Notice in verse 1 that he asks if we should "continue in sin". That means he is talking about no longer being "in sin". He's not talking about being sinless there, he's talking about no longer wanting to sin and willfully sinning in rebellion against God. Notice in verse 2 he is including himself when he refers to "we who died to sin"? Was he physically dead? Obviously not. So, Paul considered himself and other living believers like him to be "dead to sin" at the time he wrote that. The context for what he was saying is seen in verse 1. He was talking about no longer continuing in sin the way he and other unbelievers did before they were saved when they did so willingly while being unrepentant. Continue reading and Paul continues that same theme through verse 7. He is not talking about physical death at all in that passage, but instead about being spiritually dead to sin in the sense of no longer continuing to willfully sin in rebellion against God like people do before they become saved.
Physical death takes us to a place of rest, not to immediate judgment as many seem to believe. (Eccl 9:5, 10; 1 Thess 4:13-17; 2 Thess 1:7-10) Even the elect have to wait for Christ’s return.
Spiritual death is not the kind where someones make a bad choice and ends up regretting their course and through prayer genuinely repents....spiritual death is about someone who was never really “alive” as far as God is concerned.
They have their own delusions about what is truth, and God simply allows them to keep what they imagine to be true Christianity....but they will reap what they have sown under that delusion. (2 Thess 2:9-12)
Jesus tells us that no one comes to the son unless it is granted by the Father. (John 6:65)
No one said anything about becoming sinless, so stop wasting time talking about that
Again I was just asking for clarity....you can’t assume to know what people believe based on what someone else has told you, you have to allow them to speak for themselves.
We become saved by being repentant of our sins and putting our faith in Christ. Jesus Himself said we must remain in Him or else we would be cut off from Him and cast into the fire (He used the vine and branches analogy to illustrate this in John 15). While someone is in Him and has their faith and trust in Him that person is in good standing with God and their sins are not held against them. If someone falls away, then Hebrews 10:26-27 indicate they are crucifying Christ all over again and they then can expect judgment and fiery indignation against them.
Agreed. The fire is figurative, not literal.
While someone is a Christian they are free from wages of sin, which is eternal death (Romans 6:23, Rev 20:15). They are dead to sin in that sense because their destiny will be eternal life instead of eternal death as long as they keep their faith until the end (of their lives or the age, whichever comes first).
Yet we all have to pay sin’s wages when our time comes. Whether we live to the end of the age, or die before it comes, Christ’s blood covers those who died faithful in this judgment period, and also those who died in ignorance in the ages past who never got to make an informed choice. Can he be fairer than that?
John 5:28-29 is talking about the bodily resurrection of all people which will happen when Jesus returns. Scripture never teaches that the soul dies, so you are in error yet again with that one.
Yes, it is about the time when Christ is ruling in his kingdom, but the soul does die because the soul is not immortal. (Ezekiel 18:4) The soul is the whole person. Adam was not “given” a soul at his creation....he “became” one when God breathed “the breath (spirit) of life”into his nostrils” and animated his lifeless body.
A soul cannot exist without a body, and without the spirit (breath) in our lungs we could not exist as a soul either. This is the “body, soul and spirit” that the Bible speaks about.
Where do you suppose the idea of an immortal soul came from? Who was the one who told Eve that she would not die if she ate the forbidden fruit? He perpetuated this lie in the idea of an mortal soul that leaves the body at death...to exist consciously somewhere else......this is not what the Bible teaches. (Eccl 9:5, 10)
You will not find the words “immortal soul” side by side in any passage of Scripture. It is a pagan adoption.
The list of false doctrines in the Jehovah's Witnesses religion is quite long.
Would you like to discuss our differences civilly, without personal comments, just using Scripture.....out of curiosity I think it would benefit the readers here. Keep in mind that we cannot discuss the trinity even though I would love to.....
I have a list as well...it’s the one that made me walk out of the church system and never go back.
But I see some beliefs that you hold that others in Christendom would disagree with. It might be an interesting discussion.
There are two sides to every story, and it’s never a good idea to listen to just one side, as if the other doesn’t matter, or has nothing to add. Everyone’s beliefs matter.....because, at the end of the day, they are the things that determine our eternal future. We have to know where our own beliefs originated before we point fingers at others. No one wants to be on the wrong end of Jesus’ words at Matt 7:21-23. Yet those professed disciples of Jesus are shocked to receive them. Why? Paul says that they are “delusional”.
A delusion is a perceived reality that isn’t true.....and Jesus said that “few” are on the road to life. That means, the majority hold to delusions, not truth.
Who muddied the waters?
