Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Atonement (01/22/26)
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TITLE: Paid In Full | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
01/26/26 -
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By divine design, the one exception is the unpardonable sin of disbelief when one is presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
“For (because) God so loved the (spiritually dead people of) the world, that He gave His one and only Son (to make atonement), (so) that whoever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish (remain spiritually dead, separated from God for all of Eternity), but (instead) have (receive) eternal life (John 3: 16 NASB2020 parentheses mine).”
As a result of this universal atonement, the one and only sin that causes one to find himself in Hell, is the sin of disbelief.
Concerning all other sin, God cannot be God by going back on His own Word (2), nor can He require any further payment for a sin debt that has already been stamped PAID IN FULL by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To “believe” in this John 3: 16 sense, goes beyond acknowledging the existence (3) of a 1st Century “man” named Jesus.
It means to place one’s full trust and confidence in who He is (God the Son), and what He accomplished (in His humanity) on the cross, as being the one and only way (4) of securing salvation.
Now for the other side of the same coin…
“…but whoever do
es not believe stands condemned already BECAUSE they have not BELIEVED in the name (and what He did) of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3: 18 NASB2020 parentheses mine).”
By “unadulterated,” I mean the Gospel Message that has not been compromised by having added to it, the never-ending list of requirements that are no more than the teachings and products of Man-made religion (5).
Romans 3: 10 and James 2: 10 puts all of us in the same stinking, sinking, boat of sin, with the equal need of rescue, before the boat goes down, and our individual window of opportunity for salvation closes.
Well, if the sin debt of the entire human race has been paid in full by the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, then why does Rev. 20: 15 speak of a lake of fire? Aren’t we all, based on the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, going to Heaven?
No!
Why not?
There is no atonement for the sin of disbelief!
The atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ provided the means and set the stage for all to be saved, but those who disbelieve, when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, will NOT receive eternal life, and will remain spiritually dead, separated from God, for all of Eternity, in what the Bible calls the lake of fire.
Know that once being presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, the individual is without excuse in the Court of Heaven.
If not already, just by reading this article, you have now been presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message and have now had your opportunity to be saved!
That being said, does that mean that by having become a born-again believer, that one is free to live any way he or she wants, without any fear of consequences?
Of course not!
In closing, keep in mind that there is divine discipline (6) HERE ON EARTH for the post salvation sins we commit.
While eternal security (7), based on faith in the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, guarantees believers a home in Heaven, there is still going here on Earth for the sin that believers commit.
Divine discipline can range in ANYTHING from living with a guilty conscience (8), up to and including, physical death (9).
Ongoing 1John 1: 9 confession and forgiveness restores our fellowship with God.
For the advancing disciple, just being out of intimate fellowship with God is enough to motivate him or her to address (10) the sins he or she commits.
The desire to live a godly life is an expression of the love that one has for God (11).
Anyone who is comfortable with anything that the Bible calls sin, is in serious spiritual danger.
Unbelievers are on the road that leads to the Rev. 20: 13-15 lake of fire when life here on Earth is over. Believers, that are comfortable with sin, are on the road that is headed for divine discipline, here on Earth.
Jesus’ atoning work is not a license to sin.
(1) 1John 2:2 (2) 1John 1:9/Romans 8: 1 (3) James 2: 19 (4) John 14: 6 (5) Matt. 15: 9 (6) Heb. 12:6 (7) Rom. 8: 1 (8) Psalms 32: 3, 4 (9) Acts 5 (10) 1John 1:9/John 8: 11 (11) John 14: 15
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