The Lost Message of Repentance
Matthew 9:13 For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, TO REPENTANCE.
Most Christians have heard of the above verse from Matthew but they typically only hear it taught or remember the verse through the word “sinners”. They understand that Jesus came for us sinners, but they don’t truly grasp that He came to call us sinners TO REPENTANCE. The verse takes on a whole different meaning when the repentance part is included and understood. The bible is perfectly clear that Jesus did not come to give sinners a free pass to heaven. But this is exactly what is being taught by most churches, especially all the large popular ones. Not understanding what repentance really is and our clear call to exercise it, is leading the majority of Christians down the broad path which leads to destruction. Jesus said that only those that followed the NARROW path and enter through the SMALL gate will enter heaven. He went on to say in Matthew 7 that the majority of professing Christians will not enter the kingdom. If repentance is not understood or practiced actively in a Christian’s physical life, there is a very good chance they are not going to enter heaven.
Many key provisions of God’s instructions like righteousness and grace are taught by pastors and as I blog about constantly, are largely taught in error to excuse sin. But repentance has a special place in the apostatizing of the church — it is simply not taught about at all. This is a grievous error and helps explain the general state of apostasy in the professing church and the worldly lifestyles that most Christians lead. Repentance is a critical truth that must be grasped for anyone to abide in the vine of Christ and be saved. The NON TEACHING on repentance is a byproduct of the fact that SIN (and its consequences) isn’t taught anymore in the vast majority of churches. If we are taught correctly that our sin indeed matters to our salvation, then repentance would certainly be taught.
My inspiration for this topic was a short booklet I just finished reading written by a very popular preacher from the Atlanta area. While the book has many positive attributes, it taught a big lie. The lie was that your sin doesn’t matter. The word “repentance” was nowhere to be found in this book. The book taught the widely popular message that almost all of the large growing churches of today teach and people living in the world love to hear. That message is God loves you, you can’t obey Jesus, your sin (or lack of obedience) doesn’t matter and all one needs to have eternal life is believe Jesus was the son of God. John 3:16 is not the whole counsel of God! The premise of the book that “Good people don’t go to heaven” was partially right, but rather than explaining the truth about righteousness, grace and repentance, the author simply said your sin doesn’t matter if you just believe Jesus was God and died on a cross. I don’t know what bible this man reads, but it is not the bible I read. As I have blogged about many times, we were warned about teachers such as this. Man are they slick, sound logical and on outer appearances appear to be fully congruent in what they teach. While well meaning, we have been warned that Satan uses instruments that appear holy and righteous to deceive the flock. We are told to test every spirit with the scriptures. This booklet flunks the test as inspiring as it may appear. While God works all things for His greater good, I wonder if this congregation is fully equipped to Follow Jesus, understands the cost and won’t fall away when God tests our faith.
Jesus and all the prophets and the Apostles all taught repentance:
Mark 6:12 So they went out and preached that people should repent
Acts 17:30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent
Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin
2 Kings 17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments. All the prophets had the same message, REPENT or TURN FROM EVIL. Jesus did not change this message but he provided something far more greater than a message. He provided the means to be successful at turning from evil. That is the true nugget of wisdom in the Good News.
Almost all the warnings about false teachers warn about doctrine that says your sin doesn’t matter after you believe in Jesus. The devil loves deceiving people about this and getting them to believe they shall not surely die by disobeying God. Woe to them. It is very unpopular to teach the truth about God, but instead false teachers yearn to please men instead of God and those living in sin and following the ways of the “world”, heap upon them preachers who teach them what their itching ears love to hear. Hosea said God’s people will be destroyed for lack of knowledge. Not having true knowledge about sin and repentance has and will continue to destroy many. Galatians 1:6-9 teaches that there is only one gospel, and if any gospel message leaves out the doctrine of repentance or faith or both, you can be assured it is a false gospel.
What is Repentance? I think most Christians would say the repentance means to confess your sin to God. While that is part of it, it is not the whole enchilada. The words “repent,” “repentance,” and “repented” are mentioned over 100 times in the Bible. There has been a lot of misunderstanding and confusion over what the word repentance means. Repent, taken in context of salvation means a a true change of heart and turning away from sin and towards pleasing God. Repentance is part of God’s provision of grace to us.
