Bible Studies

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According to 1John 1: 8, if we think we are without sin, we have deceived ourselves and the truth (about this) is not in us. This passage was written to and about 1st Century, born-again, Heaven bound, believers.

One of the most revealing definitions of a Christian, is that he or she is (not was) a sinner that has been saved by the unearned, undeserved, grace of God.

In principle, 1John 1: 8 was written to and about all born-again believers during the Church Age dispensation, including the one they see when looking in a mirror.

In the secular administration of justice, there is the practical need to classify laws and impose the accompanying consequences for violations, based upon the seriousness of the offense.

But in the spiritual realm, James 2: 10 teaches that a violation of one of God’s laws, renders the violator as guilty as the one who has broken them all!

An honest 2Cor. 13: 5, Biblically-based, self-examination would disclose that some of us are not even out of bed in the morning, and have already sinned by continuing on with the same, ongoing, negative, attitudes and sins of the mind and the body that we went to bed with the night before.

Sin, consists of a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g that we think, do, or say that violates an applicable principle of Scripture. There are over a hundred different ways, by commission or omission, recorded in New Testament Scripture alone, that one can sin.

The teaching that one must repent of “all” one’s sin in order to be saved is ridiculous, when one considers the fact that one is not even aware of what many of his or her sins actually are, until he or she has begun to advance in post salvation Biblical discipleship, and heads down the road to spiritual maturity.

There is only ONE sin (John 3: 18) that will prevent a violator from residing in Heaven, and that is the sin of disbelief.

Never-the-less, eternal security (Rom. 8: 1) is not a license to sin, as all sins open the door for divine discipline (Heb. 12: 6), here on Earth.

It IS a part of the salvation process for one to acknowledge that he or she came into this world spiritually dead (Psalms 51: 5), as did everyone else after the Fall of Man, and of his or her need (John 3: 7) for the Titus 3: 5 regeneration. It is part of the salvation process for one to acknowledge that he or she is a sinner, as a result of his or her own decisions, and the need to receive divine forgiveness. It is part of the salvation process that one acknowledge the one (John 14: 6) means available to secure this regeneration; to receive divine forgiveness, and the GIFT of eternal life.

This regeneration of our dead spirit and the forgiveness of all past, present, and future sin automatically takes place at the moment one is born-again (John 3: 5, 7).

One is born-again when, after having reached the age or stage of moral accountability, is presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18, and THEN chooses to make a one-time decision to believe.

If and when one believes, he or she is then and there (John 5: 24) sealed (Eph. 4: 30) by the Work of God the Holy Spirit, forever identifying him or her as a child of God, and then and there, becomes the recipient of the unearned, undeserved, and irrevocable (Rom. 11: 29) GIFT of eternal life!

OK, but where does the confession of ongoing sin fit into the plan of God, and for what purpose does it serve, if the salvation of all born-again believers is already eternally secure (Rom. 8: 1)?

The answer is found in the understanding of what the post salvation spiritual life, here on Earth, during the dispensation (period of history) of the Church Age, is all about.

The Church Age began around 33AD in Jerusalem, Israel, during the Feast of Pentecost, shortly after the Ascension (Acts 1: 9) of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before ascending into the clouds, the Lord Jesus Christ issued the Great Commission (Matt. 28: 19, 20), identifying the primary mission that He gave to the Church that was about to be established.

The Church (that He established in 33AD) will endure throughout the course of the Church Age (Matt. 16: 18). Man has established alternative churches with alternative objectives. Some have come and gone, others remain, and will still be here (1Tim. 4: 1) after the Rapture (1Thess 4: 16, 17) takes the Church that He established away.

The Church that He established consists of all souls that became born-again believers during their appointed time, here on Earth.

I often think about what the reaction of those left behind, sitting in the pews and or standing behind the pulpit would be, if the Rapture took place in the middle of a Church service. The Church Age (not human history) will come to its prophesied end (Matt. 24: 14) when the Great Commission that was given to the Church has been completed.

Salvation will still be available to those left behind. They will not be a part of the Church, but will be among the “Tribulation Saints,” being born-again during the horrific seven-year dispensation that follows the Rapture.

Tribulation Saints  will not be able to buy the basic necessities, not having received the mark of the devil. They will be subject to great persecution, risking life and limb for identifying themselves in any way with Jesus Christ. Anyone caught rendering support or aid to them will face capital punishment.

End of Part One

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