On Sin, Accountability, and Obtaining Forgiveness

I am picking up a thread here. A few weeks ago I had to drop a conversation that began with my post about universalism. I asserted that without Christ’s redemptive blood, we remain guilty and will be condemned by God, who promises, "Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism." Col 3:25. However, we have the opportunity to appear righteous before God, because our sins are washed away when we are baptized, and after that, we are continually washed by the blood of Christ Jesus. (I John 1:5-10)

I need to clarify here that I believe that God reveals himself in three main ways: through the physical world around us (which God created), through our conscience (God gave all humans a conscience as a means to realize that we need Him), and through the inspired scriptures (the Bible). Some people add through the historical Christ (who was God in human form), but since my main knowledge of Christ comes from the scriptures, I find that redundant (historical texts like these https://www.bethinking.org/jesus/ancient-evidence-for-jesus-from-non-christian-sources do not really add anything). Also, I believe that God completed his inspired scripture before 100 AD, so I am cautious about embracing ideas from theologians of the past or modern preachers and commentaries.

Of the ways in which God reveals himself, the Bible is the most reliable source for details about the nature of God, His plans for man, and his past deeds. So what does God say in the Bible about 1) sin and accountability and 2) obtaining forgiveness?

1. Although many people teach that children need to be washed of their sins, there is not one passage in the entire Bible, Old Testament or New, where God condemns a child for their sin. In the Old Testament, God reserved his harshest condemnation for people who sacrificed children to pagan gods. In the New Testament, Jesus tells his disciples, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” If children are seen by God as evil, how can the kingdom of heaven belong to “such”?

When Israel refused to enter the Promised Land because they did not trust God, they were condemned to walk in the wilderness until all those over the age of 20 died. The children and teens of that day were not held responsible – only the adults. Deuteronomy 1:39 says that the young people did “not yet know good from bad.” Note also that only those over the age of 20 were included whenever fighting men were counted. Isaiah 7:14-16 says that as a child, even Christ did not know enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. Intuitively, we know this to be true: children may have an intellectual knowledge of the rules, but they do not have the strength of mind needed to resist temptation. Does this mean that those under the age of 20 cannot become Christians? The Bible never says that a youth cannot join the fight against Satan. David killed Goliath when he was a “youth” (likely about 15), not yet old enough to be in the army. I believe different individuals probably come to an ability to understand and resist temptation at different ages. Knowing how gracious God is, I would expect there to be a great deal of overlap between when one is able to come to a mature decision to follow Christ and when one would be condemned for not making that decision.

What about people who have not heard about Christ? Romans 1:20 says that all humans have a conscience, and thus, when anyone chooses to rebel against what they know to be right, they are without excuse. The concern for vast numbers of completely “unreached people” provides motivation to give to mission efforts, but it should not cause us to doubt God’s love and justice. From my experiences and those of other missionaries, I am confident that God is really, really good at getting the message of Christ to every person who would repent if they heard the Gospel. There are faithful Christians in many remote areas of the world where it does not seem possible for the Word of God to have gone. (I would be happy to tell you stories…)

1. What the Bible says about forgiveness is simple. When the crowd at Pentecost asked what they needed to do to be saved, Peter replied, “"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This is exactly what Jesus told the disciples to do in Matt 28:19. Every example of someone being saved in the New Testament follows this same pattern: repent, be baptized in water, and receive the Holy Spirit as a down payment and guide. 1 Peter 3:21 compares baptism with Noah’s salvation from water via the ark, “and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Just as the ark itself did not save Noah, but rather, God saved Noah, it is not the water of baptism that saves you, but rather, Christ’s resurrection saves you. However, just as Noah had to surrender his control to God by stepping into the ark, we must surrender control of our lives to God by stepping into the water of baptism.

In Acts 22, Paul explains that Paul saw Christ, repented, and then when Ananias came to Paul, (verse 22) Ananias said, “‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” Clearly this is referring to water baptism, not baptism with the Spirit only. Paul was not saved as soon as he intellectually believed that Jesus was the Christ. Assent is not enough. We must submit physically, because we ARE physical. Later Paul wrote in Romans 6:3-4 , “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” The burial is clearly referring to going down under the water. Baptism cannot be explained away – and why should it be? This is not “earning” salvation – it is accepting God’s offer to be adopted into God’s family.