When we do repent, we are following the leadings of God’s spirit that is calling us/drawing us near to Him. So it isn’t our own initiative that begins repentance but we must indeed follow through and choose life over death to allow this reconciliation to God to take place.
2 Tim 2:24-25 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
Acts 5:31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.
Thank God for His grace and the call of Jesus in our lives to repent, without which nobody would be saved.
Jesus is coming for a pure and spotless bride. He is not coming for a bride that loves sin and practices lawlessness. The scriptures are absolutely chock full of passages that consistently state this in clear terms. If our sins are not blotted out, they are remembered and we will not be spotless and will not enter the kingdom of God. To sincerely repent, we must not only avoid our sin, we must HATE SIN. Being a new creation in Christ is evidence we have made the turn, we no longer pursue the lusts of the flesh but instead pursue the fruit of the spirit. When our old man is dead, we have been crucified with Christ and practicing righteousness becomes easy. We are told that by the Apostle John, that if we love the Lord, we will obey His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome. They are indeed burdensome when we are walking in the flesh but that burden becomes light and the yoke becomes easy as Jesus told us, WHEN we are truly abiding in Him. This is what grace enables, our salvation, by giving us the power to defeat sin in our lives. Repentance from Sin is the beginning of our transformation. When Jesus first started his earthly ministry, he picked up where John the Baptist left off, preaching REPENTANCE.
Mark 1:14-15 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.”
Repentance is required for sins to be forgiven. It is not simply enough to believe Jesus is God or to proclaim the obvious (that God already knows) that he is your Savior and your Lord. Without true repentance, one will remain dead in their sins and they will perish. Consider what Jesus said about the topic.
Luke 13:3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. The context of this verse was Jesus having just been told about some Galilians who Pilate had killed. Jesus then asked the crowd if they thought those killed were worse sinners than the other Galilians that were not killed. He then answered his own question and provided a key repeated theme of the gospel that we must never misunderstand — unless we repent we perish. We perish because without repentance, there is NO forgiveness of sin. Not ONE unrepented sin will enter in heaven. Jesus is coming for a PURE and SPOTLESS bride, not a bride that simply believes He is Lord and Savior.
Luke 24:46-47 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Jesus told this to the disciples after his resurrection and right before he was to ascend back to heaven. Repentance for the forgiveness of sins WILL be preached to all nations. Is it still being preached? When I have heard about it preached at all, it has been in the context of a ONE TIME, as the lead in to saying the ONE TIME sinners prayer. The little prayer some pastors use, in some cases has the congregant say “I repent of my sins”. This is good but the context of what Jesus was speaking about is much broader. Repentance part of God’s provision of grace. We must use this tool each and every time we sin going forward in our walk with Jesus. If we do not, our sins ARE NOT FORGIVEN and we run the risk of perishing if the Lord returns or requires our soul early.
Luke 15:7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. I love this verse and there is some powerful meaning in the verse as well. First I want to point out that some people need no repentance. Who are these people? These are people who have been purified and who have stopped sinning by walking fully in the Spirit. Going forward, repentance is only needed when we sin. While most of us do continue to sin, this verse points to the aim of perfection which is attainable via the grace of God. In fact that is the will of God, that we be sanctified meaning pure and spotless. 1 Thess 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification.
Secondly Jesus said there will be great joy in heaven over a single sinner who repents. If one repents, he turns from his sin and defeats it. That is why Jesus came to defeat the works of the devil, which is sin. 1 John 3:8-9 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Much more can be written about repentance but I wanted to get the main points on my blog. Those points are as follows:
1. Repentance is required for us to be cleansed and purified in God’s eyes — have our sins forgiven.
2. Repentance begins the process to transform us into the image of Christ and make us pure and spotless
3. Repentance is initiated by God but we must in our hearts make the choice to live for Him and repent. If we choose to remain in our sins, we shall die.
4. Confessing ones sin but continuing to live in those sins is not true repentance. This is playing religion, honoring God with our lips and not our hearts. True repentance leads to change.
5. Repentance is both turning away from sin, but also turning towards God.
I myself have struggled mightily with some sin behaviors. Some I have conquered with the grace of God, others I am still working out with fear and trembling. But the Lord has made it clear to me that unless I come to him and own up to my weakness and cry out to Him in mourning that I truly hate this sin and love Him, He is not going to burn it out of me. We must hate our sin as God hates our sin. Until we reach that point, we will not repent. I pray that all of us will examine ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to show us where we have unrepented sin. This is the godly sorrow Paul spoke about.
