Repentance

[dgolvach]

No one want's to answer my A or B question. No one ever does. Ever.

I'm a B.

Dan

[Gerioke]

I too am a B

I long to be an A but I'm a B

[eric]

Hi, all, I've just spent about an hour reviewing this thread, I think I was side-tracked when the board was hacked. So I'll be brief as always and start at the beginning and throw in some thoughts of my own.

Repentance, one of the most misunderstood words in the bible and yet one of the most, if not the most, important,because without repentance there is no salvation. None. There's nothing psychological about repentance You can't psyche yourself into it, you have to put your whole body, heart and soul into it. Not think it, but do it. and unlke confession, it's not a repetitive exercise you do on a daily basis, but an ongoing exercise that never ceases. Jesus, said it in Lukes gospel,13:3 Repent or perish. No good asking to be forgiven and for Christ to come into your life if you are not prepared to repent. Jesus said you have to deny yourself of everything take up the cross and follow him. If the devil is getting in the way, rebuke him again and again for greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world. You will have the victory, you can count on Him, or He wouldn't have said it.

Then and only then you can confess you're a sinner and need of forgiveness and salvation,

Well, that's my take on it.

in Him,

e

Edited June 3, 2005 by eric

[EricH]

Ephesians 2:8-10 is a great summary of the relationship between works and faith in the life of the believer

[dgolvach]

Hi, all, I've just spent about an hour reviewing this thread, I think I was side-tracked when the board was hacked. So I'll be brief as always and start at the beginning and throw in some thoughts of my own.

Repentance, one of the most misunderstood words in the bible and yet one of the most, if not the most, important,because without repentance there is no salvation. None. There's nothing psychological about repentance You can't psyche yourself into it, you have to put your whole body, heart and soul into it. Not think it, but do it. and unlke confession, it's not a repetitive exercise you do on a daily basis, but an ongoing exercise that never ceases. Jesus, said it in Lukes gospel,13:3 Repent or perish. No good asking to be forgiven and for Christ to come into your life if you are not prepared to repent. Jesus said you have to deny yourself of everything take up the cross and follow him. If the devil is getting in the way, rebuke him again and again for greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world. You will have the victory, you can count on Him, or He wouldn't have said it.

Then and only then you can confess you're a sinner and need of forgiveness and salvation,

Well, that's my take on it.

Good points. Now can you answer....A or B?

I too am a B

I long to be an A but I'm a B

Same here. Your an honest guy.

[eric]

Dave.

Good points. Now can you answer....A or B?

Well I'm definitely not an A guy, so I must be a B,

e

[tsth]

Many times, we keep repeating the same sins, because we keep sowing the same seeds. If you are placing yourself in the same situations, or are continually around others that you know are going to lead you astray then you are giving a foothold to the temptations of sin. You bring yourself grief, because of your own desires. Do not give place for the occasion of sin. If you know something/someone is drawing you in, then STAY AWAY from it, and draw near to the Lord.

James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

The Lord tells us to resist the things of the world that tempt and corrupt. He says if we will take hold of Him rather than those things, we will have victory.

James 4:1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[tsth]

This was today's devotion by Blackaby. Too timely:

REPENTANCE

6/3/2005

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

-- MARK 1:14-15

Repentance is one of the most positive of all words. John the Baptist centered his preaching on repentance (Matt. 3:2, Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3). Jesus also preached repentance, commanding His disciples to do likewise (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 24:47). The angel predicted that the Messiah would save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). The requirement for this salvation would be repentance. To repent means to stop going one direction, to turn around completely, and to go the opposite way. Repentance involves a dramatic and decisive change of course. God urges us to repent when the path we are taking leads to destruction. Repentance will save us from disastrous consequences! What a wonderful word! How comforting that the Creator loves us enough to warn us of impending danger! Our problem is that we think of repentance as something negative. When we recognize our sin, we prefer to "rededicate" our lives to God. We may even tell others we have resolved to be more faithful to God than we were before we failed Him. Yet the Bible does not speak of rededicating oneself. It speaks of repentance! Repentance indicates a decisive change, not merely a wishful resolution. We have not repented if we continue in our sin! Repentance involves a radical change of heart and mind in which we agree with God's evaluation of our sin and then take specific action to align ourselves with His will. A desire to change is not repentance. Repentance is always an active response to God's word. The evidence of repentance is not words of resolve, but a changed life.

