Sinners Saved By Grace claim that having Jesus as their Savior gives them the right to defy God with impunity, to sin and get away with it because He forgives their inevitable Adam-caused transgressions as quickly as they can repent of them. A college friend figured out how to save time relative to confessing sins, repenting and asking for forgiveness. He saved up his sins over time and periodically unloaded them in one session. Some SSBG get rid of their sins at bedtime while others find Sunday morning to be the most convenient time to unload and reload. As one woman told my daughter after a weekly Mass session, “Well, I’m good for another week.” Protestants are no different, they just use different words to describe their unload–reload ritual. After unloading the sins committed since the last repentance session their sin box is “clean” (unloaded) and are now free to fill it again (reload).

Christendom’s continuous sin-repent (reload-unload) cycling is in reality “crucifying Christ afresh” as Paul tells us in Hebrews 6:6. In the eyes of God, with each sin the SSBG nail Christ to the cross yet again, and again, and again, ad infinitum. Catholics symbolize Christ’s repeated crucifixions by keeping Him on the cross as represented by their popular graven image, which God condemns in the Second Commandment of His stone-etched Law. Protestants express the same attitude but without the visual representation. The popular sin-repent debacle embraced by the church is the subject of this series. Let us turn to the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the church at Rome to determine God’s view of professing Christendom’s “sin and win and remain God’s friend” mindset. Read the Friends of Jesus series. Key word–Friends. Recall that Paul did not receive his Gospel from man, but rather from Jesus Christ Himself through revelation. Therefore, we can assume the truthfulness of his writings. We will be studying the first two chapters of his letter to the “God-beloved, Christ-called saints” in Rome (1:6,7). One will notice that not all in the church were of a saintly mind-set. Nothing has changed.

Beginning with the 13th verse of chapter one we find Paul telling his spiritual “brethren” that he gladly preached the “Gospel (good news) of Christ” to both Jews and Gentiles because it (the Gospel) was the “power of God UNTO (that can lead to) salvation for those who believe.” He adds that within the Gospel “the righteousness of God is revealed” as one studies it and obeys it with increasing faith (vs 16), thereby taking on the righteous character found in God’s Truth. As a man, Jesus was “the way, the TRUTH and the life” (Jn. 14:6). As we study, believe and obey the Biblical Truth we become like Christ. We become the righteousness we study, and to the same degree. Study much=gain much righteousness. The study of God’s Word keeps true believers justified (cleansed of sin–righteous) as they obey that in which they have ever-increasing faith. Faith comes by studying God’s word (Rom. 10:19). In 1:17 Paul confirms verse 16 by stating that God’s righteousness is revealed in the believer as he/she grows in faith by obeying His Word, thereby growing in righteousness. The saint’s goal is to reach the point that, when people see him/her, they see Jesus. Warning: The world, especially the church world, will not like what it sees. Darkness hates light. The counterfeit church hates God’s people. Recall that it was the religious establishment that persecuted, and in some cases, killed the prophets. It was the religious hierarchy who arranged the martyrdoms of Jesus and His apostles. It was “the church” that conducted the Inquisition in which some 50,000,000 people were killed, most of them were God’s saints.

Then in 1:18 Paul changes the focus of his attention to those in the church who “hold the Truth (God’s Word–Jn. 17:17) in unrighteousness” (by disobeying it), thereby bringing the “wrath of God” on those whom He calls “unrighteous” and “ungodly.” In 1:19-32 the apostle condemns those in the past who had the Word/Truth of God but refused to obey it. These had known God but had not glorified Him by obeying and thanking Him. Therefore their hearts (minds) had turned from God’s light to Satan’s darkness. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (vs 22) and did what God-rejecting men have always done–decided for themselves what was good and evil, Adam and Eve being their examples. Note that they had “turned from” God and His light and “turned to” Satan’s darkness, had God’s Truth but had failed to “hold” (obey) it. One cannot “hold to” what one does not have in hand. These people had once known God but had rejected Him. These were the early Sinners Saved By Grace.

Beginning in 1:26 we find that, because they had turned away from God, He had “given them up “to the sins they were intent on committing. The first sin they embraced was homosexuality (vss 26-28) which was a sign of having “reprobate minds”–hearts filled with all manner of unrighteousness which he identifies in verses 29-31. This proves the Bible theme which states that sin begets (creates) sin. One sin becomes 100 sins as one grows ever farther away from God. In verse 32 Paul condemns the fallen ones in the church for “knowing the judgment of God” but committing such things that were worthy of death. As if that was not bad enough, the lured others to follow their example. Today this is known among SSBG as “soul winning.” The question is, winning souls for whom? True saints know the answer is Satan. For this reason God commands that true saints come out of Catholicism/Protestantism and not so much as “touch” it (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).

In chapter one Paul reminds church of those parishioners of the past who, in their self-affirmed wisdom, had become fools. Though they had known God, they had turned their backs on Him and had become vain in their hearts, believing that they could make their own rules and remain in God’s good graces. The Lord allowed them to follow their own paths. These were the first SSBG who, while wearing the title of Christianity, served Satan wholeheartedly. They served as negative examples for the Paul’s contemporaries.

Beginning with chapter two Paul directs his warnings toward the Jewish leader of the Roman church who apparently had become the hero of the SSBG group. Paul’s verbal attack on him was as relenting as it was vicious. In verse three Paul reminds him that his position as the leader of the church would not prevent him from receiving God’s curses, that he would not escape the judgment of God. Jesus addressed that subject on several occasions.

In 2:5 we find one of God’s “fine print” messages that most people do not know about, and when they learn about it, refuse to believe it. Here the Lord, through Paul, reminds church leaders and their followers that, though they repent following each sin, God does not forgive those sins immediately. He waits to see if their repentance was real. If they continue to sin He knows that they have no intention of putting sin out of their lives. Their false repentance is an exercise which allows them to “unload” their sins, thereby freeing them to “reload” more sins. Then the cycle is repeated. Note in verses five and six what Paul says to this church pastor and those who follow him. He tells them that THEIR SIN-REPENT CYCLES DO NOT WORK, THAT THEIR SINS ARE NOT FORGIVEN SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY REPENT. INSTEAD, THEIR SINS WERE BEING “TREASURED UP” (ACCUMULATED) UNTIL THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. AND THAT IS NOT THE WORST PART–SSBG WOULD BE JUDGED BY THEIR ACCUMULATED SINS (“DEEDS”).

In 2:7-10 Paul explains in detail that being a church member or leader has no bearing on how God deals with mankind. Here Paul reminds us of what God will do FOR those who obey Him and what He will do TO those who disobey Him. Notice in verse 11 that He is no respecter of persons, meaning that being a church member or church leader had no effect on His obedience-determines-treatment rules. SSBG refute these rules which God makes clear numerous times in His Holy Bible. Satan has used his religious hucksters to blind the minds of salvation seekers to these Truths for almost 2000 years. For this reason God tells Truth seekers to come out of his counterfeit churches as Paul tells us in Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1. L.J.