2 Cor 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death
Consider some examples of what was said about hating and mourning over our sins.
Psalm 38:18 For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin
Joel 2:12 Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “ Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
James 4:8-9 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Until and unless we go through this kind of a process to hate sin and weep over it, we have not repented. It is much more than confession. We have to hate SIN as God hates SIN.
We have much to look forward to on the other side of true repentance. Following the false teachings of men will keep us in bondage to sin and to Satan. Many of our brothers and sisters are under a delusion that their sin does not matter to their salvation and that the whole gospel is John 3:16 or Ephesians 2:8-9. We must instruct them gently and pray as Paul told Timothy that God will grant them repentance. To not repent is to perish and that is not God’s will or desire for anyone.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance
If the false teachers of today are not challenged and continue to tell people their sins do not matter and do not teach true repentance, souls will perish. Jesus will tell these people Depart From Me I Never Knew You on the last day. We cannot compromise the truth and call it Love, fellowhip, unity or whatever. People that are living in sin need to know the truth and the consequences of believing a lie.
May God Bless You Richly!
Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
“I am not preaching a works salvation at all, because it is only by the Grace of God that you can be called by the Father, given a new heart, forgiven of your past sins and provided the power to defeat sin in our human bodies. Besides, works speaks to following rituals, ceremonies and the like from the Mosaic law, along with new ones men have created since such as “you must go to church to be saved”. Satan has done a very good job indeed in deceiving many into believing that obeying God is not required to have eternal life. James said in James 2:24 A man is justified BY WORKS and not by faith alone.. Works alone doesnt cut it, but neither does faith alone”.
Great work.
Salvation is not of works of the law (agreed), but is of a working faith.
The truth has been suppress forever, so anyone who thirst after righteous living is scorn by family and friends and so call your church brothers and sisters. I have been there,,,,(called all sorts of names….
“Repentance is a requirement for salvation because it is the only way we can be cleansed of our future sins. Repentance is a true turning away from sin”.
I usually say without repentance No forgiveness…..therefore no salvation. Why some say repentance is not a mandate is beyond me. When that is the standard God have set forth by which we can approach him.
“ I do not believe we all must become sinless so long as we do repent with sincerity when we do sin. But Paul and the others tell us to aim for perfection”.
What do you say a sincere heart is…..if not a cleansed heart?
Ben, I agree in our need to be sinless and pure. My whole blog in essence preaches against the heresy that we can keep on sinning and enter eternal life. That is the lie that the Holy Spirit has awakened me to and the truth has transformed me, my behavior, my interests and the whole focus of my life. Here is a link to a post I wrote about Being Sinless last December. I took a lot of flak from friends and family once this truth got in my spirit.
http://truthinscripture.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/can-we-really-become-sinless/
We will not be allowed into heaven with even one unforgiven sin, not even one. In my post on righteousness, I speak to what the imputed righteousness of Christ is all about. It only covers our past sins, we must walk in total obedience going forward to keep our wedding garments from being spoiled. Jesus spoke about those that work inequity, or practice lawlessness as did John in his epistles. Jesus told the sinners He DID NOT KNOW THEM and to DEPART away. John made it very clear we cannot be Born Again and practice sin. Jesus and John both said if we practice sin, we are really children of the devil. Paul said only those lead by the spirit of God are the sons of God. I also believe as the Bible clearly states that some walk in full compliance with all the commands and ordinances of God even calling the parents of John the Baptist blameless. However, the Scriptures also tell us of the mercy of God and that He will forgive us if we confess our sin. I still sin on occassion but I immediately know I sinned because the Holy Spirit tells me instantly. I get on my knees every day and ask God for mercy, confessing my sin that came from weakness not a lack of trust in Him or love for Him. I am purified every time I do this and my garment remains spotless. I am working out my salvation with fear and trembling. I am suffering at times to cease from sinning. I am indeed aiming for perfection every day. I am trying to be Holy as my father in heaven is Holy. God knows my heart and He knows I love Him, Believe in Him and sincerely wish to be perfect. I am getting there, I am running this race until the end. If and when I stumble I go to the throne of mercy and grace. I am not using this throne as a license to sin. Believe me, when the same sin keeps on happening one must truly examine themselves to see if they are indeed in the true faith. It is dangerous to play around with sin, one could be called by God and not be ready, having unconfessed sin in their hearts.
I consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 regarding the judgment of the sheep and the goats. I am seeking to serve and make sure that I am there for people to help them, not to be saved but because I am saved and that is what God has called us to do. Love one Another. We are not saved by obeying commandments written into a book. We are saved by following Jesus, listening to the commandments He gives us every day by His Spirit. There is therefore no condemnation for those who are IN CHRIST. Being IN CHRIST means we are heeding the spirit and being lead by that Spirit. God is a living God, He speaks to us today if we are His sheep. Jesus’s words are spirit and they are life. We must heed them to walk with God and He told is Luke 9:62 that if we look back we are not fit for the kingdom.
You are correct in that very few will enter the narrow gate. Most Christians take pleasure in their sins and are under the God sent delusion Paul wrote about in 2 Thess. I do sin at times, but take no pleasure in it, I am convicted of it and I confess it and I am forgiven. There is a fine line that only God knows where practicing sin versus a stumble is defined. If there is no forgiveness whatsoever, then how many are going to make it? Not many at all, a lot less than very few. Paul spoke about running the race and overcoming. Our flesh never goes away, we crucify and we control it by following the HS. Most of us will stumble but if we get right back up and get right with God he forgives us. God hates sin and it is nothing to play around with but the love of God and his mercy will triumph over judgment. I am trusting in God to complete the good work He has started in me.
“But I don’t believe we MUST be absolutely perfect and without any sin to enter the kingdom.” (Pete Name me one sin that the Holy God Will wink at permitting anyone of us to enter into the Kingdom)
“You HAVE NOT LEARNED THIS FROM CHRIST. IF indeed you you have Heard Him and have been Taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus!” Eph4:20
“He redeemed us from every LAWLESS deed to PURIFY for Himself His own ‘special’ people zealous for good works!” Titus2:14
If Grace is NOT sufficient to destroy the Lust inside your heart and give you the Power over sin.(then am not sure what else can)
“The solid foundation of the God stands, having THIS SEAL, The Lord knows those who are His, and LET everyone who names the name of Christ DEPART FROM INIQUITY!”
“And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 Jn. 3:3).
“That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish”. Ephesians 5:27
“Let no man deceive you, Christ is coming back for a SPECIAL PEOPLE who have been washed in His blood that are void of offense, HOLY and without blemish” (According to scripture 1 Pet. 2:9 & Eph. 5:27 & Rev. 1:5).
I see salvation not as a one time event, but as a life time process. Paul used the metaphor of running a race several places in the scriptures. We must obviously begin/enter the race to be able to finish it, but just because we started the race doesn’t mean we will finish. Only those that finish the race enter the kingdom of heaven. We must stay on the narrow path to make it to the finish line, me must overcome, we must endure to the end. True repentance starts us running in the race, but we must then overcome the obstacles on the track and finish the race.
I have seen and experienced the transformation of the Holy Spirit in peoples lives. I have even known people I would believe were without any sin in their hearts. But I don’t believe we MUST be absolutely perfect and without any sin to enter the kingdom. We must be without any UNFORGIVEN sin to enter. The wages of any unforgiven sin is death. God will forgive us if we confess our sins to Him and if we forgive others their sins against us
As I have written throughout my blog, I am a believer in obedience and the true desire in our hearts. We deceive ourselves if we think we can practice sin and call ourselves Christians and be saved. Since nobody knows exactly where the line is that seperates practicing sin from a stumble with sin, we are instructed by the Apostles to avoid ALL sin, but also made aware of the Lord’s grace. I am a prodigal son that has come home from a life focused on wickedness. I want to encourage all who have sinned to come back home to your Father
1)”Salvation is not the end of sin necessarily”. Salvation is the end of sin (He came to save us out of our sin not in our sins) I don’t believe we are saved in our sin,,, we are saved out of sin and not to continue in it.
2)”We must be sanctified by the HS”. Being sanctified is the process by which we grow more and more in Grace not sin less and less.
