It is human nature to do the wrong thing, unless of course they allow God to transform their minds and hearts so as not to justify sin or wrong doing. See, when a person says that God saves Hitler, Ted Bundy, etc. they are eliminating a standard of morality. Evil gets rewarded (instead of being punished) and it makes a mockery out of those who do good.
Well that’s just it. A person said to be "dead in their transgressions" logically couldn't do squat until God transforms them.
I probably should clear something up, here.
When I speak of God saving someone, I’m not saying that this means they remain in their fallen state as they waltz through the Pearly Gates and crash the heavenly cocktail party.
Nevertheless, in these kinds of discussions, Godwin’s Law prevails, and people start expressing concerns that Hitler, Bundy, and the like are all running around Heaven being the exact same troublemakers they were before.
That is most definitely
not what I’m saying.
Evil doesn’t get rewarded, it gets destroyed. Does that involve punishment? It might. Frankly, just
being evil is
itself a punishment; such people’s lives are a living hell already, obviously. So, I’m not sure how expecting God to pile on
more hell in the afterlife, and for all eternity no less, is supposed to fix that.
When someone beats a rug, they’re doing it to get the dirt out, not just for the sake of beating the rug. Same with God addressing the flaws in the human being. It’s the wicked/sin (the dust and dirt) that He’s trying to get out of the person (the rug), and He can do that while preserving the individual person (the rug). The person (the rug) isn't the problem, it's the dust and dirt
inside that's the issue. God doesn’t need to throw the baby out with bathwater.
As far as the Hitlers, Neros, and Bundies of this world, like I said before, Paul referred to
himself as the worst of sinners (and we are asked to believe that he spoke under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who would have foreseen future Hitlers, Neros, and Bundies, yet apparently still directed Paul to declare
himself The Worst of Sinners, even over
those guys).
Therefore, if
Paul can be salvaged, anyone can, apparently, including whatever Villain of the Month anyone here wants to come up with.