Our Destiny - Sinning And Getting Saved
Following is a summary of what I was taught growing up in church…
When a child dies before reaching the age of accountability, that child goes to heaven. However, if the child reaches the age of accountability he is lost and needs to be saved and it is the Church members Great Commission to save the lost. The lost will be cast into hell upon death to be eternally punished and separated from God and that lost person's blood may be on the hands of a disobedient Church member who failed to tell them. To be saved the lost person must confess and repent of sin, and accept Jesus as his Savior by his own free will before he dies. At that point the person becomes a new creature in Christ and will go immediately to heaven at death. The church further emphasized that if a person is actually saved, he will want to join the Church, be baptized, observe the Lord's Supper, and fellowship primarily with others in the church, and of course, support the ministries of the church with a regular tithe of their income.
I taught most of this for many years myself until I discovered from my personal study of the Bible over the past 20 years that none of the above is true. Obviously I am not invited to teach in churches anymore. 😃
For those who care, and it is perfectly fine if you don't, following is a brief SUMMARY of my thoughts about what the Bible actually teaches with regard to the history and future of mankind, backed up by some of the many Scriptures on point…
1. SIN of mankind: Eve sinned and Adam joined in that sin and God determined that they and all their progeny would die for their sin. So the dying process passed through to all mankind. Hard work to sustain ourselves was also the result of that original sin. All are appointed to suffer and eventually die and return to the dust from which our bodies are made…
"...you shall surely die...because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat from it, cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you…By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return….Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind...” (Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 5:12)
2. SALVATION of all mankind: It is God’s WILL and responsibility to save mankind from death, and reconcile all Creation to Himself. No one can prevent God’s WILL from being accomplished. God loves mankind and provided a Savior, His Son Jesus. God, through His Son, has shown us that He will give us eternal life after death. This abundant life will come only after the resurrection. After the resurrection of all mankind, death, the grave, and sin will be abolished. God will then be All in all mankind and the whole Creation at peace with God.
“As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive...so that God may be All in all...God wills all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth...By grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God...the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord...through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (1 Corinthians 15:22, 28; 1 Timothy 2:4; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 6:23; Colossians 1:20)
God says plainly that He will save mankind and reconcile all Creation to Himself through His Son Jesus, and he will do so because of His Grace alone. Faith gives us the knowledge and hope of this...
"We have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand…God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us…we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him...While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life...Just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people…just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act (of Jesus) resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous…where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-28; Romans 5:1-20)
Since I am not holding my breath until asked to teach this truth in churches, I share my thoughts on Facebook. A few years ago my daughter created a blog for me which can be accessed at jrwlakey.blogspot.com. It is entitled Random Thoughts On The Really Good News and I post a link to that blog on my Facebook page from time to time. Thanks to those of you who are sleepy enough to read them. Nevertheless, I am not a fan of Facebook in general, or its founder, and I will most likely stop using it in the near future. But you brave souls can still google my blogspot when you need something to put you to sleep. 😊💤
PS: The Easter Bunny, Bambi and all pets are included in God's plan!
When a child dies before reaching the age of accountability, that child goes to heaven. However, if the child reaches the age of accountability he is lost and needs to be saved and it is the Church members Great Commission to save the lost. The lost will be cast into hell upon death to be eternally punished and separated from God and that lost person's blood may be on the hands of a disobedient Church member who failed to tell them. To be saved the lost person must confess and repent of sin, and accept Jesus as his Savior by his own free will before he dies. At that point the person becomes a new creature in Christ and will go immediately to heaven at death. The church further emphasized that if a person is actually saved, he will want to join the Church, be baptized, observe the Lord's Supper, and fellowship primarily with others in the church, and of course, support the ministries of the church with a regular tithe of their income.
I taught most of this for many years myself until I discovered from my personal study of the Bible over the past 20 years that none of the above is true. Obviously I am not invited to teach in churches anymore. 😃
For those who care, and it is perfectly fine if you don't, following is a brief SUMMARY of my thoughts about what the Bible actually teaches with regard to the history and future of mankind, backed up by some of the many Scriptures on point…
1. SIN of mankind: Eve sinned and Adam joined in that sin and God determined that they and all their progeny would die for their sin. So the dying process passed through to all mankind. Hard work to sustain ourselves was also the result of that original sin. All are appointed to suffer and eventually die and return to the dust from which our bodies are made…
"...you shall surely die...because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat from it, cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you…By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return….Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind...” (Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 5:12)
2. SALVATION of all mankind: It is God’s WILL and responsibility to save mankind from death, and reconcile all Creation to Himself. No one can prevent God’s WILL from being accomplished. God loves mankind and provided a Savior, His Son Jesus. God, through His Son, has shown us that He will give us eternal life after death. This abundant life will come only after the resurrection. After the resurrection of all mankind, death, the grave, and sin will be abolished. God will then be All in all mankind and the whole Creation at peace with God.
God says plainly that He will save mankind and reconcile all Creation to Himself through His Son Jesus, and he will do so because of His Grace alone. Faith gives us the knowledge and hope of this...
"We have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand…God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us…we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him...While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life...Just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people…just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act (of Jesus) resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous…where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-28; Romans 5:1-20)
Since I am not holding my breath until asked to teach this truth in churches, I share my thoughts on Facebook. A few years ago my daughter created a blog for me which can be accessed at jrwlakey.blogspot.com. It is entitled Random Thoughts On The Really Good News and I post a link to that blog on my Facebook page from time to time. Thanks to those of you who are sleepy enough to read them. Nevertheless, I am not a fan of Facebook in general, or its founder, and I will most likely stop using it in the near future. But you brave souls can still google my blogspot when you need something to put you to sleep. 😊💤
PS: The Easter Bunny, Bambi and all pets are included in God's plan!