3)”Ultimately when we get our new resurrection bodies there will be no sin”. When all things become NEW, 2Cor13:5, you will take on a New attitude about sin. You will stop making excuses and Start ‘Hungering & Thirsting after Righteousness (The new bay in Christ) In the New birth u hunger after righteous living)!’ If anyone is lacks this desire for true heart purity and freedom from the bondage of sin, they HAVE NOT Received the Living Christ! Rom6:15-18.
The implanted WORD(Christ himself) that is able to save you soul. You cannot receive him in your sins…..we are commanded “to Lay aside all filthiness & overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted Word that is able to SAVE your souls”
4)”we can stop sinning in this fleshly body and that should be our aim.(If you are truly born again you will cease from sinning you see sin as a crime against God and your own soul,) should we continue to sin so Grace shall abound Paul said God Forbid we are not under the law but under Grace,,,,, in Grace sin stops again if you are walking in it to effect.
Do you NOT know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slave whom you obey, whether sin to death or obedience to righteousness. But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you OBEYED from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you become slaves to Righteousness!” Rom6:15-18. (if you went through Godly Sorrow of repentance then you are set free from sin so you can live a righteous life for God).
5)Warning:::::::Therefore consider the Goodness(giving you time to come to Repentance and providing his Grace for us so we can make it in the kingdom ) and Severity(Judgment awaits all does who walks in disobedient) of God: on those who fell severity, but toward you goodness, IF you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off!” Rom11:22(You can be cut off Pete)
6)”Thru our of love for Christ we seek to perfectly obey his commandments”.( Jesus said those that are his(sheep’s) hear his voice and follow his commandment,,,,,,, if you love me follow my commandment)
“We strive to enter the narrow gate. God gave us His Spirit and the work of the Spirit is called a SANCTIFYING WORK (1 peter 1:2, Thess 4:3). This isnt a magic bullet for most, it is a process of Christian maturity, but as we mature, we are guided to confess our sins when we stumble”.
7)(Again Sanctification is not sinning less less….is living more more righteously as a new baby in Christ).
“Wickedness turns to weakness which then goes away when we strive, deny ourselves, suffer in the flesh etc”.
(we are told to crucify the old man(not to reform it) its passion and desire that is your responsibility to do). If we fail to heed the Spirit of Truth and follow other spirits, we can get off the road to life that leads to the narrow gate. The only 100% assurance that sin stops is when we are in our new bodies but we had better be aiming for perfection and have the desire to obey all of the Lord’s commandments.
(True Christ follower will hears the voice of the lord and follow him… there is no such thing as disobedient Christians) The mercy of God gives us forgiveness when we confess our sins,
(confession is not repentance) but we better not be practicing sin as grace is not a license to sin.(right) Is his power for us to live righteously, holy and a perfect(referring to the moral laws of God) in this present age,,,
If we walk away from our salvation and do not endure to the end and do not overcome the world, sin will be the reason why. God judges our hearts and where the line is that separates practicing sin and stumbling in a sin,
(there is no such thing as occasional sin,,,,if the holy spirit is in you and you are obeying the spirit the scripture says the evil one does not touch you and you will keep yourself (from sinning)Everything is base on your wiliness to obey him.(He will lead you into all truth,,, not error) I do not know, but God knows. We definitely don’t want him to say to us Depart from me, you who work inequity.(Nothing is secret all that we need to know to make it in the kingdom are lay bare for us in scripture). No one is without an excuse.
Do you believe we must be perfect or just strive to be perfect to overcome and reap eternal life? Yes… you must overcome all sins to reap eternal life.
“Turn away from evil! Do what is right! Then you will enjoy lasting security. For the Lord promotes justice, and never abandons his faithful followers. They are permanently secure, but the children of evil men are wiped out. The godly will possess the land and will dwell in it permanently. The godly speak wise words
and promote justice. The law of their God controls their thinking; their feet do not slip.” (Psalms 37:27 – 31)
Salvation is not the end of sin necessarily. We must be sanctified by the HS. Utlimately when we get our new resurrection bodies there will be no sin. I believe we can stop sinning in this fleshly body and that should be our aim. Thru our of love for Christ we seek to perfectly obey his commandments. We strive to enter the narrow gate. God gave us His Spirit and the work of the Spirit is called a SANCTIFYING WORK (1 peter 1:2, Thess 4:3). This isnt a magic bullet for most, it is a process of Christian maturity, but as we mature, we are guided to confess our sins when we stumble. Wickedness turns to weakness which then goes away when we strive, deny ourselves, suffer in the flesh etc. If we fail to heed the Spirit of Truth and follow other spirits, we can get off the road to life that leads to the narrow gate. The only 100% assurance that sin stops is when we are in our new bodies but we had better be aiming for perfection and have the desire to obey all of the Lord’s commandments. The mercy of God gives us forgiveness when we confess our sins, but we better not be practicing sin as grace is not a license to sin.
