XPost: alt.religion.christian   
   From: usenet@christrose.news   
      
   You present a message that offers sinners a path around Christ. You   
   assure them that they can reject the Savior who died and rose, yet still   
   escape judgment. You promise them a painless outcome, a second chance, a   
   future without wrath, and a resurrection without guilt. Scripture never   
   gives such a hope. Your message invites men to refuse Christ and still   
   expect mercy. That is a false gospel. It comforts the unrepentant and   
   dulls the fear of the Lord. It blinds sinners to the urgency of   
   salvation. It removes the cross from the center of redemption. It strips   
   the atonement of its necessity. It denies the warnings of judgment. It   
   contradicts Jesus at every point.   
      
   You claim death erases sin. Scripture declares the opposite. “It is   
   appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews   
   9:27, ESV). Judgment, not a clean slate. Accountability, not amnesty.   
   Death does not cleanse. Only Christ’s blood cleanses. “The blood of   
   Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7, ESV). Your teaching   
   tells sinners they can die without Christ and rise sinless. God says   
   only Christ removes sin, and He does so now, in this life, through faith   
   in His substitutionary death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3–4,   
   ESV; Romans 3:23–26, ESV).   
      
   You misuse Romans 6:7 as if Paul taught unbelievers gain freedom from   
   sin by dying. Paul speaks of believers who united with Christ in His   
   death. “We know that our old self was crucified with him… so that we   
   would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6, ESV). The freedom from   
   sin in Romans 6 belongs to those who died with Christ, not to those who   
   die without Him. To lift this verse out of its context and offer sinners   
   a future without guilt apart from Christ is to sever salvation from the   
   cross. That is a counterfeit hope.   
      
   You claim all the dead return sinless and receive a second chance. Jesus   
   says the opposite. He divides the resurrection into two destinies:   
   “those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who   
   have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29, ESV).   
   Judgment, not another opportunity. Judgment, not a fresh start.   
   Judgment, not neutrality. You deny the very category Jesus affirms.   
      
   You promise that moral rebellion carries no eternal consequence. Jesus   
   says otherwise. He declares that some will suffer a stricter judgment   
   than others. “It will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for Sodom   
   than for you” (Matthew 11:24, ESV). Degrees of judgment destroy your   
   entire system. Non-existence has no degrees. Jesus’ words require   
   conscious accountability.   
      
   You claim annihilation prevents torment. Jesus says Judas faces   
   something worse than never existing. “It would have been better for that   
   man if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24, ESV). If Judas simply   
   vanished, nothing could exceed that. Christ reveals a destiny more   
   dreadful than non-existence. Your doctrine collapses.   
      
   You deny any ongoing torment. Jesus warns of Gehenna where “their worm   
   does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48, ESV). The ESV   
   prints “hell,” so I supply the correct word: “[Gehenna].” A fire that   
   never ends and a worm that never dies declare unending conscious   
   punishment. Symbols never teach the opposite of what they portray. They   
   reinforce the truth. A perpetual fire that burns nothing and torments no   
   one is nonsense. Jesus’ warning stands.   
      
   Revelation confirms it. “The smoke of their torment goes up forever and   
   ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:11, ESV).   
   Rising smoke signals ongoing reality, not vanished persons. No rest day   
   or night demands consciousness. No symbol in Revelation reverses the   
   meaning into non-existence.   
      
   You insist Luke 16 is a parable. Jesus names Lazarus. Parables never do.   
   Even if it were, parables teach truths consistent with the image, not   
   the opposite. The rich man experiences conscious torment. Abraham   
   experiences conscious comfort. Jesus teaches postmortem consciousness.   
   You deny it because it refutes your doctrine.   
      
   Your message assures sinners that rejecting Christ carries no eternal   
   cost. Scripture warns that rejecting Christ carries the greatest cost.   
   “Of how much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one   
   who has trampled underfoot the Son of God… and outraged the Spirit of   
   grace?” (Hebrews 10:29, ESV). The Spirit says worse punishment, not   
   extinction. The full New Testament revelation leaves no gap for your theory.   
      
   Your gospel removes the fear of the Lord. Jesus commands the opposite.   
   “Fear him who can destroy both soul and body in [hell] [Gehenna]”   
   (Matthew 10:28, ESV). Destruction here does not mean cessation any more   
   than God’s own spiritual nature means non-existence because He cannot be   
   burned by earthly fire. God judges with realities suited to the soul.   
   Jesus warns men about that judgment so they flee to Him now.   
      
   The cross stands at the center of salvation. Your message lets men   
   bypass it. You assure them that death itself erases guilt, that   
   resurrection restores purity, and that Christ’s atoning work becomes   
   optional. That is not love. That is not mercy. That is not gospel. That   
   is the broad road Jesus warns about, the road that leads to destruction.   
      
   Christ offered Himself as the substitute, bearing the wrath we deserve.   
   He rose in power to give life to all who come to Him in repentance and   
   faith. Scripture calls sinners to receive Him now. You tell them they   
   can refuse Him and still escape judgment. That lie invites eternal ruin.   
      
   Your message removes the urgency of salvation. The gospel declares that   
   urgency. “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2, ESV). Not   
   after death. Not after a supposed second chance. Now—while Christ calls,   
   while mercy stands, while the cross saves.   
      
   Your teaching hides the truth that only Christ rescues from judgment.   
   Scripture exposes that lie and calls every man to repent and believe the   
   gospel today.   
      
   --   
   Have you heard the good news Christ died for our sins (†), and God   
   raised Him from the dead?   
      
   That Christ died for our sins shows we're sinners who deserve the death   
   penalty. That God raised Him from the dead shows Christ's death   
   satisfied God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans 3:25; 1 John   
   2:1-2). This means God can now remain just, while forgiving you of your   
   sins, and saving you from eternal damnation.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)