just a thought for ya Win.
His brother WAS in sin Win. He was selfish, jealous of his brothers attention. It is apparent his pride was hurt as he confronted his father for not praising him and parading him around as well. The only thing the elder son did not do was leave to do his own thing. Yet what we see from the elder brother and the Father is one of a distorted understanding regarding their relationship from the son's standpoint. The elder was looking at his relationship based on works when in fact it is based on grace.
I would agree with you except the father did not correct the son, but actually verified what the elder son said to be true. First, he called him "Son", so this is not a lost person. Second, he said "thou art
EVER with me". This son had always been with God and would always be with God.
Who could this possibly be? And who are the 99 righteous persons Jesus said need no repentance? The only persons I can think of would be infants and small children not guilty of sin.
Rom 9:11 (For
the children being not yet born,
neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; )
Had Esau and Jacob transgressed against God when they were in their mother's womb? NO. And if they had died at this point, they would have never transgressed God's commandments.
There have been literally billions of children who have died before birth, or died in early infancy. I believe this could be the 99 righteous persons who need no repentance.
That said, Paul also said Esau and Jacob had done no good. They had no righteousness, and therefore are still dependant to have righteousness imputed to them.
Well, you will say they had no faith, so righteousness could not be imputed to them. I don't know if this is true. Jesus said little children had faith.
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones
which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and
that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Jesus picked up a little child and set him in the midst of the disciples, so this must have been a very young child, maybe 3-5 years old. But Jesus said this child "believes
in me". We may not understand it, but perhaps infants and little children do have faith.
I know my view is unorthodox, that does not concern me at all, I want to know what scriptures say and teach, not men.
The only persons I can see who could be righteous and not need repentance are little infants and children who died before they reached the age of accountability.
I believe Paul shows that men are spiritually alive until they know and understand the law, at this point they become accountable and spritually die when they willingly and knowingly break God's commandments.
Rom 7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin
was dead.
9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
10 And the commandment, which
was ordained to life, I found
to be unto death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it
slew me.
Sin has no power without the law. A man has to know and understand the law before sin has dominion over him.
Paul said he was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and he died. Paul did not say he "mistakenly believed" he was alive once, that is adding to scripture what it does not say. Paul simply and directly said he was "alive without the law once".
When could this be? The law was around 1500 years before Paul was born. The only time Paul could have been without law was when he was a child and did not know good from evil yet.
Isa 7: 16 For
before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Isaiah here speaks of a time when a child does not yet know to refuse evil and choose good.
Deu 1:39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey,
and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
God himself speaks of children who had no knowledge between good and evil. God did not punish these children, they were allowed to enter the promised land. All the parents who understood between good and evil died in the wilderness.
1 Pet 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now
returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Peter said believers were as sheep going astray, but are now
RETURNED to Jesus. How can you return to Jesus if you were born separated from God?
When I put all of these many scriptures together I believe the scriptures teach that children are not accounted as sinners, and are not separated from God. But the moment a child understands good from evil and willingly sins against God they spiritually die and become separated from God.
This would explain the 99 just persons who need no repentance, and the elder son who never transgressed against his father.
This is what I believe the scriptures show.
