Could This Person Be Righteous?

[lesjude]

This person left God's perfect plan and was quarrelsome with those following God. He/she offered their children for immoral purposes and had no credibility with members of their family when they tried to point them to God's will. He/she acted as a judge of others but had no credibility with them. They did not have enough spirituality to ensure the salvation of even a spouse. The person was fearful to do God's will and resisted it. God granted a place of refuge but they refused to remain or even consider returning to God's original direction for their life. They feel into gross sexual sin as a result. There is no evidence they ever repented.
Please decide if this person could/would be declared righteous by God and why. If you cannot decide explain why.

 

[Thiscrosshurts]

Romans 11:32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Is this person a worse case or in a worse place than Saul on the road to Damascus?
I have a hunch that believers were praying for God to intervene on Saul's and their behalf.

John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Are there people in this persons life that understand that nothing is impossible with God?

1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

Does this person have family?


Mark 2:4 Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.
Mark 2:5 And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Does this person have friends?

John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
John 11:34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.

Have we laid this person at the feet of the Lamb or have we consigned him to the grave?

Proverbs 18:21 Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

 

[james1523]

If they believed in Christ they would be declared righteous by God.

 

[Davy]

Hi Lesjude, this is an interesting question.

From what I have studied in the Bible, this issue can be rounded into one specific point. The Bible is quite clear on how to deal with gross sexual sin and those who are unrepentant of such serious sins, even though many churches fail to apply this. God's standards do not change, and His standards are clearly states in 1 Corinthians 5:13, (NLT): "God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, 'You must remove the evil person from among you,'" which Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 17:7. That is an interesting term, "the evil person among you," from within the Christian congregation. Why are they not immediately forgiven and why are they referred to as evil?

1 Corinthians 5:1-7, shows such an evil person committed gross immoral behavior and was to be removed from the congregation, to protect the congregation from their corrupting influence, and also, because this one was boasting, he clearly did not show a repentant spirit. However, later on in 2 Corinthians 2:5-9, Paul's comments show this person had changed and was saddened and repentant so that he should now be let back into the congregation and be forgiven.

This clearly shows, if a person commits gross sexual sin and is not repentant, they are not to be forgive by God or man, in fact they are to be put out off the congregation. It is only when they are repentant should they be allowed back in. As Paul explains in Hebrews 10:26, 27, (NIV): "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." Therefore, if God does not forgive unrepentant people and considers them his "enemies" and instructs that they should be put out of the congregation, who is any human to say you must forgive them and welcome them with open arms. Yes, Jesus did that, but these ones had listened to Jesus and felt remorse over their sins, so they were forgiven, the one mentioned in Corinthians, was boasting of his sexual wrongdoing, he was definitely not remorseful or repentant.

Clearly people must express repentance for serious sexual sins to be forgiven, not just be freely forgiven without repentance, otherwise such ones would never see a reason to change and could corrupt the whole congregation, which is what seams to be happening in some churches. Its alright saying you must not judge sinners and be forgiving, but in this instance those sentiments seam to go against what God had written in the Bible!

 

[Thiscrosshurts]

@Davy

From what I have studied in the Bible, this issue can be rounded into one specific point.

Your post deals with a member of a congregation which would be a relatively small(hopefully) percentage of people
we are forced to deal with or who we love or is someone who is effecting someone we care for.

Spouses,children,parents,in laws,authorities,co-workers,bosses and the list goes on.
In other words those already on the outside who we love or have a position to inflick the evil on us or someone we love.
I know we are not supposed to be unequally yoked but sometimes two unbelievers marry and down the road one receives Christ
which can cause tension.Since God hates divorce and to remarry is adultery according to Jesus then an understanding of how to intercede on a spouses behalf might be needed unless you want to spend the rest of your life alone
Or maybe you have a good job in a hard to get into field and your boss brags about his evil exploits.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much and nothing is impossible with God.

I was granted the gift of repentance by God from the prayers(and the power and joy I saw in my believing spouse) of a small group of fervent Christians(including my wife) who
prayed for me for four years before God opened my eyes and revealed to me the darkness of my path of unbelief.
I was not what the church would consider evil,I just wanted nothing to do with them.
I have seen God grant the gift of repentance to some hard cases.
I was a hard case because I didn't have any of those "in your face" or easy to spot sins" that
gave me the impression that I didn't even need Jesus.
My wife became a believer after we were married and I was impressed by her peace and joy so I certainly tested
her to see if her God was real.Turns out he is and he is able to save to the uttermost.

Separating yourself from the evil is a physical thing and should not affect your intersession to God on that persons behalf.
If separation is not feasible then you must become an expert on overcoming evil with good.
We just need to study,pray and practice the art of spotting the baby in the bathwater before both go down the drain.

 

[lesjude]

Romans 11:32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Is this person a worse case or in a worse place than Saul on the road to Damascus?
I have a hunch that believers were praying for God to intervene on Saul's and their behalf.

No.
I agree. God had people praying for Saul.

John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Are there people in this persons life that understand that nothing is impossible with God?

One person.

1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

Does this person have family?

Yes, but not a believing spouse.

Mark 2:4

Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.
Mark 2:5 And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Does this person have friends?

No, not where he lived.

John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
John 11:34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.

Have we laid this person at the feet of the Lamb or have we consigned him to the grave?

The decision has already been made. In fact it was determined by God before time began. However God alone knew this.

Proverbs 18:21 Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

This person had no Bible.