There are, by my reading of the passage, two different groups being addressed. One was made up of those who physically new Christ while He was on Earth and the other group was made up of those who were Christians but had backslidden. In my view, that’s two different topics.
Anyway, let me ask you this. If God just winks at this “day to day” sin and says “It’s okay, you’ve believed so go do whatever you want”, then why even say that we need to repent of our sins after we’re saved? Why the passage stating that, if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father?
The implication is clear. You’re saved by Christ, but if there is unrepentant sin in your life, it stains your garment where you cannot enter into God’s presence, due to the fact that sin is not allowed in His sight. This doesn’t negate Christ’s sacrifice for us, but it does mean that we’re no longer allowed to just live any way we want.
We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ if we are saved. I’m sure we ALL die with some sin unrepented of. If our salvation is based on our keeping current accounts, then I don’t see how anyone can be saved. And that does put it in the works category.
God called Lot *righteous Lot* hardly a term I’d use in describing him. How many people today would look at someone who did the things he did and consider him righteous, or saved.
Others had their share of sin and were still considered believers.
With the lengths God went to to save us and draw us, it’s inconceivable that He’d be so willing to send people to hell based on weakness or even unrepented of sin. I firmly believe that that sin will have to be answered for, but not with the forfeiting of salvation, but the loss of reward.
If someone does lead the kind of life Lot lived, however, I would question the validity of their profession.
The problem I have with these visit heaven/hell accounts is that the people recount seeing CHRISTIANS in hell because of their works. We are not saved by works. We do not stay saved by works. That is no license to go out and sin freely by any means, as that will bring it’s own consequences, but loss of salvation is not one unless one gets to the point of making a conscious decision to reject God.
1 Corinthians 3:12-14
12Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
WELL PUT, imho.