 | Rev. Patrick Notley is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church located at 525 N. Broadway in downtown Wichita. Reverend Notley received an MA in Divinity at San Francisco Theological Seminary and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA. Born in Denver, CO and raised on the East Coast, Reverend Notley along with his wife, relocated to Wichita in 1997 to join the church, where he is responsible for Evangelism Educational programs. You can reach Reverend Notley at (316) 263-0248 ext. 22 or by email at pwnotley@firstpresbywichita.org |
Religion
2004-12-01 09:19:00
Once saved, serious sin will still send you to hell, right?
: Sin is defined by many members of the clergy as an offense against God. Just because one is saved doesn't mean he/she will never again offend God. If one has been saved, and offends God… and it is a serious offense against God… such as adultery or fornication… and then dies in that state… will that soul be damned forever?
ANSWER: Sin is defined by many members of the clergy as an offense against God. Just because one is saved doesn't mean he/she will never again offend God. If one has been saved, and offends God… and it is a serious offense against God… such as adultery or fornication… and then dies in that state… will that soul be damned forever?What does it mean to be in a right relationship with God? Is the only reason we attempt to do good and not sin, to avoid punishment? The questioner has raised an issue that is neither simple nor as cut and dried as the question might suggest. It may be true that members of the clergy define sin as an offense against God. This is an accurate statement for how far it goes. However, members of the clergy who then do not continue on to suggest that sin is not just an offense against God but also an offense against humanity are not sharing the full story. It must also be clarified that the act of salvation and the human ability to engage in "sinful acts" are not mutually exclusive issues nor are they so neatly tied together as this question suggests.Let us first talk about sin. One need only look at the Ten Commandments to gather some valuable insight into the issue of sin. When one takes time to read through these ten statements one will notice that they are of two sorts; how one is to relate to God and how one is to relate to humanity. The basic message is that, in order to be in a right relationship with God one must also be in a right relationship with humanity and in the same way in order to be in a right relationship with humanity one must be in a right relationship with God. Or in other words the two are inseparably linked; there is no way to act on one with out acting on the other as well. Inagrace Dietterich puts it this way in the collaborative book Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, "Sin is not a violation of abstract divine law but a personal offense or estrangement jeopardizing the love, unity, peace, and thus the ministry and witness of the community." (P.167) In other words it is not just the offense against God that is at issue but also the offense against humanity that is critical as well.Christians believe that the salvation of humanity occurred through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a gift that has been given to humanity by a God who witnessed the world put to death in a most horrific way the one called the "Prince of Peace" instead of the justice that humanity deserved for this act of ultimate hatred toward God and humanity. As the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Christians in Rome, "Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus or Lord." (Romans 8:38-39, paraphrased) we must accept that first of all it is God's choice and God's alone as to who enters into the full presence of God and how that happens; and second that the more important issue is that our focus needs to be on how we respond to this gift that has been given us instead of on how to avoid punishment. To put it another way… Humanity has been given the most generous gift we can imagine - God's love and faithfulness to humanity in spite of humanities seemingly infinite ability to reject that love and respond with hate. Given that we have been gifted in such a way it seems to me that the most appropriate response is that of humble gratefulness that moves us to not only want to do that which is loving toward God and humanity but to actually act on that desire. God knows that we will not always act in such a way and yet God promises to remain faithful and loving to us anyway. To be Christian means that one constantly works toward living a life that Christ calls us to. That life is one that moves a person to respond to God's love through appropriate worship and praise to God and through appropriate interactions with the rest of humanity. So I find it far more useful to consider how much God loves me and therefore how I can respond to that love appropriately, rather than to attempt to rank order the seriousness of a variety of unhelpful and unhealthy acts and then try to figure out where the break point line is as to what acts I can get away with and still get into heaven versus which ones will land me in hell.
