True Repentance

[>> Hannah <<]

Symptoms of a saved person -

1. You LOVE the light, AND you LOVE truth. You believe in GOD because you have found HIM to be real and true, not because it is your religion. You pursue accuracy in thought, and purity in your heart, as well as goodness in your life. When you fall down you freely admit it! Plainly, YOU walk in LIGHT... READ 1 John 1:5-10

this can be said to an extent of my life, but i dont think it takes having god in your life to do that at all

2. You obey GOD. This is not a requirement to be saved because we all fall on occasion, but it is a symptom of a saved person. Your mind is changed, you now WANT to love and obey GOD, your desire is to always please GOD. It becomes your nature instead of the old you. (1 John 2:3-6)

How many people can actually say every single time they do something it is to please god... our natural nature can not be to please god all the time otherwise we'd be perfect... and if our nature was this we wouldnt sin...

3. True Christians love other Christians. As John says, "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness." Do you HAVE to go to church to be a Christian and be saved? NO, but you now strongly DESIRE to go to church to be with your fellow believers, and to hear the word of GOD.

Yes i enjoy spending time with my church family...but are you saying that non christians dont truly love other people

4. You now hate sin, and find it impossible to continue sinning (1 John 3:4-10)! You are now with JESUS who died to save you from your sins, and GOD will not let you continue to go on sinning. You will strongly desire to do GOD's will. For you have been saved from sin and are no longer on Satan's side.

You now hate sin, and find it impossible to continue sinning RUBBISH!!

Your desires, wants, goals, dreams, are completely different from that of the world. We begin to see that Man's knowledge, wisdom and understanding is foolishness compared to GOD's. We lose attributes like greed, wants, lusts, and that fancy house or car etc., and start to realize that it is all meaningless. Our human nature itself is turned upside down on its head, as we see how rotten we really are. We begin to see terrible we really were as GOD opens our hearts and minds.

to an extent this can be said of me

Do you desire to be obedient? Is it your hearts desire?

Desire... hmm dont like that word.. i would say its more an out of reach aspiration for me...

Do you know if you are saved?

Havent a clue

When you really believe and are saved you will find there is a REAL God who interacts with you, speaks to your heart, convicts you of sin, leads you in His path. Makes you feel warm inside when you draw near to Him and focus on His presence. You will feel the Spirit inside of you! If you have not had that experience then you probably don't really know Him.

But... if he doesnt exist i never will feel it... i know people who trick themselves into thinking goosepimples (cos the church is freezing) is gods spirit moving in them

[>> Hannah <<]

an atheist told me one time, "never trust a christian; they believe in forgiveness."

Very interesting... and i can see where they are coming from

[thechild]

an atheist told me one time, "never trust a christian; they believe in forgiveness."

Very interesting... and i can see where they are coming from

and yet, one who is truly commited to the lord would take no oaths in the first place. and if they swore to do a thing, even if it does them harm, they would still do it. their yes would always be yes and their no would always be no. they would be faithful, trustworthy, dependable, kind, obedient, helpful, and the rest of the boy scout motto. i personally do my best to leave others that i encounter in better shape for having had the experience. there is nothing i seek from them and i dont want it costing them a thing except of their own free will.

for me, my mind changed when i realized i did not like the way the world treated people and i decided not to be that way myself. if i want to live in a world where everyone can be trusted, then i must trust everyone. if i want to live in a world where everyone is loved, i must love everyone. if i want to live in a world where people are forgiving then i must forgive. these are all things that the bible says to do. and it says not to expect anything in return. and it says that i will be abused because of it. and it says that i am to be sharp of mind and know these things are happening and still do nothing about them, not even go to court. and it says my reward is not in this world, but that my treasures will be in the kingdom of god where it wont rust, or rot, and people wont try to steal it, or cheat me out of it, or lie to me, or be jealous of what i have, or...

[His Ambassador]

how do u know if youve truly repented and that god has forgiven you?

if god knows your not really sorry... will he still forgive you....

surely if we were truly sorry we wouldnt do it again...

why is it that we can keep promises to mere human beings but strugggle to keep promises to god....

You are confusing "repentance" with "remorse". Repent means "turn around and go the other way" (in other words turn from your sinful life and follow God). Remorse is feeling regret or sorrow for something you have done. We know God has forgicen us because the Bible say when we repent (turn around) our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus.

[His Ambassador]

Stil my question is not being answered........!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if god knows your not really sorry... will he still forgive you....????

When Jesus suffered died on the cross He paid the penalty for our sins past, present and future. This does not mean we can deliberately sin continually and expect God to ignore it. But we don't need to worry about every sin as we struggle to grow spiritually. God knows us better than we know ourselves and He knows our hearts. Again, don't confuse "repentance" with "remorse".

