[Bible Question and Request] I am an indigent inmate serving a 43 year prison sentence for armed bank robbery…. I’m a believer who hasn’t been studying seriously for very long – only for about the last 6 months. But I’ve been studying the bible with a __ year old brother who has been walking with the Lord 34 years. But I believe he is misled in error and I’m scared and don’t want to be unintentionally misled myself. Eternity is never ending and I don’t want to be isolated in hell separated from the love of God forever …. the horror that awaits everyone who dies without accepting what Jesus Christ did for all of mankind.
My __year old Christian brother is trying to tell me that 1 John 1:9 is only talking to unbelievers. Once we are saved we no longer confess the sins we commit after we called on Christ to save us….Whenever we do fall short we are suppose to talk to God about it and thank him for his grace and the blood of Jesus that continuously cleanses us from our sins. And ask God to help us over come in this area of our life. All that sounds good but I don’t think he is correct. I can’t afford to be misled by how someone interprets scripture. However, I am confused now. Another Christian gave me this address and told me I need to read this book [The Believer’s Conditional Security: Eternal Security Refuted]. Can you please send it to me?
[BIBLE ANSWER] The book you requested is coming along with other related materials about salvation. It is great you are aware of the seriousness of the Christian life and sin. You are battling for eternity. You can yet go to hell, just like we can over here, and it is to your major advantage to know it. Here is a good verse:
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Heb 12:4)
You can resist sin. You can live holy and MUST be holy to enter God’s presence and Paradise after death (Mt. 5:8; Rev. 21:27; etc.). Our day is filled with false doctrine and much of it is lethal. Be very S-L-O-W to believe anything which isn’t in the Bible! Furthermore, the safest thing you can do for yourself is to read and reread the New Testament until you get better acquainted with spiritual reality. You are right NOT to trust another’s interpretation of the Bible, even a friendly professing Christian. **Read a reputable and easy to understand translation. The KJV is NOT easy to understand and should be avoided [because of that]. 1 John 1:9 is written for Christians. John put himself in on it when he wrote there, “If WE….” Also, the unsaved could never remember their mountain of sins to confess them to get saved! Sin is still the issue after the cross and is easily shown to be such in Revelation 2 and 3. There, Jesus himself is speaking to different church groups about various issues including sin, departing from our first love, false teachings, lukewarmness, tolerating false teachers, etc. His teachings cited in those 2 chapters will blow away much of what your friend has told you and wants you to believe. The Bible is FINAL AUTHORITY (2 Tim. 3:16,17). The material which is being sent separately should further answer issues you brought up, plus much more. Remember 1 Cor. 2:9.
