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Below is a popular proof text.
• 1Cor 6:9-11a . . Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators . . . nor adulterers
. . . will inherit the kingdom of God;
Is that saying repeat offenders are lost? No; it's only saying that because
fornication and adultery are hell-worthy, then it goes without saying that
those practices are conduct unbecoming for folks who've undergone the
remainder of that passage which says:
"And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the
Spirit of our God." (1Cor 6:11b)
The Greek word translated "justified" can be roughly understood to indicate
that on the books, it's as though someone has never been anything but
100% innocent their entire life.
Here's something:
• Matt 5:7 . . Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Not everyone is capable of feeling compassion, empathy, or sympathy. Most
can fake it, but not everyone can feel it due to a dysfunctional childhood,
military training, or faulty amygdalae, etc. Will the stone-hearted be lost?
Some will; but not those who are were washed, sanctified, and justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
• Rom 8:2 . Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free
from the law of sin and death.
Here's another something:
• Rev 21:8 . . All liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and
brimstone, which is the second death.
I sure hope you don't expect your peers to believe that you your own self
are capable of finishing out the remainder of your life 100% honest; viz:
zero deceit, zero deception, zero pretense, zero dissembling, zero cheating,
zero fraud, zero craftiness, zero insincerity, zero false impressions, zero
hypocrisy, zero fibs, zero tale-spinning, etc.
* An apparently little known fact among Christians is that when folks buy
into Jesus' crucifixion for their sins, and the return to life of his crucified
dead body; that's when God stops keeping a running account of their hell
worthy deeds.
• 2Cor 5:19 . . God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them.
The Greek word in that passage for "imputing" is logizomai (log-id'-zom
ahee) which means to keep an inventory; in other words: an indictment.
From that moment on, all sins committed by Christ's followers cease to go
on record as evidence to be held against them and become family matters
dealt with in the home rather than criminal matters to be dealt with in court.
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