More on Willful Sin—Can Anyone be Saved?

While I have written on this subject, willful sin, in the past, I thought it worthwhile to write a follow-up as this is a subject that troubles many Christians. There is material here that was not in the first article.

The passage that troubles people is Heb. 10:26-31 but more specifically verses 26 and 27. "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries." (NKJV) I want you to hear the words of Albert Barnes, perhaps the best-known of all English Bible commentators, in his comments on the willful sin of this passage. He says:

"It is not to be construed here strictly, or metaphysically (here Barnes is talking about the word 'willfully'), for all sin is voluntary, or is committed willingly, but must refer to a deliberate act, where a man means to abandon his religion, and to turn away from God. If it were to be taken with metaphysical exactness, it would demonstrate that every Christian who ever does anything wrong, no matter how small, would be lost."

You will be hard-pressed to find a commentator anywhere who would disagree with Barnes’ statement. Virtually every commentator will tell you that the passage has reference to one whose intent is to leave the faith altogether. That person willfully chooses to go another direction.

I do not think this person is one who necessarily ceases to believe. I say that because of verse 27 where there is with this individual "a certain fearful expectation of judgment." (NKJV) However, I grant that the phrase could be taken to be merely descriptive of the judgment and how awful it will be and that is Barnes’ take on it for he says, “The ‘fearful apprehension’ or expectation here does not refer so much to what would be in the mind itself, or what would be experienced, as to what must follow.” Philip Schaff in his commentary agrees for he says, “It describes not what is expected, but what will certainly be, and in truth what is already in reserve—‘a reception of judgment.’” They may well be correct.

We all know Christians who have fallen away simply because they enjoyed sin more than righteousness. They preferred "the pleasures of sin for a season" (Heb. 11:25 KJV) over an eternity of bliss. They did not go into another religion but into a sinful life.  

Here are some words from Neil Lightfoot's commentary on the passage. "He speaks not so much of an act of sin but of a state of sin, for the force of the verb is repeated action—'if we go on sinning,' 'if we continue to sin,' 'if we persist in sin.'" That this is true can be seen from some of the newer Bible translations of the passage. "For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." (Heb. 10:26 NRSV) "Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins." (Heb. 10:26 NLT) The passage is not talking about a single act of sin but a determination to live a life of sin after becoming a Christian.

The New Testament never envisioned Christians ever reaching the point in this life where they would never sin. Yes, that is the goal but the apostle John said, in talking to Christians, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8 NKJV) Well, then, what is the Christian to do about his sin? John tells us in the very next verse where he says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9 NKJV) Finally, he says, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." (1 John 1:10 NKJV)

The Christian who sins needs to confess their sins to God after having become penitent. "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter." (2 Cor. 7:9-11 NKJV) The Corinthians were Christians who had sinned and considering the sins they committed as we read about them in the book of First Corinthians one has to think "they knew better" before committing some of them.

John says he wrote to his little children, as he calls them, "that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1 NKJV) I assure you a penitent Christian can be forgiven of sin. Not a doubt in the world about it as far as scripture goes and Jesus will be your advocate. Before the Christian era began, we all recall from scripture that Peter denied Christ and lied about being his disciple and even said he did not know the man (Matt. 26:72). Was this a willful sin? Did Peter not know he was lying? Was Peter forgiven? Could Peter be forgiven but you can't be? Who can believe it?

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb. 4:16 NKJV) There is grace and mercy for the Christian. Grace and mercy are not just reserved exclusively for the alien sinner who comes to God.

It is true we may always feel sorrowful about what we have done and have long lingering regrets but I am not so sure that is a bad thing if it helps us to determine to never ever again even entertain the thought of doing such things. I often think of David and Absalom which is a heart-wrenching story. Where did David go wrong with his son who he loved so deeply? This whole thing with Absalom tore David's heart out. Then think about what he had to live with in having had Bathsheba's husband murdered and his adultery with her. Many of us are men and women of sorrows but we have to lean on the only hope we have, a true hope, one that will forgive—Jesus. Yes, Jesus will forgive you and save you.

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The Hardening Of The Human Heart

There are passages in the Bible that are frightening.  Heb. 3:12-13 is one such passage. "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called 'TODAY,' lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (NKJV)  This is a passage addressed to Christians but the idea that the heart can be hardened by sin is applicable to all men.

The fact that a man can be hardened by sin is scary in that the implication is that a person might well get to the point where he/she is so hardened that they can no longer repent and thus lose all possibility of being forgiven and of salvation.  Sufficient hardening leads to damnation.  When your heart becomes so hard that you cannot repent, for your heart will not allow it, you are done.

The spiritual heart of man can be likened to cement in that when cement is wet, before it has settled and dried, you can fashion it in whatever manner you choose but once it has hardened it becomes a different matter altogether.

Once a person hears the truth, whether about the gospel as a whole or the truth as regards a particular sin, and that person refuses to respond to the truth obediently he hardens his heart in that very act. 

Sin is a hardening agent.  Every day away from God living for self, when one has heard the truth and knows better, is another day of sin, another day of the further hardening of the heart.  You say you can change but the desire to do so becomes less and less as time goes by and one grows ever more comfortable in a non-Christian or unfaithful lifestyle.  Sin becomes ever more comfortable as each day passes by.  This is a part of the deceitfulness of sin.  Things seem to go fine without God or without faithfulness.  That is until the day it is too late. 

In Heb. 6, the Bible speaks of Christians who have gotten themselves into a situation where it is impossible to renew them to repentance:

"For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame." (Heb. 6:4-6 NAS)

One does not fall away from God in a single hour, day, or week, but it is a process.  Let the leaven of sin do its work, let the heart become gradually hardened by it, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, and the end result may well be a heart too hardened to repent and who can say how long or short a time that may take.

