It's a shame that he passed away of stage 4 prostate cancer, but where will his spirit spend eternity?
Carlton was diagnosed with prostate cancer 20 years ago but it returned as an aggressive form that quickly took his life.
His body succumbed to the disease. Pearson's doctrine of "Inclusion" and reversal of the Biblical teaching on hell put him against the Word of God.
Sympathy aside, we err on the side of Scripture.
Years ago, we never were truly taught on this subject of apostasy because some of us thought that when you came to Christ that you wouldn't turn away from Him. I was sadly mistaken.
You can turn aside from the Lord and return to the life of sin, but it has eternal consequences. When dealing with eternal life, you don't want to assume anything.
You want to make sure because death seals one's fate forever.
Here in Hebrews 6, we see that the writer received insight from the Lord as to what does happen when a person comes to faith in Christ and then suddenly walk away.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NKJV) “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
There’s a list that defines how far a person goes in Christ and then turn away.
Once enlightened.
Tasted of the heavenly gift.
Become partakers of the Holy Spirit.
Tasted the good Word of God.
And the powers of the age to come.
Once enlightened. This means the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shined to you. In other words, you’ve heard the basic gospel message.
Tasted of the heavenly gift. To taste means that you have tasted to see that the Lord is good.
Become partakers of the Holy Spirit. There’s a variety of interpretations. Some believe that this is where a believer actually becomes born again and placed into the Body of Christ. This is when you become born again as a result of repentance from sin and turn to God.
Tasted the good Word of God. This is where a believer is instructed in the Word of God and you’re maturing in it.
And the powers of the age to come. "Powers" is in the plural. The Holy Spirit is the “guarantee or down payment” of what God had promised. In other words, it’s like what Paul described as far as... “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings,“ or “walking in newness of life," or “Christ in you the hope of glory.”
There’s no need for the gifts of the Spirit in heaven but the need is here on earth before the full manifestation of God’s power to rule with a rod of iron in righteousness.
Walking in holiness. But when the 1000 year reign of Christ comes, He will exercise 100% power.
Then when you see “…if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
To fall away means to “apostatize.”
Notice the word to “fall.”
g3895. παραπίπτω parapiptō;
from 3844 and 4098;
to fall aside, i.e. (figuratively) to apostatize: — fall away.
AV (1) - fall away 1;
to fall beside a person or thing
to slip aside
to deviate from the right path,
turn aside,
wander
to error
to fall away (from the true faith): from worship of Jehovah.
So when people “fall” away from the gospel, and entertain strange teachings, these individuals are mature believers.
In other words, they know the Scriptures. The solid teachings of the Scriptures.
All one has to do is watch them first be taught the truth and then watch them wander from the truth over time.
Little by little, you hear questionable teaching. Some will have sense and challenge them or walk away.
You begin to hear strange teachings that has nothing to do with the “simplicity that’s in Christ.”
So the question to be asked is……….
Why would one fall away from the gospel?
There’s a couple of answers to consider, and there may be more answers to consider.
Sin is in their lives and they refuse to repent (turn) away from sin.
John 3:19-20 (NKJV) “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV) “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…”
They refuse to lay sin aside.
Is this the ONLY reason?
Obviously not.
Sometimes people become sympathetic to satan’s agenda. Sadly, they buy the argument that God is unjust in judging people for sin, banish them to hell for all eternity, and that the Lord should cut sinners a break.
Ezekiel 33:17-20 (NKJV) “Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair! When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it.
But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”
A man comes into your house and kills everyone in the house but you. You survived. He gets arrested, is tried, and convicted for murder. At this point, you want justice.
The judge, instead of giving the murderer a sentence, the judge allows the murderer to go free.
You tell the judge, “It’s not fair.”
How much more when sinners stand before the Lord and commit all sorts of wickedness.
Would it be just for God to let the wicked go unpunished?
This doctrine is an apostasy doctrine called “…seducing spirits and doctrine of demons.”
And especially when such a person turns to preach and teach this doctrine AFTER having received the Word of truth and then turn from it to teach a perverted gospel.
So it is with Carlton Pearson and others like him.
“…if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
But what if they truly repent?
Is there still a chance for them to enter into the kingdom?
2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NKJV) “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition,
if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
There’s a difference between an individual that’s open to correction and one that’s closed to receiving correction.
Carlton Pearson showed no signs of desiring to receive correction.
In his final statement, there’s no correction, contrition, no humility, no repentance, no godly sorrow that works repentance, leading to salvation. No renunciation.
Here's his statement he had made a couple of weeks before his death. I quote.....
"I'll never stop thinking of who you are, and why you are, and how somehow, we were divinely drawn together in this divine intersection of lives. But I feel you, and I hope you feel me even when I'm in Heaven, or on the other side, or the other iteration."
When you're not sure about hell, and in this statement, you're not sure about heaven, it's cause for alarm.
Well, Carlton did say "...when I'm in Heaven..." right?
What else did he call heaven?
"...the other side...or the other iteration."
Square this with Matthew 7:21-23 and Proverbs 16:25.
Compare Carlton's statement with the Paul's confident valedictorian statement.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NKJV) "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."
Did you see the difference?
It’s sad, but the Scripture is absolute when it comes to apostates.
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