[Pilgrim7]

Why all the speculation? The scriptures have the answer. See 2Cor 7:10,11 which I quoted in an earlier post.

Godly sorrow or remorse is what leads to repentance or the turning from sin to God. Godly sorrow for sin. Without this there is only intellectual assent, hollow theory, not God inspired repentance. It lacks the power of God and the hatred for sin.

As has been said repentance is a change of mind, a change from the sinful mind of self to the sinless mind of Christ because the carnal mind is the enemy of God. The problem with the carnal mind is it's love of sin. The mind of Christ hates sin and loves righteousness. Without this mind in us, there is no salvation.

1Cor 2:16

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Phil 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

This is what makes the believer a 'new creation'.

2Cor 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

God bless,

Dennis

[thechild]

Why all the speculation? The scriptures have the answer. See 2Cor 7:10,11 which I quoted in an earlier post.

Godly sorrow or remorse is what leads to repentance or the turning from sin to God. Godly sorrow for sin. Without this there is only intellectual assent, hollow theory, not God inspired repentance. It lacks the power of God and the hatred for sin.

As has been said repentance is a change of mind, a change from the sinful mind of self to the sinless mind of Christ because the carnal mind is the enemy of God. The problem with the carnal mind is it's love of sin. The mind of Christ hates sin and loves righteousness. Without this mind in us, there is no salvation.

1Cor 2:16

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Phil 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

This is what makes the believer a 'new creation'.

2Cor 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

God bless,

Dennis

i think the speculation is that people think they have to feel something in order for it to be real. feelings are a function of the flesh. they are generated in the hypothalamus of the brain. did abraham consider how he felt when he prepared to sacrifice his only son? no, by faith he believed god and did not let the natural instincts, the strongest most primal instincts in a man, govern his actions.

we are told to count the cost. a relationship with god should not be taken lightly. it should be entered into soberly and with some idea of what a person is getting into. feelings come and go. just one more way the marriage is a type of being in christ. it is a commitment, not a fling.

[redeemed098]

God will forgive a man of his sins regardless if he confesses them and renounces them.....God does not forgive on the basis of OUR worthiness to receive, nor does he forgive according a mans perception of forgiveness.....God forgives on the grounds of what Christ has done for us on the cross.....and according to the truth of his word......Always remember that "Christ died for us WHILE we were sinners."

It is almost a hypothetical circumstance to suggest seeking forgiveness though youre not truly sorry or truly repentant. How can you claim to live in a true relationship with God if you dont even know whether you're sorry or not for your sins...? Conviction of sin is the work of the Holy Spirit. If youre NOT really sorry then theres no evidence that one even HAS the Holy Spirit. In my own life i struggle with sin and wonder how it is possible for God to forgive me, and to be honest, every time I fall I feel i am one step closer to the time where God will never forgive me again.. However i do not deny that it IS sin..I simply struggle with it.Why..?? Because I AM sorry..I guess my mistake is in trying or striving to believe that God accepts me just as I AM..A work in progress....Fortunately Gods forgiveness is not a measure of how worthy WE are to receive it.....It is a measure of how forgiving God IS....If we are to forgive OUR brother when he comes to us seventy times seven times in one day, how much more forgiving do you think that would make God......??

It is suggested in the bible that the one who must beware is the man who takes the glory of God and uses it as a license to be immoral.....I think if we are to speak of one who is NOT really sorry, but uses Gods forgiveness as a means to sin again, we are speaking of a man who is not so much "struggling " with sin as he is "glorying" in it..........

To suggest that there is one man MORE worthy of Gods forgiveness than another would make God a respecter of persons....He is no repecter of persons. What he offers to ONE he offers to ALL who will believe. He is faithful and True to his word....That is why, "he leads us along paths of righteousness for HIS names sake.

Psalm 23......It is HIS name on the Line...Not ours...After all, he is always faithful..Even when we are faithless, HE remains faithful to his word. He cannot deny himself...He is God.

Regards,

Ben.

Edited June 2, 2006 by redeemed098

[Pilgrim7]

Redeemed,

Could you please clarify what you wrote:

I quote:

'God will forgive a man of his sins regardless if he confesses them and renounces them.....'

Are you talking about all men, or 'believers? If God forgives all men, then all are saved and we have no work to do.

No God does not forgive because we are worthy, but because we are repentant. Repentance does not make one worthy, but opens up the heart for the work of the Holy Spirit. We confess our sins to God to open up communication with Him. God implants true repentance for sin when we ask Him. We decide to turn from sin and God leads us to repentance. Thus confession of sin is the beginning of a communion with God that leads to repentance and thus forgiveness. Now the soil of the heart has been prepared for the the Holy Spirit of God to dwell in the 'repentant believer' and shed the love of God abroad in the heart. Thus a 'new creation' is begotten by the power of God.

God Bless,

Dennis