The Bible speaks about God giving up on people.  No doubt they had become hardened.  In Rom. 1 we read words like "God also gave them up" (v. 24), "God gave them up" (v. 26), and "God gave them over" (v. 28) all talking about God giving those people up to sins of various kinds which means he ceased to exercise any restraining influence on them.  The New Living Translation says "God abandoned them" in verses 24 and 26, and in verse 28, "he abandoned them."  How would you like God to abandon you, to give up on you, to allow you to go on in sin with no more efforts to restrain you or bring you to repentance?  Would that scare you?  It should.

God says in Psalms 81:11-12, "But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me.  So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels." (NKJV)  That God was long-suffering with his people in Israel and Judah no one can doubt who has ever read the Old Testament.  Time and again in the prophets one can see God pleading with his people to repent and turn back to him but they refused to do so.  There comes a time when it is too late to repent, too late because you cannot do it, because you become incapable of doing it.  The heart will not allow it.

A person's heart is not something to be played with.  "Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." (Prov. 4:23 NKJV)  Adam Clarke says of this verse, "'Above all keeping,’ guard thy heart."  The New Living Translation reads, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."  Think about that, your heart determines the course of your life and so it does.  That is serious business.  If the heart wanders, if it is not steadfast, if it is not centered on God, on Christ, on the gospel, on God's will, what then?  It is then directing the course of your life towards hell.  There is good reason to "Guard your heart above all else."  One's eternal destiny is at stake.

Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt. 6:21 NKJV)  If you look closely at the two verses just before Matt. 6:21 Jesus only offers two alternatives as to where a man's treasure will be, either on earth or in heaven.  He says without quoting it all, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." (Matt. 6:19-20 NKJV)  A man's treasure is either going to be found on earth in the things of this world, which means that is where his heart is, or his treasure is going to be in heaven, which means his heart is set on the spiritual life.  The one pathway is inevitably going to lead to sin for it does not lead to God. 

A man who has hardened his heart against God and his word is like a man carrying around a bottle of liquid nitroglycerin in his pocket.  He never knows when his life will end and total disaster befall him.  Solomon wrote, "He who hardens his heart will fall into calamity." (Prov. 28:14 NKJV)  Now I want you to take note of two things from this passage.  (1) There is no doubt about the calamity.  It is coming.  You will not escape it no matter who you are if you harden your heart.  (2) Secondly, who is it that hardens his heart?  It is the individual.  It is not something that has to happen.  You can prevent it.  It is in your hands; you have the ability to prevent your heart from hardening.

Again, "He who is often reproved, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." (Prov. 29:1 NKJV)  While the text is correctly translated "hardens his neck," we understand that is a figure of speech referring to the hardening of the heart.  The New Revised Standard version reads, "One who is often reproved, yet remains stubborn, will suddenly be broken beyond healing." (Prov. 29:1)  It is the heart that is stubborn, but who makes it that way?  Who is responsible for not listening to the word of God that reproves a man of his sins?  To ask is to answer.  What happens to such a man?  He is destroyed without remedy.  That ought to scare us.

Without the word of God we would not even know there was such a thing as sin or that we were going to be judged by God's word.  It is God's word that reproves a man, that tells him he is wrong and needs to change, that he needs to repent?  What do you think, should a man harden his heart against the things he reads in the Bible?  It is just a matter of time for the hardened man who refuses to listen to the word of God, just a matter of time.

"But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." (Rom. 2:5 NKJV)  The impenitent heart is a hard heart.  It will not obey God and its reward is wrath.  That reward begins on the day of death.  He will be as was the rich man who desired of Lazarus some water for his tongue for he said, "I am tormented in this flame." (Luke 16:24 NKJV)  That time of torment for the hard-hearted man or woman could begin in the next few minutes for no one knows the minute of his death.  My niece died in apparently perfect health while asleep on a couch at the age of 33.  The autopsy found no apparent cause of death.  According to the autopsy report she ought to be alive but she is not.  When your heart quits beating you are dead no matter what state of health you may think you are in or your doctor says you are in.

An impenitent heart is a choice.  A hard heart is a choice.  God knows a man's heart.  Peter said at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 in speaking of God's acceptance of the Gentiles, "So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them." (Acts 15:8 NKJV)  The Psalmist, David, said, "He knows the secrets of the heart." (Psalms 44:21 NKJV)  Then we are told, "All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Heb. 4:13 NKJV)  David, in speaking to his son Solomon said, "The Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts." (1 Chron. 28:9 NKJV)  One can fool other men as to his motives and as to what he thinks.  He can mislead, deceive, and even tell outright lies but he cannot fool God for God knows--he has searched out every man's heart.

One of the big questions that a man faces is am I honest with myself?  Am I honest with God's word as it applies to me?  If I am not I am simply going to die in my sin or sins.  There is no way around it.  In God's eyes it is the wicked man who "hardens his face." (Prov. 21:29 NKJV)  We can please men or we can please God.  We can please self or we can please God.  Whatever we do we must remember the question Job asked, one which we must answer, "Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?" (Job 9:4 NKJV)

I want to close this article with a short discussion of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, a man who hardened his heart against God.  I quote the following text:

"Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.  He also did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD.  And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel." (2 Chron. 36:11-13 NKJV) 

The kingdom was at that time a tributary to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.  Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar paying no heed to Jeremiah, God's spokesman.  Jerusalem was laid siege to around 18 months before being taken.  When the city was taken, Zedekiah was captured while trying to flee.  All of Zedekiah's sons were executed before his very eyes and then his own eyes were put out and he was carried captive to Babylon.  I remind you of what Job said, "Who has hardened himself against Him and Prospered?" (Job 9:4 NKJV)  Not Zedekiah. 