If we walk away from our salvation and do not endure to the end and do not overcome the world, sin will be the reason why. God judges our hearts and where the line is that seperates practicing sin and stumbling in a sin, I do not know, but God knows. We definitely don’t want him to say to us Depart from me, you who work inequity.
Do you believe we must be perfect or just strive to be perfect to overcome and reap eternal life?
Pete,
Is salvation the end of sin or not?
Ben, God does expect us to stop sinning. Until we repent we have no chance of stopping as the Spirit will not come. But even once the Spirit comes, we are told one of the Spirit’s role is to convict us of sin. So even God, while he demands holiness and obedience has thru his grace, provided a means to be sanctified (cleansed of all impurities over time). If it all happened at one magical moment, then the Spirit did not have to convict us of sin as there would be no future sin.
Repentance means a change of heart as much as it means a turning away from sin. I believe the difference is the desire that is in our heart. If we truly repent and our baptized we will receive the Spirit. Repenting means to turn away from our sin or another words to cease wanting to sin. God judges us by our heart, if we truly desire to obey him, we will strive to obey him. We cannot willingly seek to do sin and say we have the desire to please God. So after I repent, if I am truly born again (meaning I have the Spirit of God in me), I CANNOT practice sin otherwise I am liar about being Born Again. But once the Spirit comes to us, we have not yet been fully trained to follow the leadings of the Spirit and learn the ways of righteousness. Most all will stumble or need the power of the Holy Spirit working thru them to overcome inherent fleshly weakness. When we do stumble, we are immediately convicted by the Spirit and we need to confess to be forgiven of that sin. I believe man can become sinless on this side of the grave, it is indeed possible as God say it is. The Scriptures even tell us of many who walked keeping all the ordinances and commands of God. They sinned earlier in their life, but conquered sin thru the power of Grace. One does not keep gettting born again over and over.
I want to be perfect. I am aiming for perfection as all born again believers must be. If we are not aiming for perfection, we have not truly repented and turned towards God. Sin stops when we learn to put off our old man and follow the guidance from the Holy Spirit. When we have the desire in our heart to obey God and be perfect for Him we will suffer in the flesh and this is how we crucify our flesh and end up total transformed into the likeness of Christ. If we do stumble it does not mean they we are not saved or have His Spirit. Many of the great men of the bible, including Peter, David, Moses, even Paul sinned against God, but they confessed their sin and were forgiven. God wants us to stop sinning completely 100% but by his mercy he gives us a means to be cleansed anew. Someone that has truly repented will be confessing any subsequent sin and not harboring it in their heart and will take no pleasure in it. All who are born again, know when they sin and nobody born again practices sin unless they choose by their own free will to walk away totally from God. He does not cast us out or allow anyone to snatch us out of His hand, but we can walk away
I will give you an example from my own life. I used to use a lot of foul language. When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, which occurred after I truly in my heart repented and began to want to obey GOD perfectly; I immediately stopped speaking foul language. I did not even have to think about it, it just happened. But once in a blue moon, a foul word slipped out of my mouth. But before the words even leave my mouth, I am convicted and I confess that immediately and ask for forgiveness and the strength to overcome it totally. I sinned but I am not practicing sin. I showed weakness, not wickedness. The wicked don’t give a darn, they take pleasure in their sin and have no conviction or conciousness about it.
My stumbling and letting a “JC” or a “GD” come out does not condem me to hell nor does a stumble of too much wine either, because I know I screwed up when I screw up and I confess it to God and ask for him to give me strength to overcome my weakness.
We we repent we are forgiven for our PAST SINS only (romans 3:24-26 I think). If and when we sin in the future, those sins are not forgiven until they are confessed to God. But you see if we listen to the Spirit of Truth, there will be no unrepented sin, we will be convicted and the Spirit will guide us to confession to cover those new sins.