In His Love,

Suzanne

[Guest shiloh357]

Confusing Justification with Service:

The good news is not stop sinning-that is not the gospel of Christ of 1 Cor. 15:1-4, for that is truly bad news,for no one can stop sinning, or turn from all their sins, and, more importantly, justification is not dependent on this. Stop sinning is santification, not justification. People are making the condition of justification to be stop sinning-No! The simple reqirement is BELIEF on the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ-this is simple, and this is the only requirement. We must not make the requirement for justification conditioned upon something we do=that is a work. "Turning from sin", "stop sinning"=service/sanctification(sanctify=holy=consecrate:to be set aside for God's use).... are works of service.

I may sound like "a broken record", but I "will call" anyone on this board that attempts to pervert the gospel of Christ with another gospel, which is not good news(Galatians Chapter 1), but is under a curse. That is,any attempts to add a works-based performance system as a requirement for justification, and that includes service, and that includes the erroneous notion that "repent", in the context of salvation, means "to turn from your sins", will be rebuked, even if I am the only one on this board to say so. This is "serious business" folks-souls are at stake. Justification is a one time event, and repentance, as it pertains to justification, and salvation from the penalty of sin(notice I did not say repentance as it pertains to salvation from the power of sin, which is SANCTIFICATION), is also a one time event.

I will not stand idly by and allow someone to make the typical "Lordship salvation" argument, which is also under a curse, by confusing SERVICE=SANCTIFICATION=OBEY, with salvation. The biblical order is SONSHIP, then SERVICE, and not vica versa. We must define this word as the Holy Bible does, and this is not just semantics. And the Holy Bible defines repent simply as "to change one's mind or heart"-it is that simple. The context of the subject matter determines about what one must "change your mind".

How do we know that repent means "change of mind"? As shown, because the LORD God repented. No believer on this board would claim that the LORD God can sin.

But repentance is never defined as "turning from your sins", "a work that requires something on our part","getting sin out of your life", "stop continually and intentionally keep doing the same thing" "changing your actions", as it pertains to justication(declaration of righteusness) of the sinner, and is never made a prerequisite, an "up front charge", a "down payment", in any of the presentation of the "gospel of Christ", the "gospel of the grace of God", as presented by the apostle Paul in Romans through Philemon, and as outlined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5-never. Repent, as it refers to man and his acceptance by a Holy God with regards to justification, refers to man changing his mind about himself and his ability to save himself through a performance based system, i.e., "The Law". It is a "mental about face", a realization of man's own sinfulness(conviction), an abhorrence of oneself(Isaiah's "...Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips...." -6:5), an "I cannot save myself-only the LORD God can save me" mindset.

As I have said many times, the Biblical order is SONSHIP(justification), then SERVICE(sanctification). Those who reverse this biblical order are putting the proverbial "horse before the cart", and are confusing service to our Father as sons with service to become sons. Those who make statements such as "make Jesus Lord of your life", "turn your life over to Jesus, give your life to Jesus", despite the fact that the heart of the gospel is the Lord Jesus Christ GIVING HIS LIFE FOR US, and has nothing to do with us giving him anything, make this deadly error.

[Pax]

I have a qustion for all the Protestants on the board. Let's say I am a Protestant and I have met the criteria to be saved. For the sake of argument we will say it is the criteria that Eric layed down in an earlier discussion. Eric stated that three things had to be met before one could be saved, these things were Believe, Receive, and Repent. So after accomplishing this, most Protestant faiths, if not all, would say, "I'm saved for life and can't lose my salvation." So what happens if I then go out and commit adultry with another women? Do I really need to repent? I'm going to heaven anyway. And if I do need to repent, how do I do this in the Prostestant churchs. Do you have to make a public statement . Or can I lay in bed at night and say God forgive me for committing adultry? But once again why would I need to, I'm sealed or saved and going straight to heaven when I die. I spent 26 years as a Baptist and this was one issue that really created problems for me. Where is the accountability when sins are committed? According to my pastor, and my mother I was saved. When I went out and had pre-marital sex as a high schooler this was no big deal, I was saved and couldn't lose my salvation?