Bible Question:
Dear Dino Bencini, Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus! Trust, my friend, that I well know this Scripture! The problem is: 1) If Jesus will always take you back, then are we in a constant state of saved-unsaved-saved-unsaved...etc.? 1a) If so, is the outcome sure that in the end we are saved? or, 1b) Are we unsure of our status? i.e. Are we saved only if we are in God's good grace(s) at the moment of our death? 1c) Doesn't God know when we will die? i.e. If God doesn't know if we are saved or not, it seems to deny any form of the words 'chosen,' 'elect,' or 'known' by God, except in a general sense. As one that believes in a personal God, I find this very disconcerting! 2) I was asking for a *practical* definition, not an *ethereal* one. The doctrine of a believer committing an 'unforgiveable sin' depends upon the two phrases 'blaspheme (sometimes 'grieve') the Holy Spirit' and 'deny Christ.' That these two concepts are in the Bible I cannot deny! However, if we are to preach this doctrine, the burden of explaining what this means falls upon us. It cannot be a vague thing! Also, if you make these sins *easy* to commit, then you send to hell some that God has counted as in heaven. My examples are Peter and David. (though there are many more!) In the Old Testament and the New, God's people have sinned terribly and been forgiven, Jesus was denied, and the Holy Spirit grieved. But God, in His great mercy saved even those! It is this same mercy that I lean upon! How about you? Or is it now your effort and clean life that will now get you into heaven? In conclusion, I say that I am not against your claim of 'possible unforgiveable sin' as a theory and a dire warning. But if you bandy this theory 'loosely' to the effect of eroding the faith of those that God has loved, you are committing the sin of robbing God's people. Me, I prefer to encourage God's people in a positive sense. I do not offer the false security of 'God loves you whatever you do!' But I do preach that His love is effective to the salvation of those who are call His name! Can we say to God's people, "You could lose your salvation, but I'm not going to tell you how!"(?) It seems to me that if we only preach a perfect life...or else!, then we are 'faith-robbers,' not 'faith-givers.' Blessings to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
Bible Answer: Ok I have to be quick here because I have to go to work. 1. I cannot and don't teach on the unforgivable sin, I just know there is one and that that scripture talks about it. 2. You my friend and I say this in love, have a sin conceousness dictated to you by religion. We shouldn't seek a licence to sin, a righteous man seeks a way out of sin. 3. I believe that in our righteouness lies the fruit of forgiveness, and that when we the righteous in God miss the mark (sin) we are already forgiven and it is merely a commandment of God to repeant and come totally clean, if we hang on to that sin and don't obey Gods word then we Fall out of righteousness. 4. So you can see we stay forgiven even though we sin as long as we are quick to repent. (This is not a licence to sin, see above) 5. Satan want to get you to condem yourself and not to see yourself as God sees you. 6. Even Satan tried to get Jesus to doubt his righteoness by saying "if thou be the son of God turn these stones into bread". Thats Satans job if he can get you to believe your a mere sinful man he wins. 7.If you did'nt do anything (but believe) to get righteouness, when you sin, why is it now you think you have to do something to obtain it again when you did't do anything to get it in the first place? Sin conciousness. Ok must run sorry.... |