Wilt Thou Surely Die?

In this regular feature, Dave and Tom respond to questions form listeners and readers of The Berean Call.Here is this week’s question: “Dear Tom and Dave—I enjoy your program and especially appreciate your encouragement to us to be like the Bereans by searching out whatever we hear from whatever religion source by comparing it with what the Bible says.I’m finding that helps me personally to be more accountable for what I believe.”

“Nevertheless, as you’ve said, we can all benefit from good Bible teachers.So I’d appreciate your insight regarding this question: On the one hand the Bible tells us that ‘the wages of sin is death’ and ‘the soul that sins shall die,’ meaning that sin separates us from God.But what then does it mean in I John:5:17But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
See All..., ‘Every unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin not to death?’

Dave:

You’re looking at me Tom—

Tom:

I know it said “Dear Tom and Dave,” but I’m waiting with great anticipation Dave.

Dave:

Well in I Corinthians 11 he says that—he warns them for example he’s talking about the Lord’s Supper, Communion, whatever people want to call it.When you come together you better discern—the Lord’s body—you better realize this is the symbol you take the bread that you take and the cup that you take, these are symbolic of the body and blood of Christ.The body that was broken and bruised on the cross, His blood poured out for our sins.You are not there to feast and in fact you might think that the more of that bread that I eat—no, no this is symbolic, this is a memorial of Christ so don’t think that these physical things are giving you some benefit and you better be sure that you are a true believer in Christ.Because if you do not, if you are not, and you take these elements, you are eating and drinking judgment upon yourself.And then Paul says for this cause some of you are weak and sickly and some you sleep, some of you have died because God has brought judgment upon you for the way you have conducted yourselves and so forth.So I think what he is say is that there are some sins that are so heinous, and not only heinous but perhaps I think it depends upon the position that a person has, it brings reproach upon Christ and God takes them home for that.But there are other, it’s says a sin, but don’t think it’s talking about just one and then a sin not unto death and a sin unto death.This is a representative.God could call me home, or He may not.

Tom:

So you you’re say this is speaking to believers, so this is—we know in Genesis:2:17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
See All... when sin began it says the soul that, well that’s another verse, but it says the day you eat thereof you will surely die.

Dave:

Right.

Tom:

So sin does separate us from God.It involves death and separate to some degree.

Dave:

It’s obviously not talking about that because all of us are under that penalty and we all die because of sin.So we know that it must be talking about something else.It has to be talking about God’s specific judgment shortening our life span from what it might otherwise be.

Tom:

Dave in the last segment I mentioned my involvement in “Reaching Catholics for Christ.”I was a former Roman Catholic.Well Catholics would take this verse and say well see there’s the difference between a mortal sin and a venial sin.If there is a sin that leads not unto death it’s not a mortal sin, it’s just a venial sin.

Dave:

Well you would be on rather dangerous ground to look at it that way, because first of all, as you know as a Catholic there were clear definitions.Well sometimes it got a little bit blurred.

Tom:

Yes, sometimes we wondered how the priest could figure out based on what we said and how we said it in confessional what kind of penance he was going to give us.

Dave:

Right, so the church now has come up with some rules and regulations for the difference between a mortal and venial sin and in their mind if you die before you get to confession—you die with a mortal sin on your hands then you’re in hell, or if it’s just a venial sin you’re in purgatory.

Tom:

Right and you can try and expiate that on this earth.

Dave:

Right and in purgatory—in the flames of purgatory you are supposedly purged.The Bible very clearly says there is no purging of sin except by the blood of Jesus Christ.And in fact it says He already purged us of our sins so the whole idea was not biblical.I don’t want to be too harsh, but any historian, even Catholic historians—there are many Catholic who complained about this.The whole thing was made up in order to bring money into the church.They had a list; they had a price list, as you know.So much for murder, so much for fornication, so much for adultery, so much for thievery and you paid!Columbus himself complained.He said if you’re wealthy you can sin a lot.So, no that’s not what it’s talking about here.If it were, it would give us a clear distinction between mortal and venial sins.It would give a list of them and so forth and that is not the case.I think it is just solemnly warning us as Christians that we need to live for the Lord and if we do not let His life be expressed through us then there—and if we fall into sin then He may take us home.We don’t want that, in fact we don’t want to dishonor Him we want to honor Him.I don’t think you can come to any other conclusion Tom then that is what it is talking about.

Tom:

Right, yes, and this is again as we point out in I John, this is to believers and as you look at all of the those verses in some cases we are being chided by John as members of the family who love the Lord, but sometimes we don’t live like it.These are encouragements and exhortations to us.