Hi Jimmy, and hello to you, also Chris (thanks for the e-mail and the invite).
Jimmy, here is my understanding of the doctrine that you are speaking of:
Yes, Christ died for ALL, aas far as original sin; i.e., the sin passed on to us from Adam. No man is held accountable for being "born in sin". But a man is held very accountable for his actions, or his own personal sins.
You said, "I believe when a person remains impenitent and an unbeliever, he is still pardoned by God ''objectively'' and really -- but he does not benefit from that awesome truth".
I believe that you are mistaken about this, and that this statement actually borders into the false belief that is taught in the UU churches; i.e., that everyone is saved.
You quote Romans 5:6. Yes, Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, but we MUST believe! That is KEY to salvation. Belief means everything to our Lord! You as much as say just that:
"I believe if each person will place there trust for everlasting life (spiritual life) in the gospel of grace, (Christ died for out sins, was buried and rose from the dead for our justification - 1 Cor 15: 1-4) we will receive salvation, which is restoration of spiritual life found only in the Spirit of Christ that indwells the new believer".
"Place their trust". Exactly. That is what believing is all about. When you place your trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross, you are BELIEVING His gospel. This then negates your later comment that if a man remains an unbeliever, then he is still saved. Notice that I did not include here your reference to being impenitent. For many, myself included, in some areas of life, the flesh is stronger than the will.
Paul is very clear on these points:
1. As long as we are in a body of flesh, we are going to sin. God's grace is sufficient for us, as it was for Paul. He too, suffered a "thorn in the flesh".
2. That our BELIEF, or faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross FOR OUR SINS is what saves us. It has NOTHING to do with what we "do", which is works.
3. Although saved, we will still fail, and sin. But since we BELIEVE in the gospel of our salvation (the Gospel of the Grace of God, given to Paul for us BY the risen Christ), we are members of the Body of Christ, and as such, God no longer IDENTIFIES us with our sins, but rather, with the cross of Christ. Therefore, as Paul writes, we are forgiven for ALL trespasses ..... past, present, and future.
It is my understanding that we MUST ask God to forgive us, in the naame of His Son, and accept the awesome gift of salvation, just once. This means that the doctrine that many churches teach, that you must ask forgiveness for every sin, each time that you sin, is wrong. You are already forgiven (how awesomee is THAT??), and would therefore be asking God for something that He has already given to you! That in itself is unbelief, to a degree. These, I believe, are some of the "wiles of the devil" that Paul speaks of. That is why it is so important to study, and know the truth, so that we can withstand his tricks.
Many of the things that I have learned, I have learned from a book entitled "The Plot", which was written by a pastor named Bob Enyart, and which is the result of a TWENTY FIVE YEAR study on the word of God, rightly divided. What a blessing this work has been for me! A man on the back cover of the book was quoted as saying, "Hearing Bob Enyart teaching the word of God is like watching Michael Jordan play basketball". A very "right on" statement.
That is my post for now. I would welcome any comments.
Your brother in Christ,
Darryl
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