Ever since Christ died, sin has not been the issue.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
The sin question for saved and lost people has been settled, and was 2000 years ago when the Lamb of God went to the cross of Calvary and took away the sins, not simply of the Jewish church, not simply of the grace church, but of the world. Think of it, now thats seldom taught in pulpits, but the word of God declares it. The Son of God didnt take away the sin of believers but also of unbelievers. So the issue now in salvation, and the issue ever since then, has not been sin, but faith.
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Christ died for every man, not just believers. Faith and unbelief are the issue. Do you believe, or dont you believe?
1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
So Gods Holiness was satisfied, (thats what propitiation means, in pagan religions it means the placation of the wrath of the gods, but it doesnt mean that in Scripture) but in our salvation, as it is laid out in the Bible, is the complete satisfaction of the Holiness of God regarding the sin of man. Christ is the propitiation for our sins (John was speaking as a Jew, but as a believer) but for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. I believe that, and most churches dont believe that and most preachers dont preach that and most people in the pews are unaware that its even in the Bible.
So your neighbor, your unsaved neighbor is not lost because he/she is sinning, sin is not the issue. He/she is lost because they are not accepting the offer/free gift of salvation.
For instance, if our government ever decided to print more money, and they decided to do a means test and to give everyone who didnt have a million dollars, a million dollars. Suppose now that I didnt go to the bank to get my million dollars. Why I could live and die without ever spending a single penny. I could live and die without ever having once ounce of benefit from that million dollars that the government is giving to me. I would have to collect my million dollars in order to have my million dollars. Christ on Calvary died not only for the church, but for the whole world. He died not only for the sins of the saved but for the sins of the lost. Dont forget, if He didnt die for the sins of lost people, you could not have been saved because you were lost when you were saved. Sin was not the issue, the issue was would you trust Christ and be saved, or would you reject Christ and be lost. Would you come to the bank and get your million dollars or will you stay away from the bank and perish and hunger.
2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
He died for all (all is inclusive of every human being that has ever sucked air on planet Earth or ever will,) God and Paul say in 2nd Corinthians. Then He distinguishes those who have accepted their million dollars from those who havent. The believers are those who have gone to the bank to collect and have stopped rejecting it.
Because of what Christ accomplished on that cross, the present condemnation of sinners is no longer due to the fact of their sins but to the fact that they will not receive the remedy God has provided in His infinite love. Dear friend
from the Amplified Bible
Joh 3:18 He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]
Joh 3:19 The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil.
You see the condemnation is not mans sin, because mans sins were taken care of by Christ upon His cross. Now that may seem to be a strange and heretical doctrine to many sincere believers, but here it says plainly; he who believes, trusts in Him is not condemned. You see the issue is not sin. It doesnt say how much sin this person has or how much they continued after their salvation. It doesnt say he who believes and does this, that, or some other thing, or stops doing this, that, or some other thing. It just says he that believes on Him is not condemned. He that believes not is condemned already.
Why is he condemned, because he has sins, or a sin nature? No our original condemnation was the sin nature with one sin attached. Ok so your unsaved next door neighbor is not lost because he is sinning. Nor even is his condemnation that he fell in Adam. That was our original condemnation. But since Christ came and died and took care of the problem of sin and satisfied the Holiness of God, then mans sin is no longer the issue with God, His Holiness has been satisfied. What the issue is, is WILL MEN ACCEPT HIS INFINITLY GENEROUS OFFER OF SALVATION PAID FOR BY THE SON OF GOD UPON THE CROSS OF CALVARY.
2Co 5:19 It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).
Even more literal would be...
"But the aforementioned all things are from God as a source, the One who reconciled us to himself through the intermediate agency of Christ and gave to us the ministry whose work is that of proclaimig the message of this reconciliation, namely, that absolute deity in Christ was reconciling the world [of sinners] to himself, not putting down on the liability side of their ledger their trespasses, and lodged in us the sotry of the reconcilation." 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (Kenneth S. Wuest Expanded Translation)
God isn't even writing down the unsaved people's sins. Do you believe that? Thats what God believes about the death of His Son upon the cross of Calvary. Remember grace is all God is free to do for the sinner because the death of His Son upon the cross. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, NOT CREDITING THEIR OFFENCES TO THEM. Dont you see this? God is not crediting sin even to the unsaved today! But the unsaved may remain in their sins, die, and go to hell because they refused the offer of salvation full and free. (John 16:7-9)
Religion is all about keeping a dead Christ on the cross. Hes not on the cross. He was taken down from the cross, was buried in a tomb, and rose victor over the reign of death. Romans talks about the reign of death and Christ broke the reign of death. And the evidence of Him having broken the reign of death is right in the believer in the fact that the holy spirit indwells you and you have a new spirit (small s). That which is born of the Spirit (capital S) is spirit (small s) John 3:6.
Peter says you have become partaker of the divine nature. So in your new birth you received a new and different nature. This is far different then being put on probation dear friend. This isnt Christ dying to be your probation officer. This is Christ dying to remove the problem of sin which stood between an INFINITE HOLY GOD and man in total ruin, and now the issue even for the unsaved, not only for you to stay saved, but for the unsaved to get saved, the issue is the same; FAITH. And when you exercise faith, you were saved in salvation as eternity in view. Everywhere that God connects salvation with his purpose, we see that salvation is not only for time, or a part of it, but for eternity, all of it.
Rom 8:1 THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.
