altogether holy victim -- how great is His gift ! -- and reconciled God to our human race ” ( p . 125 ).
“ For this reason the lord patiently endured for our sake a death He was not obliged to undergo , to redeem us , who were obliged to suffer death , from servitude to the devil and death , by which I mean death both of the soul and of the body , temporary and eternal . Since He gave His blood , which was sinless and therefore guiltless , as a ransom for us who were liable to punishment because of our sins , He redeemed us from our guilt . He forgave us our sins , tore up the record of them on the Cross and delivered us from the Devil ’ s tyranny ( cf . Col 2:14-15 )” ( p . 128f ).
As is often the case , the proper Orthodox perspective on this question is one of balance . We should proclaim the whole counsel of God ( Acts 20:27 ), and not just the parts that we find most appealing . Nor should we overreact to the imbalances of heterodox theologians , and thus fall into a new error , by rejecting important aspects of our Tradition . There was in fact a feast in the Old Testament called “ The Day of Atonement ,” which in Hebrew is called Yom Kippur . This was the only fast day specifically called for in the Law of Moses , and was “ a most holy sabbath [ Shabbat Shabbaton ]” ( Leviticus 16:31 ). This is the fast that was alluded to in Acts 27:9 , which states that “ sailing was now dangerous , because the fast was now already past ...
Fr . John Whiteford is the Pastor of St . Jonah Orthodox Church ( ROCOR ) in Spring , Texas . He is the author of ‘ Sola Scriptura : An Orthodox Analysis of the Cornerstone of Reformation Theology ’, published by Conciliar Press , and the General Editor of the ‘ St . Innocent Liturgical Calendar ’.
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