Bible Studies

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James 2: 10 makes it clear that we are ALL guilty, but it’s good to know that the only sin that is unpardonable, is the John 3: 18 sin of disbelief.

No matter how far we have strayed, there is still hope and a place of service in the plan of God for born-again believers who repent and desire to identify and execute the individual post salvation spiritual life that God has in mind.

The repentant man on the cross on the side of Jesus only had a few hours of a post salvation life to go, but his brief conversation with the Lord has been recorded and used by God to edify countless others throughout course of the Church Age.

Other than the sin of disbelief, all other sins have already been atoned (PAID) for on the cross. There is no need for counter-productive, re-occurring feelings of guilt for ANY sin that has been confessed, forsaken, and forgiven.

ALL born-again believers have the assurance of 100% forgiveness and the opportunity to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, in order to receive a full reward and privileges of an advancing disciple upon arriving in Heaven.

Time spent out of fellowship with God, due to unconfessed or unforsaken sin, will no doubt be one of the greatest regrets a born-again believer will come to have. If not here on Earth, certainly during the 1Cor. 3: 12-15 event that will take place in Heaven.

Periods of time out of fellowship begins the moment that ANY action or inaction takes place that the Bible lists as sin, by what we think, say, or do.

The first result of sin is that the offender is out of fellowship with God, and remains so until the sin is confessed. The period(s) of time out of fellowship can be as brief as the few seconds it takes to confess the sin, or for as long as the rest of one’s post salvation spiritual life, here on Earth.

Being in or being out of fellowship with God can become a lifestyle.

The amount of accumulated time one spends out of fellowship with God determines much about the quality of his or her post salvation spiritual life, that in turn, determines what 1Cor. 3: 12-14 reward (if any) ,and Rev. 2 and Rev. 3 privileges he or she will receive or forfeit for all of eternity.

Fellowship is restored when the sin is confessed (1John 1: 9), but will only remain in fellowship until the next (or the same) sin is committed. Thankfully the confessional that God designed for the Church Age is open 24/7, and God’s source of forgiveness never runs dry.

The reason that forgiveness is always available, is because the debt has already been paid for on the cross (1John 2: 2). For God the Father to deny forgiveness to a confessing sinner, He would have to deny the efficacy of the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If that could happen to any one of us, it could happen to all of us, since we are all just as guilty as the next guy (James 2: 10).

John 3: 16 and Romans 8:1 assures born-again believers that this is NOT going to happen to them.

Confessing, but not forsaking a known sin, will do one little good, if one promptly returns to the same activity once again, going back out of fellowship. Being a repeated offender in the same area of sin opens the door for more severe divine discipline.

Maintaining constant fellowship has got nothing to do with retaining the salvation (eternal life) that one has already received, but has much to do with the quality of one’s post salvation walk with God. When out of fellowship with God, one is NOT going to be in the frame of mind conducive with producing the Mark 4: 19 type of divine good.

Eternal life is an unearned, undeserved, gift from God, but God rewards and privileges in Heaven, born again believers for the divine good that He produces (John 15: 5) through them, during their time here on Earth.

For an advancing disciple, just the sinking feeling he or she has when out of fellowship is enough to motivate him or her to get back on track.

The 1John 1: 9 confession and John 8: 11 forsaking of post salvation sin is NOT for the purpose of restoring salvation or the gift of eternal life that a born-again believer has already received. It is for the purpose of restoring fellowship with God in order to move forward in the post salvation spiritual life here on Earth.

Restoring fellowship with God will have much to do with maintaining the 1Cor. 2: 16 frame of mind, and the accompanying willingness to be used to produce the divine good associated with the life of discipleship. Maintaining fellowship with God will avoid the inevitable consequences of divine discipline (Heb. 12:6) throughout the course of one’s post salvation spiritual life here on Earth.

The production of divine good is what will be rewarded at the 1Cor. 3: 12-15 event in Heaven.

Divine discipline of born-again believers takes place here on Earth, ranging in anything from having to live with a guilty conscience (until the sin is confessed), and up to and including physical death (Acts 5).

It will be what has been made known to Man, recorded on the pages of Scripture (the Bible), that God will apply on the Rev. 20: 13, 15 Judgement Day for unbelievers, and on the 1Cor. 3: 12-15 Evaluation Day for born-again believers.

It has been decreed by God for every soul to attend one of these two events at the appointed time.

These are two separate events.

One is attended by all unbelievers, the other is attended by all born again believers.

Which ONE of these two (1Cor. 3: 12-14/Rev. 20: 13,15) after-death events that each one of us will attend is based on our individual response when we are presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, while we were here on Earth.

At the conclusion of the Rev. 20: 13, 15 event, all unbelievers will be tossed into what the Bible calls the lake of fire where they will remain for all of eternity.

At the conclusion of the 1Cor. 3: 12-15 event, all born-again believers will retain their eternal life and their residency in Heaven, but will receive varying amounts of reward and privileges, based on the quality of each one’s post salvation spiritual life.

End of Part Seven

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