> Hi Geoff, > > Oh, it is Monday in Australia! I have read Romans and Hebrews - several > times. I must say I got an entirely different impression than you did. > > So everyone gets Grace, and it is sufficient. How can you "screw it up", > as you put it, then? I mean, Jews, Palestinians, Nazis and pedophile > priests all make the cut, so . . .
There is one, and only one, unforgivable sin: Blaspheming the Holy Spirit. This, it seems to me, is something only someone who has known the Lord can do. You cannot blaspheme Him whom you do not know. My best guess is it involves knowing the the God of salvation, rejecting Him, and consciously leading others in the other direction. Murderers, pedophiles, abortionists, et al., can indeed be washed clean of their sins by faith through grace. But they will be radically changed, from the inside out, and no longer do those evil things they did before -- or at least, they will no longer do them with a "clean conscience". Everyone can be saved, and the slate will be wiped completely clean. People can fall back into sin, if their faith is weak, but their salvation so long as they fall back on that grace, endure and allow the Holy Spirit to heal them over time, cannot -- and should not -- be in doubt. In any case, that part is not for us to judge. However, all the outward good works in the world won't save a blasphemer of the Holy Spirit of God. This methinks was the problem that the Pharisees had in Jesus' time, and modern religious leaders as well, in many cases. - Publius > -- > Regards, > > Pete > http://pete-theisen.com/ > http://elect-pete-theisen.com/ > "It ought never to be forgotten, that a firm union of this country, under an efficient government, will probably be an increasing object of jealousy to more than one nation of Europe; and that enterprises to subvert it will sometimes originate in the intrigues of foreign powers, and will seldom fail to be patronized and abetted by some of them. Its preservation, therefore ought in no case that can be avoided, to be committed to the guardianship of any but those whose situation will uniformly beget an immediate interest in the faithful and vigilant performance of the trust." [Federalist Papers #59] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
