Church, Scripture, and earthly jurisprudence agree that there is a dividing line between innocence and guilt. The dividing line is determined by judges and juries.
We want to avoid punishments that earthly lawbreakers receive. They are real and painful. So, we tend to avoid breaking laws that may lead to punishment.
The punishments for breaking God’s laws are not as obvious. “I have a lot of years before I die. I can pretty much do what I want, and ask Him to forgive me, later.”, we may conclude.
Still, we want to minimize risks. Are there sins that will put us irretrievably on the wrong side of the dividing line?
We are told that a conscious sin against The Holy Spirit puts the sinner on the wrong side of the dividing line. Apostasy and heresy will do the same. Willfully participating in an abortion also causes excommunication. If we’re sane, we want to avoid any sins that will bring great and unending pain upon us.
If we are blessed, we may find another approach. We may find that we want to please God, rather than just avoiding punishment.
Then, our lives may change in every area. At work, rather than just putting in time to avoid being fired or laid off, we may want to actually work so well that we make the people around us happy with us.
The same thing happens within our families. When we start doing more for those we love, all of us benefit.
We want to be on the good side of the dividing line. Then, we want to do more than avoid being bad. We want to be, and do, good.
Thinking about avoiding the great and eternal pains of hell is the way a lot of us start. One of the most brilliant aspects of The Creation Program is that the viruses, by being so bad, drive so many of us into the arms of The Loving Programmer.
