Righteousness and holiness are two different levels of purity. It is because there are two levels of sin. There are sins unto death vs. sins not unto death. Rev. 22:11 does show God accepts those who are only righteous, AS LONG AS WE ARE CONSISTENTLY ABIDING IN JESUS and are actively in the long process towards holiness, the ultimate goal of Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. This is how:
When first born again of the Spirit that we must have to be on the path to salvation that Jesus, as the Author of our first faith (Rom.1:17 from faith to faith), takes away all sins of LAWLESSNESS (sins unto death) 1 John 3:4-5. You will also see in chapter three this is to make us truly RIGHTEOUS (vs. 7) and we have no desire to break God's LAWS (vs. 9 and 24) where it says "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." The Spirit causes you to also experience a vast change in our character as Jesus takes our desire for lawless sin from our very nature where this sin dwelt, making our old man/sin nature clean as in John 15:3. See also Romans 6:5-7 regarding freedom of this worst type of sin. Again, Romans 6 like 1 John 3 only has to do with SINS UNTO DEATH as Paul ends with THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH.
But, you may say, I still sin. Those, my friends, are merely immature fruit and the second type of sin, SINS NOT UNTO DEATH. Do they matter? Oh, yes, if you stop abiding in Jesus. See Matthew 7:19-23 ("Depart from me, I never knew you") and 2 Peter 1:5-9 ("For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.)
Now, after becoming born again of the Spirit, if we are still abiding in Jesus, He then as the Finisher of our second faith takes us through a long process of maturing the fruit of the Spirit. You and I see a lot of immature fruit happening daily on these forums. The church mistakenly knows this process as sanctification, instead of its right name, glorification, which the church mistakenly believes is after death and upon resurrection of our body. That is a doctrine of demons as they want you to die in sin. So, again Christ maturing our fruit has to do with our inner self until Jesus has finished what He started, Phil. 1:6. 2 Peter 1:2-11 shows the process and also our perfection when we get to total maturity in Christ and NEVER STUMBLE. 2 Pt. 1:10-11. At the end of this 'race' as Paul calls it we are then HOLY.
For 3,500 years the people of God have known about the two types of sin, even through the dark age of Thyatira, the Roman Catholic Church, who named them mortal and venial sins. Then came the Reformation (Sardis) and they were to keep this knowledge about sin learned from the history of God's people, but changed this holy knowledge to a confusing "SIN IS SIN." They lumped them altogether and made some of the worst doctrines of demons out of "sin is sin." These doctrines cause defeatism. Instead of Jesus taking away our sin all the way to holiness, these denominations teach the heresy of we are all sinners saved by Christ's blood covering up our active sin life, their definition of grace. No! Grace is Power to not sin. That is the good news. And Jesus does it all. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” This verse 17 should be more exact and say "the righteousness of God is revealed IN US, from faith to faith."
At your death, those who will enter heaven are either righteous or holy, the meaning of from faith to faith. Revelation 22:11. That is nothing less than either sinless of mortal/willful/sins unto death, or perfect in all the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus preached His goal for us - to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. As He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (from faith to faith, and from glory to glory during glorification) only He know when we reach perfection and true holiness. But the KEY to entering heaven is ABIDING IN JESUS. That is when Jesus is still actively working in your life and you are actively desiring holiness. You'll love what God loves, and hate what God hates. Stay focused on Jesus. Keep reading His word slowly without your mind wondering. Read the Word intentionally. It is then your ears are open to hearing God's meaning of His Word. If every Christian did this, there would be unity in the Church. So, pray to God that He wipe your mind to any doctrines of demons or sinful men, and pray that the Spirit of Truth teach you only God's doctrines.
I want to add that the reason why immature fruit sins/trespasses are not unto death is because they are only committed unintentionally when born again and walking in the Spirit. Willful sins are sins unto death and have to do with lawlessness. Trespasses are unintentional Lev. 5:15 and according to 1 John 1:7 while walking in the light...Jesus cleanses us from all sin. That has NOTHING to do with cleansing willful lawlessness. You can't walk in the light and willfully commit murder or stealing or adultery or lie, etc. and expect them to be forgiven. Only when first born again are all our sins from the past (both types) and sins unto death are taken out of our nature. Afterwards, a born again Christian will commit only unintentional sins not unto death as Jesus perfects us.
