse 20. He says in his contribution to the Interpreter's One Volume Commentary on the Bible that "it has to be recognized that reserve is necessary in imputing unqualified righteousness to any one act or position." In other words, he says that the Biblical notion of righteousness is not one of unqualified good versus evil, but of "relative good" versus relative evil, to use his words.
At this point, I quoted Ecclesiastes 7:16-19, the verses just before verse 20, to help my somewhat misguided missionary friend understand better: "Do not be over-virtuous or play too hard the sage. Why drive yourself too hard? Do not be wicked to the excess and do not be a fool. Why die before your time? The best thing is to hold the one and not let go the other for BOTH OF THESE WILL HAPPEN TO THE G-D FEARING MAN." Finally, Ecclesiates 7:29 summarizes the whole section, namely, that "G-d made man righteous" but not perfect.
Accordingly, I explained, Psalm 65:4 tells us that "though our faults overpower us, You (G-d) cover our sin." And Proverbs 16:6, 14:22 teaches that G-d's "mercy and truth atone for sin..." and that such "...mercy and truth shall be for those that devise good," in other words, do good deeds.
The idea that goodness or righteousness can atone for sin, I continued, though totally alien to the brand of Christianity that this missionary espoused, also appears in Hosea 14:2 which rhetorically petitions G-d to "forgive ALL (our) sins (and) accept that which is good (about us); and we will give the offerings of our lips in exchange for bullocks (sacrificial animals)." The view that sacrifice is not needed to achieve salvation is also found in Micah 6:7,8 which says: "G-d does not want us to bring Him burnt offerings (like the Yom Kippur sacrifices.) So what must we do? "ONLY act justly, love mercy and walk with humility before G-d." And this thought is echoed in Isaiah 43:23-25 "...you (Jews) have not...honored me (G-d) with your sacrifices ...(Nevertheless) I will not remember your sins."
For the Jewish people as a whole, both born Jews and converts to Judaism (of which there are many more than ten thousand each year), the bible is very explicit: "Israel is saved by G-d with an everlasting salvation" (Isaiah 45:17). ** And this, I reminded my attentive Christian friend, was stated long before the time of Jesus.
** This translation is confirmed by Dr. Milton Fisher, President
of the Reformed Episcopal Seminary, Philadelphia, and Professor of "Old
Testament" therein, and in numerous written sources, including: The Oxford
Annotated Bible: Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible; The New American
Bible (P.J. Kennedy & Sons); The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and
English (Zondervan Publishing House); The Holy Scriptures (Jewish Publication
Society); and others.
To contact "Jews for Judaism" and other authentic Jewish educational
resources able to help Jews confused about Christianity and other non-Jewish
religions, look under "Judaism - Make Teshuvah" on my Links
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