Those in traditional Christianity are told with absolute certainty that they must sin due to Adam’s miraculous corruption of their spiritual DNA. We have all been told by Scripture quoting seminary graduates that, like eye color and height, sin is one of life’s realities over which we have no control. Because of this “truth,” repentance, not righteousness, is the spiritual glue that binds the believer to the Biblical God. This “Adam made me do it” theology looks good on paper and makes for a pleasing, self-serving sound-byte. But is it what the Lord teaches in His Holy Word? In order to learn God’s Truth concerning the matter let us obey His Bible study command by searching the Scriptures “precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isa. 28:9-13). Before moving on, let us understand that only those who are prepared to receive that Truth are capable of understanding and believing it. Isaiah asks in verse nine: “Whom can He teach knowledge? And whom will He cause to understand His message?” His answer: Those who are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast. In other words–mature spiritual adults who do not follow after the “wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14), which is the Lord’s description of the hundreds of cults that make up counterfeit Christianity (Catholicism/ Protestantism). The ultimate question concerning grace is this: DOES GOD ALLOW US TO CONTINUE TO SIN ONCE HE HAS EXTENDED GRACE AND FORGIVEN OUR PAST SINS? The church says “yes” because He knows we have no choice due to Adam’s sin gene implanted within humanity’s spiritual DNA. Does God agree with religious man?

What would be professing Christendom’s attitude toward a judge who extended grace or pardon to a criminal who, having broken the law, cried out for mercy. Most people would applaud the judge for giving the man another chance to live in accordance to the law of the land. However, those same people, along with the judge, would demand that the ex-criminal obey the law from that time forward. But what if the judge then told the man that, because an ancient ancestor had been a law breaker and had passed his law-breaking gene down to him, he could continue to break the law with impunity? His only requirement would be to confess each crime to the judge and repent. What would most church people think about such an arrangement? The people would rise up against the judge and would see to it that the criminal was punished. But when it comes to breaking God’s Law those same people see things differently. According to those within the church, sin is as normal as breathing. Therefore God pays no attention to their sins. Or as one false prophet said, “God can’t see (a believer’s sins) through Christ’s blood.” Or as another churchite said, “God doesn’t like sin, but He won’t do anything about it.” I personally knew both of those people. Let us turn to the only true source to determine God’s attitude toward the church’s sin-repent system.

In Romans 5:21 the Apostle Paul writes: “In that sin has (in the past) reigned (in the believer’s life) unto death, now grace must reign (in his life) through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord (Master).” Jesus made it possible for man to receive justification (removal of all PAST sins) through God’s grace. This renders the believer righteous (sinless). Following justification, the now righteous person must maintain that righteousness by obeying God’s Law–the Holy Bible summarized by the Ten Commandments. In this way believers leave a life of sin and enter into a life of righteousness, the end of which is salvation, rebirth and entrance into the Kingdom of God.

Then notice (6:1): “What shall we say then? Shall we continue to sin and give God the opportunity to extend grace to us?” It is at this point that we come face-to-face with one of professing Christendom’s many ironies. No one in the church would openly admit that church people can continue to sin. But those same people will proclaim that the Law has been “nailed to the cross.” This in spite of 1 John 3:4 which states: “To transgress the Law is sin; for sin is the transgression of the Law.” This verse plainly states that TO BREAK GOD’S LAW IS SIN. John wrote this epistle some 60 years after the establishing of the New Testament Church on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D. The church has done away with the Law THAT DEFINES RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SIN. Righteousness is the absence of sin. Sin is the breaking of the Law. Therefore, righteousness (absence of sin) is obedience to the Law. By doing away with the Law does away with both sin and righteousness. Next comes the question: Shall we continue to sin because of grace? “God forbid. How can we who are dead to sin continue to sin (Rom. 6:2)?” Notice it: GOD FORBIDS US TO SIN ONCE GRACE HAS BEEN EXTENDED AND JUSTIFICATION (REMOVAL OF SIN) HAS BEEN RECEIVED.

Paul goes on to describe what baptism by emersion symbolizes. When we are put under water we are symbolically buried with Jesus Christ. When we come out of the water we symbolically rise with Him and thereafter walk with Christ in “newness of life” (vss 3,4). “Newness” means total change. Verse 11 says: “Likewise reckon yourselves to be DEAD INDEED TO SIN BUT ALIVE TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.” Jesus died so that our old sinful man could die and God could create a new righteous man–“all things are made new.”  Christ paid the death penalty for our PAST sins (Rom. 3:25). Baptism symbolically washes away those sins and kills the “old man,” thereby allowing God to replace it with a “new creation”–the “new man.” God’s grace makes it all possible. L.J.