We only become aware of Jesus maturing our fruit when you look back and notice that you didn't react the same way you used to. That is what these forums are good for, so we should all be thoughtful when we post one another, and practice being mature and loving.
Love one another.
When first born again of the Spirit that we must have to be on the path to salvation that Jesus, as the Author of our first faith (Rom.1:17 from faith to faith), takes away all sins of LAWLESSNESS (sins unto death) 1 John 3:4-5. You will also see in chapter three this is to make us truly RIGHTEOUS (vs. 7) and we have no desire to break God's LAWS (vs. 9 and 24) where it says "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." The Spirit causes you to also experience a vast change in our character as Jesus takes our desire for lawless sin from our very nature where this sin dwelt, making our old man/sin nature clean as in John 15:3. See also Romans 6:5-7 regarding freedom of this worst type of sin. Again, Romans 6 like 1 John 3 only has to do with SINS UNTO DEATH as Paul ends with THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH.
But, you may say, I still sin. Those, my friends, are merely immature fruit and the second type of sin, SINS NOT UNTO DEATH. Do they matter? Oh, yes, if you stop abiding in Jesus. See Matthew 7:19-23 ("Depart from me, I never knew you") and 2 Peter 1:5-9 ("For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.)
Now, after becoming born again of the Spirit, if we are still abiding in Jesus, He then as the Finisher of our second faith takes us through a long process of maturing the fruit of the Spirit. You and I see a lot of immature fruit happening daily on these forums. The church mistakenly knows this process as sanctification, instead of its right name, glorification, which the church mistakenly believes is after death and upon resurrection of our body. That is a doctrine of demons as they want you to die in sin. So, again Christ maturing our fruit has to do with our inner self until Jesus has finished what He started, Phil. 1:6. 2 Peter 1:2-11 shows the process and also our perfection when we get to total maturity in Christ and NEVER STUMBLE. 2 Pt. 1:10-11. At the end of this 'race' as Paul calls it we are then HOLY.
For 3,500 years the people of God have known about the two types of sin, even through the dark age of Thyatira, the Roman Catholic Church, who named them mortal and venial sins. Then came the Reformation (Sardis) and they were to keep this knowledge about sin learned from the history of God's people, but changed this holy knowledge to a confusing "SIN IS SIN." They lumped them altogether and made some of the worst doctrines of demons out of "sin is sin." These doctrines cause defeatism. Instead of Jesus taking away our sin all the way to holiness, these denominations teach the heresy of we are all sinners saved by Christ's blood covering up our active sin life, their definition of grace. No! Grace is Power to not sin. That is the good news. And Jesus does it all. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” This verse 17 should be more exact and say "the righteousness of God is revealed IN US, from faith to faith."
At your death, those who will enter heaven are either righteous or holy, the meaning of from faith to faith. Revelation 22:11. That is nothing less than either sinless of mortal/willful/sins unto death, or perfect in all the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus preached His goal for us - to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. As He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (from faith to faith, and from glory to glory during glorification) only He know when we reach perfection and true holiness. But the KEY to entering heaven is ABIDING IN JESUS. That is when Jesus is still actively working in your life and you are actively desiring holiness. You'll love what God loves, and hate what God hates. Stay focused on Jesus. Keep reading His word slowly without your mind wondering. Read the Word intentionally. It is then your ears are open to hearing God's meaning of His Word. If every Christian did this, there would be unity in the Church. So, pray to God that He wipe your mind to any doctrines of demons or sinful men, and pray that the Spirit of Truth teach you only God's doctrines.
I want to add that the reason why immature fruit sins/trespasses are not unto death is because they are only committed unintentionally when born again and walking in the Spirit. Willful sins are sins unto death and have to do with lawlessness. Trespasses are unintentional Lev. 5:15 and according to 1 John 1:7 while walking in the light...Jesus cleanses us from all sin. That has NOTHING to do with cleansing willful lawlessness. You can't walk in the light and willfully commit murder or stealing or adultery or lie, etc. and expect them to be forgiven. Only when first born again are all our sins from the past (both types) and sins unto death are taken out of our nature. Afterwards, a born again Christian will commit only unintentional sins not unto death as Jesus perfects us.
We only become aware of Jesus maturing our fruit when you look back and notice that you didn't react the same way you used to. That is what these forums are good for, so we should all be thoughtful when we post one another, and practice being mature and loving.
Love one another.
