Any kind of teaching on grace that allows any person to continue is sin, or go back into sinful living with the promise of eternal life is also making the grace of God a license for immorality. The person would not have to confess any of those sins to God, would not have to repent of them, and they would not have to forgive anyone else who sinned against them, because those future sins are already forgiven automatically which is a false teaching.
True Christians should honestly grieve over personal sin and repent of it and try to take measures to avoid it. We are told that we are forgiven of past sins, but it is not ever stated that we are automatically covered for future sins. (Rom. 3:25, 2 Peter 1:9).
The Lord Jesus did not teach that all of our sins past, present, and future are automatically forgiven.
If one does forgive that person without his repentance, he is adding to his wickedness that is being committed by him and this will not produce love or any good. It must be understood that repentance must always be first to God and then to the offended member. Repentance means Recognition, Remorse, Rejection and willing to change as a new person. If there is remorse and rejection of a sin, but you don’t recognize the hurt or damage you have caused other person who is a victim, it becomes sin. The root of it that is, it will come back cloaked as something else and cause you to commit the same hurt /sin! No one can force another to forgive. People have their own timing in forgiving.
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' Luke 3:8
There is a condition upon which our future sins would be forgiven? Jesus gave the parable of the wicked servant who was forgiven so much debt, because he cast himself on the mercy of his Lord, and his Lord had compassion on him and forgave him. Later on that day, he found a fellow servant who did not own him near as much as he was indebted to his Lord, but instead of forgiving his fellow servant, he took by the throat and had him cast into jail. The point of this parable Jesus gave was to teach us that if we forgive not those who are indebted to us, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you. Now if all of our future sins are already forgiven, this teaching by our Lord could not be eternal truth.
He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is obvious that the apostle was referring to the Saints and not to unbelievers with the use of "IF" is a condition and in this case represents the condition upon which we are to receive forgiveness of our sins. If you do not confess your sins, you will not be forgiven. If you are not forgiven, you will not be able to take your sins to heaven in the presents of a Holy God. If you will have not admittance into heaven because of unconfessed sin, there is only one place for you after you have died in your sins, and that is the lake of fire burning with brimstone which is the second death.
The Word of God is clear that those who are living in sin will not be go unpunished. It would be unrealistic and unscriptural to suggest that one is saved while living in sin. Many people walk away from God because they are spiritually blinded and are led astray by their own lusts and sins.” I’ve heard people say "Jesus died for you sins past, present and future. Even in reality we can’t imagine a judge forgiving a murderer for his past, present and future Murders right? This sounds ridiculous. If you forgive such people you will encourage them to kill more innocents. How can God forgive anyone without repenting?
Only repentant sins are forgiven sins. God only pardons us of our sins after we forsake our sins. If a believer sins, they are not already forgiven, they need to repent and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness in advance would be a license to sin.
We know that Jude says that certain men crept in and through the good words and fair speeches they deceived the hearts of the unlearned and unestablished in the truth by turning the original gospel of Christ, also called the gospel of grace, the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of God, into lasciviousness, or a license to sin. How many people had a false sense of "assurance" while living in sin? Forgiveness in advance is definitely NOT license to sin. The grace of God does not give us license to sin, it teaches us not to sin. Titus 2:12.
Yes, when we were born again, we did receive forgiveness of sins past. Romans 3:25. We must also realize that forgiveness of past acts of sin are not all that salvation is about. It is a total transformation, regeneration, and bringing to life a spirit that was dead in trespasses and sin. It is an exchanged life. It is placing faith on Him who became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
Can all sins like adultery, homosexuality, murder, idolatry, sexual immorality, impurity, witchcraft etc be forgiven?
Sin can defile us even though Jesus died for all sins
Eg.
Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. (1 Tim 5:22)
For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live (Rom 8:13)
But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. (James 1:14-16)
I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Prov 28:13)
Jesus himself said “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. (Mat 5:28,29)”
If future sins were forgiven then why it said “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Mat 6:14,15)
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Heb 10:26, 27)
The Bible warns us to make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (2 Pet 3:14)
Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. (Luke 13:24)
Maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. Exodus 34:7
There are conditions to meet in order to be forgiven. ‘If we confess, God forgives.’ The teaching of the Bible is that repenting gives a clean slate from all past sins, but does not teach that we have automatic forgiveness of future sins without confessing and repentance.
The apostle said (1 John 2:1-2), “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
This means God’s will is that we not sin ‘but if we do sin and repent, Jesus is our Advocate who speaks to the Father in our defense. If we will confess, God will forgive.’The Bible teaches that our past sins are forgiven at the point of repentance and when we place our faith in Jesus.
