In Romans 6, Paul speaks of being free from sin, and at the end "the wages of sin is death." But in 1 John 5:17 John says there is sin not unto death. So there are two different categories of sin, just like in the Old Testament, our schoolmaster. Sins unto death, and sins NOT unto death. This is why after being cleansed of all unrighteousness, and in 1 John 3:9 a born again Christian cannot commit sin (in context with verse 4 the sin (unto death) called lawlessness.) in 1 John 1:7 we see that a born again Christian can commit sins not unto death because they are continually being cleansed. From the Old Testament we see these are UNINTENTIONAL sins. We would certainly KNOW if we willfully broke a commandment of God, so this verse is not about those. What is left are sins not unto death. Simple when you know the whole Bible.
Okay, you have given your repentance testimony, here is mine. Please note the difference, you were in church for 30 years, me I never went to church before my conversion, so I knew very little about the Lord, but just enough as it turned out!
It was Saturday, September 28, 1974, between 18:00 and 18:30, in the Netherlands, The Hague, Starterstraat 24, the house of my lovely grandmother when I frightening realized that nobody could help me in my misery. Exactly after that realization the thought came : what about God? Without thinking I went to the bedroom fell on my knees and said "If You really exist God, help me". Not a very devout prayer. But despite the insult the answer came immediately, words fail to describe, I was baptized in His Love, I felt His love in about every cell in my body, He was all around me, an amazing experience was my part. I never felt so good in my life, totally clean, liberated.
And I sat there on a chair in my grandmother's bedroom, wondering, pondering, steaming what just happened to me. And I could not figure it out. All I knew for sure it was God. And it felt so good. After 5-10 minutes I decided the least I could do was to thank Him. So on my knees again wanting to say thank you, but before I could speak the same exact love experience was my part again. What an answer!
About 2 hours later, as it was common on a Saturday, I went to the house of my fiance (still my lovely wife) and she said : what happened to you, you radiate from tip to toe? And I could not answer her, I did not know what to say, I had to process things first.
So far the introduction, now the point I am trying to make, there is another part to the story.
Later that evening I went home through the city of The Hague, about an hour walk, in about the middle making a stop as I used to be to my local pub to meet my friends, have fun, play some cards and billiards. When I was away about 50-60 meters from the pub (in retrospect, as I did not understand then) the Lord opened my eyes and showed me the large street in front of me and I saw the city as the Lord saw it, dark, dirty and full of sin. And I did not realize enough it was a warning not to go to the pub and I went anyway, and it did not feel good. And I went a second time likely the next day and finally saw, I don't belong here any longer. And I stopped going.
Now Who told me that, me who had no clue of sin, suddenly my conscience was speaking, told me things to stop, told me to do things, me having zero knowledge of Scripture, only knew the name Jesus, knew nothing about Him. And I did not know where these thoughts were coming from. As I later learned from the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (John 16:8).
Rom 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
That's it, the Holy Spirit is the new author of my conscience, replacing old with new, inspired by the Scriptures.
