Let's get it straight just which SINS are washed away at conversion. We need to know this because the Salvation Cult loves to point out two truths and then make a biblically absurd conclusion.
The truths are: 1) when Jesus died on the cross, all our sins were in the "future" because, obviously, none of us were born yet. 2) Thus, He died for all our "future sins."
Their erroneous conclusion is that one act of repentance, at conversion, is sufficient to clear our slate of all sin we have done OR WILL DO. In other words, they're saying our future sins are covered "in advance," even if we never "repent' again of anything till the day we die, because we have repented and Jesus has already died for our future sins!
The scripture states in Romans 3:25 that the blood of Christ, while available for all people and all sin, only washes away those sins we repent of. And the only ones we can repent of are those that are past, the ones we know of, the ones we have a godly sorrow over!
Repentance, like salvation, is an ongoing thing! The soul that sins "will die," if it is not in a repentant state (Ezk. 18:4; Luke 13:3).
On the cross, Jesus said "forgive them." This statement encompassed all people and all sin (past, present and future). But His forgiveness affects no one and no sin until the individual "repents" of his own committed or PAST sin(s). Christ's blood continues to wash away only those future sins which are placed "under the blood" as they are committed and repented of.
I've got more to say about the power of Christ's blood to wash away sin. But before we go on, we should probably examine another prominent teaching, and error, of the unconditional eternal security cult: the teaching that "all sins are the same."
One of their favorite examples is this. "If you drive down the road and see a hazard, such as a board lying in it, and fail to stop and remove it, this is just as much of a sin as murder because all sin is the same."
In trying to make us believe that mass genocide and picking one's nose in public are equal sins, "for all sin is the same," their net result is to "excuse" all sin in a professing Christian's life!
Their rationale is like this. Everyone sins, and all sin is equal. Thus, the Christian who fails to take the board out of the road is in sin just as much as a murderer. And a murderer is no more a sinner than the Christian who picks his nose in public. So then, since all Christians sin in some way at some time, sin has no bearing on a Christian's salvation. The difference between the unsaved person and the saved person is simply that one has "salvation" and the other does not. This salvation is not based on any works, good or bad, but is an irreversible, free gift gained on simple acknowledgment that he is, and always will be, a sinner "trusting only" in Jesus' death and resurrection to save him.
But their rationale, THEIR GOSPEL, isn't the one taught in Scripture!
All unrighteousness is indeed sin. But that doesn't mean, by any stretch of the concordance, that all sins are of the SAME degree OR require that same punishment.
"All unrighteous is sin: and [but] there is a sin not unto [not warranting eternal] death" (I John 5:17).
Both the Old and New Testaments put sins in the categories of what has come to be known as "mortal" and "venial" sins. This may sound "Catholic" to some, but it's not. It's biblical! The problem with the Catholic Church is that they have tried to delineate what these sins are outside of, and in addition to, Biblical record!
Let's look at just a few New Testament passages which testify that all sins are not the same and therefore do not solicit or require the same punishment.
"If any man see his brother [Christian] sin a sin which is not unto death [minor sin], he shall ask [forgiveness of God for his brother's sin], and he [God] shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death [major sin]: I do not say that he shall pray for it [this type of sin].
"All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death [for all sin is not the same]" (I John 5:16-17).
This passage clearly says there are sins of differing degrees. In fact it says some sins are so "minor" that they can be forgiven simply at the request of a brother in Christ! I believe such sins, and they are sins, as uncouth public actions (i.e. nose picking), yelling at the family pet, and failing to remove a board out of the road, fit in here.
The ultimate "sin unto death" is the one and only sin Jesus said was unforgivable--the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
"Verily I say unto you, all [other] sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of man, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, hath never forgiveness, but is in [unalterable] danger of eternal damnation" (Mark 3:28-29).
Obviously, this sin is worse than all others because it carries the harshest punishment.
Our next passage talks of two people who do commit the same sin but are judged differently due to differing amounts of knowledge about God's will.
"And that servant, which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:47-48).
Note also how it says "his Lord's" not "the Lord's," meaning the servant was a disciple and not an unsaved person! Jesus Himself states that He will severely punish those believers, His own servants, who are slothful and disobey! You will do well to go up a couple verses in Luke 12 to verse 46 and see that these "stripes" can include hell itself--the "portion" of the unbeliever!
There are several other passages in both the Old and New Testaments which make the Salvation Cult a liar about all sin being the same and warranting the same punishment! But the above will suffice.
If, by the way, you want to find where and what the Bible lists as mortal and venial sins, start with the following passage in Colossians 3:5-10.
"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them."
To this point, we see that this passage speaks to Christians of sins that they no longer are engaged in, sins that bring God's damnation. But note what is said next.
"But now also put off these [sins]; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy [complaining against God, i.e. "God why is this happening to me."], filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."
This whole passage lists sins in two groups: 1) those that have been put off and 2) sins that still need to go. Note that the sins in this second group are all "attitudes."
Other lists of sins that bring God's damnation are found in Ephesians 5:3-8, Galatians 5:19-21, and I Corinthians 6:9-11.
The warning TO CHRISTIANS in I Corinthians 6:9-11 is particularly pertinent to the subject of this article. "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived [by the Salvation Cult]: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor... shall inherit [eternal life]."
Lists of sins that Christians need to mature out of are found in ! Peter 2:1-3 and Ephesians 4:30-32 in addition to Colossians 3:8-10. In reading these lists, note once again that all the "sins" are attitudinal.
You will also probably notice, and wonder why, some of the "lesser sins" listed are also mentioned in the "major sins" list, i.e. "wrath." A study of these words in the Greek will show that they differ by degree and are thus not talking about the same thing. The "wrath" of the worldling is a consuming wrath that eats at a person day after day making him wish someone was dead. The wrath the saint needs to eliminate is that sudden wrath we feel when someone runs a red light in front of us.
The bottom line is that the Salvation Cult's gospel is full of misinterpretation and misapplication of scripture. They handle the word of God deceitfully and teach heresy about sin, salvation, grace, faith and just about every other major pint of doctrine. And just in case you didn't read the list of mortal sins in Galatians 5, heresy is mentioned as one such sin in verse 20.
I'm sure Paul included heresies in the list he wrote to the Galatian Christians because that sin had caused them to forfeit their saving relationship with Christ.
"Oh foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not [continue to] obey the truth, before whom Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" (Gal. 3:1).
"My little children, of whom I travail in [spiritual] birth AGAIN until Christ be formed in you [AGAIN]" (Gal. 4:19).
"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; YE ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE" (Gal. 5:4). It doesn't say they had "failed to gain" but had "fallen from" God's grace! Whosoever of them that had believed and followed heresy had forfeited the eternal abiding life of Christ and He now profited them "nothing" (Gal. 5:2).
There is such a thing as a sin unto (resulting in) eternal death--no matter who commits it! There are lesser attitudinal sins that the Christian needs to mature out of. There are sins of commission and omission--sins done in ignorance and in willful disobedience.
There are greater and lesser punishments, but the same rules apply to everybody for God is no respecter of persons. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of what we have DONE in this life be it good or evil (II Cor. 5:10-11). And God's judgment will begin at the house of God, with those who should have known better and were fully equipped to do righteousness (I Pet. 1:3 and 4:17)!