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NASB | 1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 2:1 My little children (believers, dear ones), I am writing you these things so that you will not sin and violate God's law. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [who will intercede for us] with the Father: Jesus Christ the righteous [the upright, the just One, who conforms to the Father's will in every way--purpose, thought, and action]. |
Bible Question: My aunt informed my cousin and I today that queers do not go to heaven. We argued up and down that there is only one sin that you can commit and that is blasting the name of God. She claims that God destroyed two whole towns full of gays and lesobians. Of course she is a different religion. We are baptist and i think she is non denominational. Is it true that gays and lesobians will go to hell? Shouldn't we witness to them anyways though because it is not our right to judge?Thanks |
Bible Answer: While Christians are forbidden to judge the eternal destiny of any other human being, the Scripture sets forth plainly that those who do not repent of their sin will not be with God in heaven. God has already judged that all of mankind is worthy of wrath. That the sin here is homosexuality makes no difference. Unrepentant sinners will be cast into hell for not having believed on Christ and for not obeying His commandments (cf. John 3:16-18). They remain under the wrath of the holy God for not having believed in God's provided way of escape. A passage of Scripture that will help you to know the mind of God concerning the destiny of the unrepentant sinner is found in 1 John 2:1-6. I encourage you to get your Bible and read it several times then consider the following comments as they relate to each verse: (1-3) In the first verse John speaks of authentic believers committing a sin - “will not sin” and “does sin.” The verb tense in Greek is important here because it does not mean continual practice of sin, but rather an act of sin. This is in contrast to the early Gnostics, some of whom believed they were free to engage in sexual immorality throughout their lives w/o suffering the eternal consequences. This belief is heresy and it is what John is addressing in this book. Continual sinning as a lifestyle is what your Aunt refers to when she says men who live this way will go to hell. If they don't eventually repent, they in fact will go to hell. There is much Scripture that teaches this in both the OT and the NT. Another contrast is seen between believers and nonbelievers having to do with forgiveness of sin. Believers have a remedy for the sin which they commit. "He is the atoning sacrifice.." The blood of Jesus is the only thing that takes away our sin. The phrase, “also for the sins of the whole world” cf. John 1:29 where John the Baptist said the same thing. This does not imply “universalism” – all will be saved because of Christ’s atonement. The atonement is offered to all, but is received individually by faith (cf. John 3:16). The nonbeliever has no advocate, no one to represent him before the God who has already declared him guilty (Cf. again John 3:18) (3-6) Here John contrasts genuine believers with those who are not in the faith. Obedience to God is the "proof" of conversion. The Gnostics did not obey and claimed to have a ‘special knowledge’ leading to their salvation w/o repentance. (3) “to know Him” – Gr. “ginosko” – an experiential knowledge of Christ. John is saying that obedience to Christ evidences the authenticity of one’s experiential knowledge of Christ - or as we more commonly say, "Having a relationship with Him." Therefore a believer can have confidence that he is “in Christ” as opposed to simply being religious because he doesn’t go on sinning. (4) "The man who says 'I know Him' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the turth is not in him." A perfect application of this verse is seen in current events where the practicing gay man has just been voted in by peers as an Episcopal Bishop. (5) Those who lives are characterized by obedience to God demonstrate that they have a relationship with Christ. (6) Believers in Christ are not given an option concerning the truth of God's Word. We either submit to it and live in obedience to Christ, or we persist in making up our own belief system. The latter are not in the faith of Christ and if they do not repent they will suffer unimaginable pain for eternity. |