August 24, 2025
Why does it seem that the Christian religion is so hard to understand? Why doesn’t much of theology make sense to the average person? Is it only the scholar who can understand the truth of the Word of God?
What are the biggest questions we ponder as human beings? Here are a couple.
- What are we here for?
- Where are we going when we die?
If there is a bottom line, what is it? Many of us know that there must be something more to life than eating, drinking, making lots of money, and unending pleasure. And just as many are expecting that someday everyone will be held accountable for what they have done. Even if the wicked get away with it here on earth, there must be a final accountability in the hereafter. For those who are willing to admit that there is a God, what does it take to get and stay right with Him? What does it take to come clean and stay clean with God? In other words:
What must we do to be saved and go to heaven when we die?
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thought: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:7.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13.
You will notice that in both of these passages, it is implicit that the wicked person can come clean with God by confessing and forsaking their sins. They have the natural ability to do all that is commanded. Their will is free. Yet most of evangelical Christianity denies this fundamental truth.
The bottom line is that to receive God’s mercy, we must admit that we have sinned against God (confess) and stop our sinful rebellion against Him (forsake our sins). It is a complete change of heart and way; it is not only an outward reformation but also an inward transformation. This is what is meant by coming clean or getting right with God the Creator. The old man or woman lived to satisfy the unlawful desires of the flesh in all he or she did, and the new man or woman lives to please God in everything. It is just that simple to come clean and stay clean before God. Jesus told us to make our tree (life) good so that its fruit will be good. Or as Jesus said, We make our tree (life) bad and its fruit evil. Is that an outrageous statement on my part? Is it unthinkable and irrational? Is it unbiblical and heretical? Many so-called evangelicals think my statement is blasphemous. They have been brainwashed into believing that people like me think we save ourselves, and God’s grace has nothing to do with it. That is not true, but that is what they want to believe, so they can dismiss what I and others are saying.
The bottom line is that if we cease from our sinful rebellion against God (we come clean and stay clean with God), He will forgive us, cleanse us, purify us, pardon us, save us, and take us to heaven when we die. Is that not straightforward to understand? Does it not make perfect sense? What earthly King would grant pardon to those who refuse to obey the laws of the Kingdom? Is this not precisely what the laws of our nation require from its citizens? Stop breaking the law, and the law will not punish or threaten you, but will protect you. Is it really unreasonable for God to expect that same?
Everyone (Christians and non-Christians) can confess and forsake their sins or crimes. All of us can come clean with God and others we have hurt. That is what makes them guilty when they do break the laws of the land and God’s laws. If they were unable to obey the law (their will wasn’t free), they would not be considered criminals or sinners. Is that not the obvious truth? It is essential to understand that not just Christians are faithful to their spouse. Not just Christians refrain from murder, drunkenness, theft, adultery, fornication, and other criminal and sinful behaviors. In fact, it appears that many unbelievers are more righteous than professing Christians. What a sad and pitiful testimony.
Have you never met anyone who stopped their immoral and criminal behavior without becoming a Christian? These people exist even if you choose to ignore that truth. The point is that the laws of God and the land are not impossible to observe, as most evangelical Christians are taught and believe. Think about it. There is no law of the land or of God that we are physically or morally unable to obey. And that is why we become guilty and blameworthy when we refuse to comply with our obligations.
So, where does the confusion arise?
Christian theologians, pastors, and priests tell us that:
- We can’t come clean and stop sinning (lawbreaking). We can’t confess and forsake our sins. We are unable. Our will is bad and is only at liberty to choose evil. (See Chapter 2 on Free Will in my book, When Lies Become Truth.)
- We are unable to be and do good because when Adam and Eve sinned, we inherited the guilt of Adam’s sin (because we sinned in him), and we were born with a sin nature that can do nothing but sin. We do not become sinners and lawbreakers by sinning and lawbreaking; we are born lawbreakers and sinners who can do nothing but that which is unlawful. Our hearts are set on self-gratification from the moment of our conception. We love ourselves supremely and are born that way. Sin and lawbreaking are ineluctable.
- Theologians and pastors then tell Christians that because we are supposedly born with a sinful nature, even when we are born again and filled with the Spirit of God (we become a Christian), we cannot expect to overcome sin in our lives. Even as Christians, we will continue to sin and break the law frequently and repeatedly. We can’t come clean and stay clean with God. Christians will always break the laws of God, which are in some cases identical to the laws of the land, until they die. This is what we are told the Bible teaches. We will live and die with a divided heart serving two masters, believing that is what salvation looks like.
- Consequently, churches are filled with members who believe all these lies and are deceived. Many churchgoers love these lies because they are allowed to continue their selfish rebellion against God, profess to be a follower of Christ, and go to heaven when they die. They get the best of both worlds, so they are told.
If all that is true, which it is not, how then are Christian sinners (lawbreakers) going to make it into heaven with a holy God?
- To respond to that dilemma, theologians created a scheme whereby God pretends that we are holy when we are not. They achieved this by inventing a scheme whereby we are credited (imputed) with the obedience and righteousness of Jesus Christ, who was sinless. Christ, as our substitute, obeyed the laws of God for us; all we must do is to accept that truth. Now, the Father no longer sees our sins and lawbreaking but sees Christ’s obedience. Our coming clean and staying clean with God is fictional, for Christ did it all for us, so we are told.
- The other side of this coin of double imputation is that Jesus paid the precise penalty for all of our sins (even sins we will commit in the future) when He died on the cross.
- If we trust Christ and this religious scheme,we are guaranteed heaven, even when we continue to sin and never stop our sinful rebellion against God or never come clean with God. Repentance from sin is unnecessary to get into heaven and actually impossible if you swallow their lies.
Since they believe in this man-made religion, the following is true.
- Repentance becomes a synonym for a faith without faithfulness and doesn’t imply forsaking of all sin and the stopping of our rebellion and lawlessness. We are unable to repent of our sins and love God wholly or supremely. We can’t come clean and stay clean with God; it is impossible. Only a perfectionist or legalist would believe such nonsense, according to them.
- Therefore, our rebellion against God never ceases, and God is presumably okay with that because Christ did it all for us, and there is nothing left for us to do. He did it all. Just believe and trust.
- Grace and every other Biblical virtue are redefined just like repentance.
- They cleverly reinterpret scripture that refutes all these lies.
If someone dares challenge these false teachers, they resort to Name-calling. They call those who disagree with their false interpretations names such as self-righteous, heretic, and Pelagian. (Being called a heretic or Pelagian by Calvinists and many evangelicals is like the Democrats/Progressives calling conservatives racist or fascists. It has almost no meaning anymore.)
The bottom line about coming clean with God is easy to understand but hard to apply because the old man (old you) must die and be reborn. God’s grace is there to assist you every step of the way in coming clean with God and others and staying clean. But the decision is ours. Choose wisely. Joshua told the Jews, Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve. He knew nothing about inbred sin, sin nature, or inability to do as God required. Don’t be a CINO (Christian In Name Only), believe the truth of the word of God, and obey it. If you do that, you will be clean and stay clean before God and others. That’s the bottom line.