In Acts 20:21, the Apostle Paul said, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” Also chapter 26:20, “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.”
All of our past sins are forgiven the moment we confess them before God. When a believer is baptized and born of God , they come up out of the water cleansed of past sins. However, if afterwards they yield to the devil’s temptations to sin, they must follow through with 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Future sins are not forgiven unless they are confessed, because those un-confessed sins can defile a believer.
We have already come to the place when many professed Christians will not put up with sound doctrine, and will not accept God’s truth as it is written in the Bible. Thus they seek out a great number of teachers who will say what the majority wants to hear.
There are all too many who have accepted the lie that their future sins are automatically forgiven, and because of that false doctrine, have fallen into gross sins that have defiled them in a multitude of ways.
Some False preachers corrupt the gospel and they teach different gospels, they are more concerned about popularity than purity comforting them in their sin rather than calling them to repentance and They will tell the people what they want to hear.
Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah” (Jeremiah 23:14).
Beware of false prophets, preachers and priests who tickle the itching ears of evildoers (2 Timothy 4:3,4).
Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:16).
Because of the neglect of the false prophets, the people did not repent: “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings” (Jeremiah 23:21,22).
Jesus being born a man but being also God perfectly fulfilled the law. He Himself had no sin but He obediently paid the price for the curse on man under God's perfect law. Atonement for sin brought into the world by Adam's disobedience was paid for by the obedience of God's Lamb by death on the cross. At the cross He took the curse upon Himself for it is written "cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree" (Gal 3:13). Satan with his wolves in sheep's clothing has corrupted the gospel.
More scriptural verses are:
Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven
Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Romans 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Cor 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
I Cor 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
2Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Phil 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling
Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin
Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
James 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Ezekiel 3:20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Ezekiel 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. 18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 18:26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die
Ezekiel 33:12Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. 33:13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
Ezekiel 33:17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. 33:18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. 33:19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Revelation 3:19
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. Acts 17:30
Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 2:25
Final conclusion: God is calling his people to be holy as he is holy. "Lev 11:45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. (Additional reference Lev 19:2) With human nature, it is impossible for us to be holy. But it is possible with the grace of God. Holy life starts as we detach ourselves from the source of sin. Then we shall become the children of God and holiness shall become a way of life. We must decide never to justify our sin but we repent genuinely with Godly sorrow (."(2 Corinthians 7:10). You can see from this how important it is for people to repent. If we do not repent, we cannot be with Jesus and God. If we do not repent, we shall die a spiritual death and will not be able to go into heaven. Jesus said, "I tell you, No! But unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:3).
This is very clear and easy to understand. Jesus taught that we will either repent or we shall perish. True repentance is followed by godly living.True repentance is ALWAYS followed by the fruit of obedience.
Also look my other article on 'Every sin has its own consequences".
Thanks very much for this document.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.
To the author of this article, Lara Mel and everyone else that's reading,
ReplyDeleteI strongly disagree with your doctrine because it does not show full understanding of God's grace, Jesus' finished work on the cross and what it takes to receive salvation. Please do more reading, even from other sources, for complete understanding of the gospel.
Here are some articles from GotQuestions.org that might be helpful:
http://www.gotquestions.org/license-sin.html
http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-sin.html
Peace!
This post has laid out some excellent points on conditional security. I am becoming more and more convinced that working out our salvation with fear and trembling are not just words to read but to be evident in our habituations. If one were to select a position merely on logic, conditional security as opposed to eternal security keeps us further away from the edge of the cliff.
ReplyDeleteThe character of God's is such that if we are genuinely following Jesus' steps and heed apostolic instruction in our daily lives, He is faithful to sanctify and secure us regardless of our theological leanings.
The reason they cannot be corrected is that salvation is by grace and God gives God's grace. Without being given God's grace the person cannot believe the truth. The truth is we have reason to fear God. In relation to salvation grace is expressed through predestination and election unto salvation-faith and grace is a merited favour (1Peter 5:5, Acts 5:32). This is a basic teaching which is no-where to be found in modern apologetics. No-one seems to realise that God saves people and that we do not save ourselves by choosing to believe. It is by God's grace that a person gets saved and by God's grace that a person stays saved. If you lose God's grace you will lose knowledge of the truth. God sends delusions to the damned. What will you do to keep God's grace? I would recommend obeying Jesus Christ and seeking his help to be cleansed of sin on an ongoing basis. It is God's will that all be saved but this just eans it is God's will that all be humble enough to qualify for grace (1Pet 5:5) so he can grant them repentance (2Tim 2:25). Note: This is not Calvinism, it is Humility Enabled Grace (HEG).
ReplyDelete