THE ETERNAL TORMENT SYNDROME
Over the years I have seen a phenomenon which I call the Eternal Torment Syndrome.
Many people who have been taught and accepted the idea of eternal torment in hell for all who are not "saved" are victims of Modern Christian teaching. Imagine a mother who believes her children will be writing in torment a million years from now. Since she cannot bear the thought she tries to find something which will lower the threshold of salvation to the point that her children who continue to commit sin will be delivered from hell.
The result is the modern Christian doctrines which eliminate the necessity of obedience to the ten commandments. Some have the threshold of salvation so low that if someone says they believe in Jesus they are not only saved but cannot be lost - even if they were to later reject Christ completely.
This is a very appealing doctrine to someone whose relatives or children have died as a sinner but claimed to believe in Jesus.
I think that all who are truly born of God do agree 100% that you must keep the commandments of God - they may differ in other areas but all accept the necessity of ceasing from sin by keeping the ten commandments. That is what the Spirit of God teaches because that is what Jesus taught - "...if you would enter life keep the commandments".
As believers we have a great deal of latitude to be wrong on something - we do not have to agree 100% on everything - but on the question of "What must I do to have eternal life?" there is no autonomy - we must repent of sin and keep the commandments.
Sin is transgression of the law and that law is the ten commandments. Those who continue to wilfully disobey are not children of God and no amount of wishful thinking will change their fate. All who have not repented will receive the death sentence and eternal destruction - not eternal torment.
We are not doing those who still commit sin a favor to tell them they have eternal life because they believe and obey what they "think" God wants them to do. Rather we should plainly warn them that those believers who commit sin remain children of the devil. They believe but are not converted.
Harold Kupp
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