Zedekiah "hardened his heart against turning to the Lord."  Was there a reason he could not have turned to the Lord?  Was there something preventing such a turning?  Not a thing in the world.  Jeremiah was there urging just such a turn all the time.  Until a man gives in to the word of God and is willing to come into compliance with it there is no hope for him.

In this same chapter, where we read about Zedekiah in 2 Chron. 36, just 2 verses below where we left off in our reading above, we find the following as a follow-up.

"And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.  But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy." (2 Chron. 36:15-16 NKJV)

Zedekiah was not the only Jew with a hardened heart.  But I have quoted this passage to make some points from it.  (1) God is compassionate.  He sent warnings via the prophets but they were more than warnings.  Often, as one reads the prophets, it is as though God is begging, pleading, as though his heart is broken over his people who have left him.  He yearns for them and desires their return much like a parent over a child, a child who has turned his back on the parent and broken the parent's heart.

(2) The second point is that God had done all he could.  There comes a time when everything has been done that can possibly be done for an ill patient.  So it is with the spiritually ill.

(3) The third point was that God's word was despised.  When you get yourself in that position, where you despise what God says, how can you expect help from God for you have basically said I will not accept such help?  His help is found in his word that tells us what we need to do but we are unwilling to accept his prescription.

(4) The final point, there comes a time when there is no remedy.  Why not, because of the hardness of heart.

I close now with the best advice you will ever get.  It is not mine.  It is God's.  "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." (Heb. 4:7 NKJV)  How is your heart today?  How is mine?  It is the pure in heart that will see God (Matt. 5:8).  They do not harden their hearts against his word.  We will either see God or Satan in time to come.  It is our choice.  It is our heart that will make the difference. 

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When Did Obedience Become Legalism

We seem to be living in a time in the present Christian era where people seem to feel that all that matters in Christianity is love and God’s grace, when obedience is seen as legalism, and where it is felt that people do not have to obey biblical commands for salvation except, of course, for the command to believe in Jesus as the Savior.

Grace is made cheap. Live as you like, call yourself a Christian, and God’s grace will cover you. It is said it is what is in the heart, generally defined as the emotions, that counts. Feelings and emotions are defined as love for God. God’s grace will cover a life of sin just so a person believes in God in some abstract sense. I might add if you doubt this just attend a few funerals and see if you can learn of any deceased who are not already in heaven based on the conversations you hear and the preaching that is done there.

People talk about love for God all the time. It is in their heart (their emotions). Yet, quote a passage to them like 1 John 5:2-3, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (NKJV) and you immediately have problems for that is not what they want to hear. It is not how they want love defined. Love is emotion, not obedience, in their way of looking at things.

In 1 Cor. 13 we have Paul discussing love in verses 4-8. In verse 6 of that chapter he says love “does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth.” (NKJV) Iniquity is the opposite of obedience. One can no more join love with iniquity than he can a lamb with a lion. But we have come to believe God’s grace covers everything and obedience is not necessary. We now accept iniquity because we are no longer willing to accept the Bible as the standard of authority for what is holy and right versus what is wrong.

To condemn sin as did John the Baptist, Paul, and Jesus is today seen to be unloving, intolerant, and judgmental, and thus unchristian in the minds of many. Yet, in the New Testament, Paul by the Holy Spirit, commanded Timothy to reprove and rebuke (2 Tim. 4:2 NAS) and not go along with or hold his silence in the presence of men sinning. Titus was told not only to rebuke but to do so sharply (Titus 2:13, see also Titus 2:15). The Ephesians were told, thus meaning it is applicable to us as well, to “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (Eph. 5:11 ESV) But today that is seen as sticking your nose in where it does not belong and we are no longer to call anything short of murder, rape, or robbery and such like as sin.

Yes, obedience to Bible standards of conduct (commands) is now seen as legalism. Sin is renamed and given polite names or, as is often the case, simply dropped off the radar altogether. Fornication is an example of a sin that has dropped off the radar screen and out of sight. Hardly anyone takes it to be a sin today. It is commonly expected that just about every young person is going to engage in it and certainly every unmarried adult. It is just taken for granted as being a normal part of society and not a serious sin at all. What happened to the Bible?

Homosexuality has disappeared from the American consciousness as sinful. The majority approve of it and applaud it and gay marriage. To those who object we speak of their intolerance and hate. We call it a civil right. However, the Bible says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” (Isa 5:20 NJKV) And surely, those who read this know the New Testament condemns homosexuality. If not, read 1 Cor. 6:9-10.

Adulterous marriages are celebrated as God-approved despite the Bible’s teaching on adultery. This listing of sins could go on almost endlessly, sins that in our culture are no longer considered sinful despite what the Bible teaches. Sin is no longer considered a serious thing in our culture.

The religiously liberal Christians (if there is such a thing) say God loves all men (true) so we say we can rejoice in Christian fellowship with those actively practicing these and other sins--no repentance required. Of course, in doing so we destroy the Bible as written but the national desire today is to abandon the Bible altogether as a standard and make our own Bible even if unwritten.

The way we do that is by making the Bible we have mean anything we want it to mean and abandon all rational exegesis. We simply say it does not mean what it seems to say. It means what we say it means, not what it says. In that, we are much like the Catholics who say Jesus was the only child Mary ever had. Of course, all our conclusions are based on love, love the way we, not God, define it. We are perverting the faith and making up our own religion as did the Jews of Jesus’ day. They were “seeking to establish their own righteousness” (Rom. 10:3 NKJV) and we seem to be doing the same thing.

Jesus said, “But why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46 NKJV) Does anyone have an answer? Love means obedience and obedience, despite the cry to the contrary, is not legalism.

Did you ever give it thought that if obedience is legalism Jesus was the biggest legalist of all time? He kept every commandment and never sinned once. He said, “I always do those things that please him.” (John 8:29 NKJV) He was obedient to death (Phil. 2:8). He was the only one who ever kept the law of God perfectly, obedient in every detail.

Jesus never condemned the Pharisees for keeping the law, not once. He condemned them for hypocrisy, for not keeping the law, for making commandments and adding them to God’s word and making them of equal force with God’s word binding them on men. We often today say they were legalists and I do not object to that designation of them but I add this for clarification--their legalism was not for God’s law but for the law they had made and added to his law.

Jesus said, “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:19 NKJV)

Yes, in the passage just quoted Jesus was speaking to an audience who were living under the Law of Moses but where, oh where, have people come up with this modern-day idea that Jesus just does not care about obedience anymore? Put another way, or phrased another way, what has happened to sin? When did it go out of existence? But that is where we are today and it is an idea that is fairly prevalent among a significant number of people who consider themselves to be Christians.

I give people credit in a place where perhaps some others would not. Some would say we have come to this place because people today are just ignorant of God’s word. Well, there is truth in that for sure but why is it so? Is there a shortage of Bibles? No, that is not it. There is a lack of will to read them--that is for sure. And there is a lack of a will to believe them and obey them. Peter said there was such a thing as people who are “willingly…ignorant.” (2 Peter 3:5 KJV) If we do not read and study how can we keep from falling into the category of those who are willingly ignorant?

But, as I said, I am more inclined to give people credit in the knowledge department than some others believing for the most part, people do know right from wrong. I believe the cry “legalism” against the teaching of obedience is in reality a smoke screen to cover up and make an excuse for a life lived for self, a worldly life. It is my life and I want to live it the way I want to. The claim of being saved solely by love and God’s grace provides the cover one needs for such a life to legitimize it before the public.

We all tend to try and hide the wrong we know we are doing and one of the best ways (?) of doing that is to legitimize it--get everyone else to think what we are doing is not wrong. Hey, everybody else is doing it--right? How can it be wrong then? The Pharisees of Jesus’ time were full of sin and yet to the general public they appeared to be righteous. “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men.” (Matt. 23:28 NKJV) They had gotten the people of their day to swallow their religion with all the additions and man-made commandments they had made.

The standard for a righteous man has been so lowered over the years that in the public’s eyes even if you have not worshipped the Lord in a regular assembly of the saints for the past 20 years you are still headed straight to heaven just so you are a believer.

If you had the opportunity to get a hold of an old church roll book from say 100 years ago you would probably be shocked as you would see notations made in the margins of people being withdrawn from as per 2 Thess. 3:6, “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.” (NKJV)

Since we today have decided what love is and have taken it out of God’s hands it is no longer considered to be an act of love to withdraw from sinners who will not repent even though the purpose was “that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Cor. 5:5 NKJV) That is about as noble and as loving a reason as one could have and yet today if we were to practice discipline in the church by withdrawing fellowship from those living in sin and who will not repent it would be considered unloving and unchristian even though an inspired apostle commanded it. It would be considered legalism gone wild. Have we made our own religion as did the Pharisees and scribes and lawyers of Jesus’ day?

It is getting very hard to be a preacher today unless you do not mind going along with the crowd. The trouble is the crowd is heading to a hot, hot spot and the preacher will be going with them if he does not preach against sin. The preacher is to preach the truth and support it, not go along with the crowd.

My whole point in this article is how we have come to the point in faith where the faith we have is no longer associated with obedience and obedience is now seen as legalism. The truth is disobedience is sin. Obedience is faithfulness. There are far worse things that can happen to a man than to be called a legalist by one who does not want to obey.

“And having been perfected (Jesus-DS), he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” (Heb. 5:9 NKJV)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21 NKJV) Do you want to be like Jesus? If so start condemning sin and be obedient. You will not be working your way to heaven in doing so. You will simply be an obedient Christian, not a disobedient one. Of the two whom do you think will receive God’s grace on the last day?

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Philip Preaching the Gospel in Samaria

 "But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike." (Acts 8:12 NAS)

Most people with an elementary knowledge of the scriptures understand that the first gospel sermon ever to be preached was preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2.   If one wants to learn what one must do to be saved from sin it is a great place to start. This sermon was the first ever preached after Jesus’ resurrection and return to heaven where he sat down at the right hand of God the Father.   His blood had now been shed for the remission of the sins of man.  Full forgiveness was now possible.

After Peter’s preaching Jesus on that day of Pentecost, having made believers of approximately 3,000 souls, Peter exhorted them to “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38 NAS)   What was required for their salvation that day?   Faith, repentance, and baptism.

Who was saved that Day of Pentecost?   The text tells us, “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41 NAS)  Who was saved?  Was it those who believed the word only?  Or, was it those who heard the word and acted on it, who repented and were baptized?  To ask is to answer.

We find a similar account in Acts 8 but this time a different Holy Spirit inspired preacher, Philip the Evangelist.  Here we see Philip preaching in the city of Samaria and the text tells us he “began proclaiming Christ to them.” (Acts 8:5 NAS) But, now watch what happened.  “When they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.” (Acts 8:12 NAS)`

The Acts 8:12 passage parallels Acts 2:41.  What was the good news Philip preached?   Was it the gospel Peter preached?  Was it “the power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:16 NAS)?  I am sure we can all agree on this.

The text says "they believed Philip" (Acts 8:12) with regard to what he was preaching.  This is the equivalent of "those who had received his word" with reference to Peter's preaching in Acts 2:41.  When they believed Philip what did they do?  The text says "they were being baptized."  In Acts 2:41 when they received Peter's word what did they do?  They were baptized.   Thus we see that in the beginning of the church, of Christianity, of faith in Christ, that when the gospel was preached and believed or received it led to people being baptized.  There has to be a reason for that.

Is baptism a part of the gospel?  Is it a part of the good news?   It is if it is "for the forgiveness of your sins" as per Acts 2:38.  It is if Peter preached it.  It is if Philip preached it.  It is if these two Holy Spirit inspired men preached it.  It is if it is a part of God’s means of saving people, a part of God’s plan.  Saying this is not discounting faith in any way.   It is only those who first believe who benefit by baptism.   Baptism is the obedience of faith.   It is what a scriptural faith leads to.

Only when one receives the word, the gospel, only when one believes, is he baptized.  Those who did not receive the word did not believe it, were not baptized.  This pretty much tells us who has believed the gospel and who has disbelieved it.  If you believe something else, something other than the gospel, you are not baptized.  We ought to consider that seriously.

We know in both cases baptism was preached for how else were people led to be baptized? What led Philip's audience to be baptized if Philip did not preach it?  Where did they learn about baptism if he did not preach it?   Why were people baptized on the day of Pentecost under Peter's preaching if he did not preach it?  But, we do not have to guess about Peter's preaching for Peter's words were "repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." (Acts 2:38 NAS)

I am reminded of those living in the lifetime of John the Baptist who rejected John’s baptism. The Bible says, “But, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.” (Luke 7:30 NAS)   We now live under King Jesus who has a baptism of his own for mankind.   Are we going to reject it?  Is not the baptism Jesus gives us God’s purpose for us?

If you have never been baptized for the remission of sins you are in a fight against God.   Don't be one of those who insist on being saved your way rather than the way taught by Peter and Philip, by the Holy Spirit.   You cannot win in a fight against God.   It is his narrow gate or the wide gate and the gate you enter makes all the difference (Matt. 7:13-14).  You cannot become a child of God by disobedience, by ignoring his word, by doing it the way my group believes. God only has one group--those who have done it his way.  It is "the Way."   The way of salvation.

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Non-Offensive Christianity

If someone was to ask you or me what constitutes Christian character what would we say?  Off the top of our head, we would most likely say love for God and our fellowman and faith in the Lord Jesus.  As we thought about it more intently we would add things like the fruit of the spirit, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Gal. 5:22-23 NKJV)  We might recall Peter's admonition to add to our faith virtue and godliness in 2 Peter 1.  No doubt we would add humility (1 Peter 5:5), mercy and meekness (Col. 3:12), thankfulness (Col. 3:15), and truthfulness (Eph. 4:25) to our list and our list would still not be all-inclusive of the good things to be found in Christian character at its best.

It is hard to look back over this list and see anything that should offend anyone.  It is certainly not the Christian's desire to offend.  The word of God teaches the Christian to "pursue peace with all men" (Heb. 12:14 NKJV), "to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men" (Titus 3:2 NKJV), and "as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men" (Rom. 12:18 NKJV).  How is it then when it is the Christian's desire to be non-offensive to others and he/she has good character that the Christian ends up offending so many? 

The answer lies in what the Christian believes.  The very fact the Christian believes what he or she believes is offensive to many.  To whom you might ask?  To those who believe otherwise— to the atheist, to the progressive, to the secularist, to the communist, to the Islamist, to those who will not believe and obey the gospel and live faithfully.  The very fact one is a Christian condemns them.  They know they are living lives that are contrary to the gospel, that the gospel condemns their life choices.  They feel Christianity is judging them. 

For example, if the Christian believes it is sinful to live a life of a fornicator who is likely to be offended by that belief?  To ask is to answer—the fornicator, to those who see sex as a sort of human right married or not.  If the Christian was to speak against living together outside of marriage how many friends do you think he or she would make in the world we live in today here in America?  Not many.  If he speaks up it is said he is making himself a judge and causing trouble.  He is considered harsh and intolerant (as though God would tolerate the sin).  He is unloving.

If the Christian considers drunkenness to be sinful who is likely to be offended by that belief if not the one who drinks to drunkenness?  You can go right down the list of what the Bible calls sins, name them one by one, ask the same kind of question, and get the same kind of answer.  Christian beliefs themselves are offensive to many--to a great, great many--no matter what subject you end up talking about.  It is not so much what the Christian does that is so offensive but what he believes.  Jesus said we would be judged by the word of God (John 12:48) and God's word does offend many by limiting their freedom to sin without rebuke.  The word rebukes them.  If you believe the word then that is a rebuke to them and that is offensive.  You offend them because of what you believe about the word, namely, that it is the truth. 

Jesus said on one occasion, "The world…hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil." (John 7:7 NKJV)  Do you think the sinner wants to hear or be told that his works (his sins) are evil?  The minute the Christian speaks up against a sin he puts himself in company with Jesus and the world will hate him too just like it hated Jesus.  The men and women of the world want not only the silence of the Christian but even more than that, they want the Christian's approval.  They basically desire the Christian give up his faith, deny the word of God, and join them, at least in heart.

Jesus said on one occasion to those who sought to kill him, "You seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you." (John 8:37 NKJV)  When God's word has no place in a man then given the right circumstances and provocations, as the man sees them, there is no limits to the depths of sin that it can lead a man to.  The word of God places boundaries upon men, boundaries that do not satisfy those of a worldly bent, but boundaries that keep men from the evil which men are capable of doing when at their worst.  The Christian respects God's fences (boundaries) but the man of the world whose desires are for the world rips the fences to pieces.

The world thus often puts the Christian in a spot that if he had his choice he would rather not be in.  No one who has had any upbringing about him wants to be offensive to others.  We all desire the friendship of others and their affection, we want friends, not enemies, and let us be honest even if a person is worldly it does not mean they are unlikeable.  Many have very winning personalities.  They are often not bad people measured by the standards of the everyday world but the problem is the Christian can have only one standard and that standard is not the standard of everyday worldly life.

Paul gave us all words of wisdom when he said, "For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." (2 Cor. 10:12 NKJV)  Christ is the only acceptable standard a Christian can have.  The goal and the desire is not to be the best of the average everyday person but to be Christ-like.  Our desire is to be saved and in order to be saved we must live like Christ and not like the average of men.  We must seek to please God, not man.  "If I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal. 1:10 NKJV)  The command of God is, "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord." (2 Cor. 6:17 NKJV) 

The condemnation of one group of believers in Christ lay at this very point.  "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John 12:42-42 NKJV)  Thus we come to the fork in the road where we must make a decision.  What will it be?  Will we go with God and his word or will we go with the majority of men?  Will we offend God or will we offend man for that is what it comes down to?

No matter how much you and I desire the salvation of all men we do not desire it any more than God does.  God is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV)  He "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 2:4 NKJV)  He loved the world (mankind) so much he gave his only begotten son that man might be saved (John 3:16).  Nevertheless, the Bible teaches "narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt. 7:14 NKJV)

Now let me ask a question.  If God is so desirous of men being saved why is the gate to life so narrow and the way to life so difficult? (Matt. 7:14)  The gate is narrow and the way is difficult because man finds it hard to accept God's will, believe it, and obey it.  Put another way man finds it difficult to bring his will into subjection to God's will.  Anyone and everyone could be saved, God does not show partiality, but God is God and man is often and generally unwilling to accept salvation on God's terms.  It is offensive to man.

What does please man is the way that seems right to man.  But, what is the end of that way?  "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Prov. 14:12 NKJV)

Even among those the world calls Christians (whether they are or not God will judge based on his word) very, very few are willing to accept that a child of faith must repent and be baptized for the remission of sins despite Peter's exact words to that effect.  "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38 NKJV)  He had to be mistaken, he could not have meant it, it is offensive, the very thought is offensive.  We want non-offensive Christianity.  Non-offensive Christianity demands disregard for the word of God.

With non-offensive Christianity we can have, I recently read, 34,000 Christian denominations (A Short History of Christianity, Stephen Tomkins, page 245).  With denominationalism everyone gets what they want, the church of their choice; all will be saved no matter what group they are with as long as they in the broadest sense of the term "believe" in Jesus, and thus no one is offended—non-offensive Christianity.  No one is offended because in the end denominationalism means doctrine does not matter.  You read it the way you want, I read it the way I want, we are both saved, it doesn't matter which one of us had the truth.

Denominationalism is a wide gate and a broad way.  If I am wrong and that is the narrow gate and difficult way (34,000 denominations) then tell me how many denominations we would have to have to have a broad way?  Would a hundred thousand do it or would it take more like a million?  When one can find the church of his choice, rather than God's choice, you have non-offensive Christianity.

There is no doubt that the tender heart that does not want to offend people is good in its attitude toward the feelings of others but the truth of life, all of life, is that man must make choices and in making choices he will inevitably offend.  There are gentle-hearted people who sincerely want to please everyone, not be offensive to any, and who want to stay out of all fights and disagreements and they are thus unwilling to take sides or take a stand.  They just want to be left alone and left out of any disagreements or unpleasantness but isn't that the desire of most of us?  We want peace, not strife.  We want less stress in our lives, not more.  But there is a problem.

Life just does not work that way.  We cannot stay on the sidelines forever.  In failing to choose sides we choose the side by default that is most likely to be wrong, the side of the majority.  If the broad way has most of the people in it (according to the Lord it does—Matt. 7:13-14) and that is the way of destruction then my choice by default is not going to work out well for me.  It is true enough in this life a majority position is the most popular and the least likely to cause you strife in the here and now but it is also the damning position on the Day of Judgment.  On that day you want to be a part of the minority, not the majority.

Paul, speaking by inspiration, says, "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." (2 Tim. 3:12 NKJV)  Who is this person who is suffering persecution?  Is it the non-offensive Christian?  No!  The truth is you cannot be a faithful Christian without offending many.  You will offend because you will take a side, the side offensive to the world and to much of Christendom.

God calls us to take sides and he gives us no middle ground.  It does not matter if we would prefer to not take a side for that is not given to us as an option.  We will either believe or we will disbelieve.  We will either repent of sin or we will not.  We will either be baptized for the remission of sins or we will not be baptized for the remission of sins.  We will either be obedient in life or we will be disobedient.  We will either battle Satan or we will not battle Satan.  God's choices are only twofold.  They are either/or.  Eve only had two choices, not a half dozen.  Yes, this may sound hard and harsh to some.  God is a demanding God but what are you going to do about it?  Are you strong enough to take on God and win?

"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." (Matt. 12:30 NKJV)   It is either/or, there is no other option given.  We must "contend earnestly for the faith." (Jude 3 NKJV)  We must "fight the good fight of faith." (1 Tim. 6:12 NKJV)  Why?  Because it is either/or.  God commanded it and we either will obey or we will disobey.  There is no third option given.  That is the life we live.  We can please the majority of men now by not taking sides, sitting on the sidelines, giving the world no opposition, but in doing so we have taken the default position which is the devil's majority position--the broad way. 

We might say we did not ask to get put in this position.  No, we did not ask to be put in this position but God saw fit to place us here.  We are his creation.  Are we going to fight against God or put on the armor he has given us and go to battle (see Eph. 6:11-17)?

My parents did not ask for the poverty of the Great Depression and then WW II but that is where they found themselves.  The wise man takes a look around to see where he is at and the best course to pursue rather than moan, groan, and complain about where he finds himself.  God will give us rest and peace in due time in a place where there is no strife or battle but that is then and this is now.  Those who are overly meek and quiet need to put on the Lord's battle armor and go to war for the time being so they can have peace in a later time, the hereafter.  It is an either/or choice, you either do it or you don't.  Your future depends on your decision.  Do not delude yourself into thinking there is such a thing as not taking sides and setting on the sidelines for that is Satan's default position.  That is Satan's side.

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Regrets

While it would be wonderful to live life with no regrets there are few if any of us that will.  Regret is common to mankind for no one lives a perfect life always making the right decisions and doing the right things.   I think it would do us some good to look back at some of the Bible's famous men and see if they had any regrets.  By doing so it may give us a degree of strength to go on and not give up. 

Adam, the first man, no doubt had great regret.  He once lived in an earthly paradise with an unending life ahead of him having free access to the tree of life.  For food all he had to do was reach up and pluck it from the trees on which it grew.  There was no need to store it or do hard labor for it, as it would always be there.  God walked with him in the garden and thus for a time he had full fellowship with God.  Adam gave it all up. 

Do you not think while he was toiling the soil by the sweat of his brow fighting the thorns and thistles and realizing his destiny was to become dust himself, that he must die, that he had also brought this same destiny upon his children, that he was responsible for what they would have to go through, that he often looked back on how it once was and deeply regretted what he had done? 

Samuel was a great man of God.  I do not recall a single passage that speaks ill of Samuel.  He was God's man and judged Israel all the days of his life (1 Sam. 7:15) and, furthermore, he was a prophet of God ((1 Sam. 3:20).  In the New Testament we find him listed in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, along with others in what one might call faith's all of fame.  And, yet, we find this, "Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel." (1 Sam. 8:1 NKJV)  And then a little later we find this, "But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice." (1 Sam. 8:3 NKJV) 

Do you not think this grieved Samuel greatly?  The thought comes naturally to mind when a child goes wrong where did I fail, where did I go wrong in raising him or her?  There is possibly no other regret that cuts deeper than this one.  We think to ourselves if I had just done this or that differently.  We blame ourselves.  I failed my child or my children. 

I do not claim Samuel sinned in the way he raised his family for I have no way of knowing but I do believe parents naturally blame themselves, at least to an extent, and have regrets about how they parented their children when their children go astray, singular or plural.  When one looks back in time there were a number of great men of God listed in the Bible who could not have qualified to be an elder in the church in the New Testament era, one of the requirements being "having faithful children" (Titus 1:6 NKJV), due to the kind of lives one or more of their children lived.  I also suspect being the godly man he was that Samuel regretted making his sons judges of Israel after him. 

David was another great man of God.  Here is what God thought about David after his death, speaking of King Abijam, the scripture says, "His heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father." (I Kings 15:3 ESV)  Then in the latter part of verse 4 of the same chapter we read, "David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." (1 Kings 15:4b ESV)  He also is listed in faith's hall of fame in Hebrews 11 verse 32.  Certainly, we all expect to see David in heaven. 

Yet, David had occasion for regret in his life.  Yes, the most obvious was committing adultery with Bathsheba and having Uriah her husband murdered.  No doubt he looked back on that occasion many times in his life with deep regret.  Not only had he done this great evil it also brought with it great consequences resulting in much harm later to others.  Hear the words of Nathan the prophet, "Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.  Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house.  And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.'" (2 Sam. 12:10-11 ESV) 

What was the evil that came down the road?  Absalom, a son whom David loved, murdered another son of David--Amnon.  Awhile later, Absalom sought to take the kingdom away from his father and even have his father put to death.  David had to flee to save his own life.  In a battle that brought defeat to Absalom, David commanded those in charge of his army, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom." (2 Sam. 18:5 ESV)  You know the story of how in disobedience to David's orders Joab killed Absalom.  You also remember the deep grief David suffered over this. 

The Bible says when David learned of Absalom's death he was deeply moved and wept.  "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!  Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!" (2 Sam. 18:33 ESV)  What sorrow, what regret!  Had David not brought this upon himself by his sin?  Much like Adam, he could look back with deep regret over his sins.  It had cost him dearly and resulted in much harm to others he loved deeply.  To me the Bible is clear that had David pursued a different course in his life regarding Bathsheba and Uriah the life of his own family would have turned out differently.  Solomon later had another son of David's put to death--Adonijah.   Prophecy was most certainly fulfilled. 

Sin can have deep consequences in this life not only for ourselves but also for those we love and care about.  It is not as we sometimes hear "my life" and no one else's business.  There are always consequences for good or ill for others in our acts or lack thereof.  But the subject is regret.  There is no doubt about regret being in David's life as he thought about these things in reflection from time to time. 

In the New Testament, we also find great men of God who undoubtedly had regret.  We can readily name two--Paul and Peter.  Paul said he was "not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." (1 Cor. 15:9 NKJV)  Elsewhere he calls himself the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).  I believe there is every reason to believe that Paul was at the least indirectly responsible for the deaths of some Christians.  When Stephen was stoned to death the Bible says "Saul was consenting to his death." (Acts 8:1 NKJV)  In Acts 22:4 Paul says, "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women." (NKJV)  Paul says the persecution was "to the death."  One wonders how many mothers were in the group of those who were persecuted leaving behind children as orphans.  Do you think Paul had regrets?  Do you think those regrets ever completely passed from his thoughts as he lived day by day? 

Peter's case is too well known to recount here but we are all well aware of his regret having denied Jesus just at the time when Jesus could have used support the most. 

A lesser-known case is that of James and John.  Do you remember when Jesus was heading to Jerusalem how he sent messengers before him and as they came to a village of the Samaritans how those living there refused to receive him?  James and John responded by saying to the Lord, "Do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them"?  (Luke 9:54 NKJV)  Jesus answered by saying, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." (Luke (:55-56 NKJV)   As you know James was killed not long after the church was established but John lived a long life.  Do you not think that John looked back with regret when he thought about the kind of man he once was, a man willing to bring about the death of others?  He is known as the apostle of love and yet there was this in his life, the very opposite of love.  It had to hurt as he looked back.  There had to be regret concerning the kind of attitude he once had. 

Then there was the other time when James and John came to Jesus asking that they might sit, "one on your right hand and the other on your left, in your glory." (Mark 10:37 NKJV)  There would have been no problem with this if it had not been for leaving others out seeking only glory for themselves.  The Bible says, "When the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John." (Mark 10:41 NKJV)  In time to come James and John could look back and regret the attitude they once had. 

We have seen enough examples to make the point.  There are often in the best of men things they look back on with regret.  Things they wish they had done differently, attitudes and actions they deeply regret or things they wish they had done but didn't.  These regrets can drag us down and destroy us if we allow it. 

When I look at you or you look at me we think we know the person we are seeing if we have been acquainted with them for any length of time.  That is not necessarily the case.  We do not know the inner man and the sorrow he or she may be carrying deep within.  Paul said in 1 Cor. 2:11, "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?" (NKJV)  There may well be a very deep regret within others that we know not of and cannot see, a burden that is carried every day.  

Sometimes we see those who are overly righteous so to speak.  They feel they have led exemplary lives and perhaps their sins have not been as great as that of others except for one thing--their attitude.  One is reminded of the two men who went up to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee prayed thanking God he was not like the tax collector. (Luke 18:10-11)  He busied himself telling God the good things he was doing and how he was not doing evil and yet Jesus says of the tax collector "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other." (Luke 18:14 NKJV)  The Pharisee did not deep down feel a need for God for to him his works were of such a quantity and quality as to fully justify him.  He had no sense of sin and guilt, had no regret.  

When we begin to think too much of ourselves we ought to stop and consider.  If I am so good why do I need Jesus' blood?  There is not a person on the face of the earth who has lived such a life that on its own merits deserves anything other than eternal hellfire.  A nasty attitude toward others is just as bad as anything else and even more distasteful to others.  It is disgraceful and unbecoming a Christian. 

It matters not how bad a life a person, or even a Christian, has lived in the past.  When a person repents and comes to God or back to God, as the case may be, they deserve all the honor and respect that can be given one of God's children whom Jesus came to earth to save.  No matter how bad a life they may have lived they are just as good as you in God's eyes no matter how good a life you have lived or think you have lived.  You probably never committed the sins David did but would you dare say, because you have not, that God sees you as superior to David?  We sometimes, despite ourselves, carry about a sense of superiority.  We did not do this or that and we become the Pharisee that went up to pray. 

Remember the account of the man who sent workers out into his field at different times of the day in Matthew 20?  When evening came those who had worked longer felt they deserved more money than those who had worked fewer hours and in some cases far fewer hours.  They felt the landowner was unjust when he gave the same amount to every man regardless of the hours worked.  It seemed unfair to them.  We have to be careful that we never develop that kind of attitude toward our fellow man and especially toward one another, brethren in Christ.  The attitude of we have done more, we have been better, we deserve more, is unchristian.  The truth is we deserve nothing, nothing that is but punishment for our sins, the sins we think we don't have. 

Why do people sometimes develop this kind of negative attitude?  Perhaps there are other reasons as well but here are a couple that come to mind.  One, they are unwilling to be honest with themselves for they find more comfort in self-deception.  The Bible says, "Every way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts." (Prov. 21:2 NKJV)  God said in Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV), "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"  If we want to be self-deceived it is not hard to do so. 

A second reason some develop this negative attitude is their ignorance of the scriptures.  Some do not know the scriptures well enough to know what is and is not sin.  There are all kinds of sins apart from just sins of commission but some are relatively unaware of this.  If I do not love my brother have I sinned?  Some act as though as long as they do a man no harm all is well.  Is it?  Did you do him any good if and when he needed it? 

We sometimes blame a person for his or her past and want to see it corrected before we accept him or her.  There are a ton of things in our past we cannot correct and if that is to be the standard of Christian love toward another it is a standard that sinners can never attain to.  How do you correct the past?  There is only so much any of us can do to correct the past. 

We want mission impossible out of people sometimes rather than accept them as full-fledged brothers and sisters in Christ.  We will love them later when everything has been corrected.  The trouble is that it is often impossible to correct the past no matter how much we might desire to do it. 

I would like to reflect on the men mentioned in this study.  Of the men we have studied some were already children of God at the time events unfolded in their lives that brought them regret.  I guess Paul would be the only exception.  Of the six men we have mentioned I believe we all agree that we expect to see at least five of them in heaven.  As for Adam, I am only willing to say that I do not know what happened in the many years after his fall in the garden.  Did he repent?  Did God forgive him?  I suspect he did but the Bible does not say so I cannot know.  

Because we are all in the same boat together should we not fully accept one another with all of our faults of the past and count them as but nothing (the assumption being we have repented and turned to God)?  We have all sunk our own boat and all of us are reaching up to Jesus for salvation.  We are all hoping with Christian expectation that Jesus will reach out his hand to us as he did to Peter when Peter was sinking in the water he had been walking on.  Only Jesus can save us. 

The past is the past but we can help one another, comfort and console one another, and help one another get to heaven.  We all have regrets but we all can have hope if we will, as the old song goes, but trust and obey.  The time comes when we must move on.  The past cannot be undone and we do not want it to destroy us.  Paul gave us inspired advice when he said, "But one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let those of us who are mature think this way."  (Phillipians 3:13b-15a ESV)  

The inspired advice is let the past go.  Look to the future.  That is the best advice you will ever get on this subject--inspired advice.  Turn loose of the past, let it go.  Christ has called us to freedom, not to bondage.  

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