本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Please allow me to list a typical prayer toward salvation (becoming a Christian) first, for it is the guideline toward distinguish a Christian.
“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
Now we have a Hitler, as you put it, who is a Christian. Rationally, it implies that, at one point, he truly repented, accepted God, and asked Jesus to come into his heart, all of which make him ready to be a Christian. (God's Grace and acceptance makes him a Christian.)
However, it is a bit ambiguous to me when you said that Hitler never repented, but that's fine, we can easily rule one of the two possibilities out,
1. Hitler never ever repented. Then he is not a Christian. I will quote some Bible verses to back me up,
(Luke 13:3) - Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
(Acts 2:38) - (Peter replied) Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
2. Hitler did repent so as to become a Christian, but stopped doing so after conversion. In such case, the answer is, YES, he can still hold onto his pass to Heaven.
Let me elaborate, When Jesus forgives someone and comes into one's heart, He forgives all one's sins and gives one eternal life, and one shall never perish (John 10:28). It would not be eternal life if Jesus (God) only gives one "temporary eternal" life.
I would like to talk a little bit about repentance here since it plays the key role to our discussion, any misunderstandings would be devastating and leading this topic astray. What is repentance Biblically? My understanding is that it at least involves,
(A) To acknowledge one's sin (so one can repent).
(B) To turn from one's evil ways/sins.
(C) To make up one's mind to cease practicing sins.
(B) To be obedient to God.
Now, if Hitler has truly repented, even only once (plus other qualifications such as believing Jesus died for his sins, and asking Jesus into his heart as the prayer listed above), he became a Christian, received Jesus's forgiveness, and HAS eternal life.
There are, however, some conditions that he could possibly lose his pass, (I don't fully understand the following verse yet, but I am willing to remain open for discussions.)
(Matthew 12:32) Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
I wish this helps, and sorry again for my previous misunderstanding.
[BTW: thank you for pointing out one of my mistakes: when I said Satan believes in God too, I meant to say, Satan't believing in God doesn't make him a Christian. (Because he didn't repent and accept God.) ]更多精彩文章及讨论,请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
Now we have a Hitler, as you put it, who is a Christian. Rationally, it implies that, at one point, he truly repented, accepted God, and asked Jesus to come into his heart, all of which make him ready to be a Christian. (God's Grace and acceptance makes him a Christian.)
However, it is a bit ambiguous to me when you said that Hitler never repented, but that's fine, we can easily rule one of the two possibilities out,
1. Hitler never ever repented. Then he is not a Christian. I will quote some Bible verses to back me up,
(Luke 13:3) - Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
(Acts 2:38) - (Peter replied) Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
2. Hitler did repent so as to become a Christian, but stopped doing so after conversion. In such case, the answer is, YES, he can still hold onto his pass to Heaven.
Let me elaborate, When Jesus forgives someone and comes into one's heart, He forgives all one's sins and gives one eternal life, and one shall never perish (John 10:28). It would not be eternal life if Jesus (God) only gives one "temporary eternal" life.
I would like to talk a little bit about repentance here since it plays the key role to our discussion, any misunderstandings would be devastating and leading this topic astray. What is repentance Biblically? My understanding is that it at least involves,
(A) To acknowledge one's sin (so one can repent).
(B) To turn from one's evil ways/sins.
(C) To make up one's mind to cease practicing sins.
(B) To be obedient to God.
Now, if Hitler has truly repented, even only once (plus other qualifications such as believing Jesus died for his sins, and asking Jesus into his heart as the prayer listed above), he became a Christian, received Jesus's forgiveness, and HAS eternal life.
There are, however, some conditions that he could possibly lose his pass, (I don't fully understand the following verse yet, but I am willing to remain open for discussions.)
(Matthew 12:32) Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
I wish this helps, and sorry again for my previous misunderstanding.
[BTW: thank you for pointing out one of my mistakes: when I said Satan believes in God too, I meant to say, Satan't believing in God doesn't make him a Christian. (Because he didn't repent and accept God.) ]更多精彩文章及讨论,请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net