Sin and Salvation

What is Original Sin?

NERDINESS:

The Christian doctrine of original sin first took center-stage in the fifth century, mainly with the controversy involving Pelagius and Augustine. Three positions on original sin eventually emerged from the fifth-century debates:

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Can We Pray Someone into Heaven?

NERDINESS:

Is it possible to pray someone into Heaven using your faith and asking for Christ's sacrifice to cover their sin?

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How Do We Know We Are Forgiven?

NERDINESS:

How do we know for sure if we are forgiven from our sins?

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Can You Be Saved if You Have Ongoing Addictions?

NERDINESS:

At Woodland Hills, we believe we first need to stop and refocus the question. When many Christians ask these kinds of questions about salvation, they make two mistakes. First, they think that "being saved" primarily means "being saved from Hell." And second, they approach the question with a “legal” picture of God, meaning they frame the question in terms of a courtroom, where God is both the judge and the prosecuting attorney, and we are the sinful defendant.

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Can I Judge if Someone Is Saved?

NERDINESS:

Jesus clearly and unambiguously tells us that we are not to make judgments about other people’s salvation, and to emphasize his point, he says that whatever standard we use to judge others will be used to judge us

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How Do I Explain “Grace” to a Non-Christian?

NERDINESS:

Around Woodland Hills, whenever we ask how to explain something regarding our relationship with Christ, one of the first concepts we turn to is covenant relationship. Therefore, we would explain grace by setting it in the context of a covenant-love relationship.

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How Do I Talk to Someone About Their Sin?

NERDINESS:

Jesus was always navigating this very question, but he doesn’t give us any formulas. Instead, we can discern certain principles that seem to guide his decisions.

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How Do I Know If I’ve Committed The “Unforgivable Sin?”

NERDINESS:

The idea that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the “unforgivable sin” has caused many people—even many Christians—to worry about whether they might have committed this sin.

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What is “the sin that leads to death”?

NERDINESS:

The type of sin referred to here is comparable to the "unforgivable sin" mentioned by Jesus in Mark 3:28-29 (associated with "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit").

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