Subject: The unpardonable sin? |
Bible Note: Greetings AO! You wrote: "It is only unpardonable if the person has not repented before they physically die!" Exactly where does Scripture teach this? This has always been my concern about the belief in baptismal regeneration. I may be wrong, but it sounds to me like you are teaching that we are saved by our works. One slip, and if we die without confessing it, we would go to hell. But, Scripture makes it clear that we are not saved by our works (Eph. 2:8-9), not do we stay saved by our works. We are saved (past tense) by what Christ did on the cross. Consider the following: Titus 1:4 - " But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." Every action of God in this verse in the tense of past completed action. We aren't being saved. We aren't hoping to be saved. We are saved, justified, and have already become heir of eternal life. In your interpretation, we might be saved one day and not the next. We might be justified one day and not the next. We might be heirs one day and not the next. Why? Because of our 'works', our status changes? Yet, Titus 3:5 specifically says that we were not saved because of righteous works. The Christian walk is not one of saved today, lost tomorrow, saved again. Peter, in the first chapter of his first epistle, agrees with Paul and lists the past, present, and future aspects of our salvation. In v. 3, we have been give new birth. It is a finished and completed action. In v. 5, we are being shield by God's power. This is an ongoing continuous progess. Finally, in v. 4, we have an inheritence which we will receive in heaven. How does this all tie into the unpardonable sin? Well, I agree with Mommapbs and George. There is only one unpardonable sin according to Mt. 12:30-32. This passage does not speak of every unconfessed sin. It speaks of a specific sin in contrast to every other sin. But, this is the position to which baptismal regeneration logically leads. If we are saved by grace plus other things that we must do, then logically we could be 'unsaved' by doing wrong things or not doing the right things. But, this is not the way Scripture describes salvation. It is not described as a process of being saved, being lost, being saved again, and hoping that I am saved when I die. It is described as a past completed action. That is good news. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |