Some Crucial Questions To Answer

 

Yesterday my daughter let me hear a segment of a sermon she was listening to that concerned her. The minister declared in his message that, “A person does not go to hell because of sin because they are covered by the blood of Christ. A person goes to hell due to unbelief!” 

While it is true that a person will go to hell due to unbelief, the way the minister presents his case is misleading. How? Any unforgiven sin against the Lord can send a person to hell – not just unbelief. Judas Iscariot was a believer in Christ, yet he went to hell. Why? Not because of unbelief. But because he never repented of his sins to God. He committed suicide due to his sin of betrayal of the Lord Jesus for money (Matthew 27:3-5).  Another problem with his logic is that he is implying that all sin is forgivable except unbelief. Is not unbelief in the atonement of Jesus a sin too? Yes, it is. All sin is forgivable, including unbelief.  As long as a person does not die in unbelief, the word of God is powerful enough to the convert the soul of the unbeliever and make them a believer in Christ.

Another question I need to present is this one. If a person dies in unbelief, were their sins forgiven? Many Christians would reply with a resounding yes! My answer is no. Why? How could anyone go to heaven if their sins were never forgiven? They cannot. Sin is a debt owed to God. When one believes, Jesus takes away their sin debt making them free. From a judicial-forensic standpoint, their sin is gone. Their sins will never be held against them. So, if person goes to hell, that means their sins were never taken away and they died in an unforgiven state. The condemned person will be ladened with their sins forever separated from God. All sin MUST be paid for – either by Jesus for those of us who are saved, or by the sinner themselves who never repent.

To say that Jesus forgives us of all sin, and one dies in their sins and goes to hell means that Jesus’ atonement was ineffective to save. Because in the final analysis the person went to hell anyway. This is a form of double jeopardy – Jesus paying for sins at the cross and the sinner paying for their own sins in hell. The Bible never teaches a double payment for sins. Either Jesus pays your sin debt, or the sinner pays it themselves in hell.

What many are teaching is that Jesus has already forgiven the sins of all men before they even repent and believe the gospel. While the atonement provision is available, it does not apply to anyone savingly unless they fulfill the necessary condition – one must believe (John 3:16). The already forgiven-of-sins-prior-to-repentance doctrine is the proverbial putting the cart before the horse.

Here is the sum of the matter: Once a person places their faith in Christ’s sacrifice alone for the remission of their sins they are forgiven – forever. They are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).

Once a person willfully rejects Christ, they are condemned. If they die in that condemnation, they will be eternally lost (John 3:36). They have died in their sins (John 8:24).  You see, it is one or the other. If Christ is your sin bearer, all of your sins have been removed. If Christ is not your sin bearer, all of your sin is yours to bear. Translation, your sin remains (John 9:41).

A good article to read below: 

https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/piper/piper_atonement.html