Pass The Baton
I recently joined a new blogring called Pass The Baton. By joining this group a person accepts they will receive a question from another member. The questions are challenging theological questions. The person challenged gets a couple of days to come up with an answer. After that they get to issue a challenge to another member of the blogring. If you want to participate, join the blogring. If you just like to read, here's my first challenge. See what you think... Today's Challenge
"We know that God does not like unrepenant sin. Yet there are TONS of people in the Church living in this type of sin (pride, idolatry, you name it). I think we obviously all have "occasions" where we live in an unrepenant state, so my question is this: Do you think people who have accepted Jesus as their savior, but are knowingly living with some sort of unrepented sin, will still go to Heaven? Why or why not??" And my response...
We know the wage of sin is death (Ro 6:23) and none of us are sinless (Eccl 7:20). This challenge is well founded (Ps 7:12). Is 1:7 says repentence is a form of righteousness that results in salvation. The word "repent" essentially means to have a change of mind and heart. In the biblical sense it means to change one's mind from sinful ways to Godly ways. Repentence doesn't make us perfect, it makes us forgiven - not by our own power in the repenting, but by the grace of a God who shows undeserved mercy because of love. In Genesis we learn about Abraham. In Heb 11:8-10 regarding Abraham we get key insight into the foundation of the matter upon which we can build an answer to this challenge question. Abraham acted in faith. We know Abraham sinned along the way, but we also know he was driven in earnest by a deep unwaivering faith in what the Lord had told him. He trusted what God said and he acted on it. What we say and do proceeds out of the heart and Abraham had faith. Faith doesn't perfect, only God can perfect. Abraham was justified by his faith, not because the things he did justified his sins, but because God decided to look past the sin. Faith propels us. If we have faith in ourselves, in worldly things, in lies... then such faith propels us away from God. If our faith is in God we will be propelled toward Him and we will be compelled to strive toward His good work and actions of obedience which is to say we will be doers of love (Eph 2:10). Getting back to the question at hand, will a person with unrepentent sin still go to heaven? All sin can be forgiven except blaspheme of the Holy Spirit (Lk 12:10). Must all sin be repented of? That's the real question, isn't it? Acts 3:19 implores us to repent so our sins will be blotted out. The blood of Christ is what redeems us from sin, but is that blood given to all or only those who meet certain conditions? Eph 2:8-9 suggest nothing we do is sufficient, presumably even repenting. By the same token, even Jesus commanded repentence. My answer then is this... Are we turning to God or from Him? Do we turn to the saving blood of our Lord, admitting his is the only way to salvation and submitting to him, or do we stand on the sandy foundation of our own self-righteousness? Jesus said it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to be saved, yet he also said all things were possible through him. My answer: we are not the judge. We are, however, messengers. Ezekiel was told to give the warning even though people would not listen. Jesus came even though many refused to listen and even his closest friends bailed on him in his worst hour. Yet for some inexplicable reason God tarries from judgment, even allowing mercy to triumph over judgment (Ja 2:13). I don't know the answer to the question because I'm not the judge, but I do know it is my duty to give the message - repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Next Challenge
To OJesuslovesyousomuch: When the body dies, does the soul (or spirit?) go directly someplace or does it "sleep" until an appointed time of resurrection (and judgment)? | 
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