At the end of the day, if we keep on having issues with sin, we need to examine ourselves said Paul to make sure we are really in the faith. Most Christians practice sin, do not have the spirit and are not going to enter the kingdom. THey are not doing the will of the father in heaven. There is a line that only God knows in our hearts that seperates unrepented wickedness from momentary or periodic weakness. We can do all things thru Christ who strengthens us, inlcuding STOP SINNING.
1 Peter 4:1-2 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
We must suffer in the flesh after we are born again to stop sinning. Many are unwilling to deny themselves and suffer to stop. If we take pleasure in sin, we are not His and he will tell us depart from me you who work inequity.
Pete
On one hand you saying we come as we are (I suppose meaning in some kind of sin) and on the other we repent. (What is the purposes of God demanding repentance if not to stop sins done by men that are offensive to God.
“But repenting does not necessarily mean we instantly stop sinning”. Why will you turn from something if not to stop it.
If repentance does not necessarily mean stopping sin, then when does sin stop? If not in repentance. Can you receive forgiveness from God without stopping your sins.
“I liken repentance to turning from the inherent wickedness of our old man (How did this inheritance wickedness come about?) We may still have some weaknesses to be cleaned up and God will help us do that”.
So are you saying God is asking men to clean up as much as they can within their ability (will) and God will give them strength to clean up the rest…. (Many are passively waiting for God to get them to stop certain sins that they are in bondage to; they believe somehow God is going get them to stop at some point in their walk with the lord yet for yrs still in bondage to that sin. The fallacy in all of this is that God requires that We stop Our sins.
“If and when we later stumble, the Spirit instantly convicts and we confess our sin and are cleansed anew” (1 john).
I Will say confess and repent of that act and continue to walk in the spirit only then are you cleansed by the blood……We are not cleansed by the blood in our disobedient to the light……the IF’s in the word of God are Men’s responsibilities to do….If you are walking in the light then you are cleansed by the blood,,,,,from all unrighteousness. (Free will is always at work in our walk with him)
Ben, We must repent (turn from our sins) to receive the Holy Spirit. But repenting does not necessarily mean we instantly stop sinning. We are to come as we are, but we must repent first. I liken repentance to turning from the inherent wickedness of our old man. We may still have some weaknesses to be cleaned up and God will help us do that. He looks to our heart to determine if we have truly repented and sends His spirit when we have indeed. If and when we later stumble, the Spirit instantly convicts and we confess our sin and are cleansed anew (1 john). Without true repentance, nothing is changed, we are not transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and we will remain struggling with sin. If we truly repent, we get the Holy Spirit and we will be transformed and bring forth the fruit of repentance that Paul spoke of. I agree with you. Many Christians have never repented. They have been taught the lie that our sins do not matter, so why bother trying to stop or repent, we are saved by grace. Their grace is the license to sin that Jude spoke to and is a false gospel taking them straight to hell unless they get on the narrow road that leads to life.
Pete,
My question was before receiving the Holy Spirit…. is one required to stop all known sins?
Yes I agree in the flesh no one can have dominion over sin. God’s Grace (Power) if is received to effect should give one Power over sin and the world as long as He/She obey the spirit. With God’s Grace working in a person sin should not have dominion over those who believe(obey).
Many are struggling with sin because true repentance has no taking place in them……the old man is still alive. You are a slave to whom you obey!!!!(WE MUST REMEMBER THAT)
Here is what I believe Ben. My conquering of sin behaviors has come by trusting in God and His power to transform me. When I lean on my own flesh to conquer I have failed every single time. We have a role to play, we must obey and follow the voice and commandments of God. God never takes away our free will, we must choose life over death. We must sow to the Spirit and not to the flesh. The tempatation to sin will always be there and it is only once we crucify our flesh by obedience (Peter spoke of suffering 1 Peter 4:10) that we can stop the sin. James said to submit ourselves to God, resist the Devil and he will flee. We have to act, we have to choose life as guided by the Holy Spirit. But even though we must choose, without the grace of God (our desire and ability to obey), that includes the Spirit to guide us, we could not be successful. We cannot save ourselves. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. God Bless you Ben and thank you for your thoughtful questions.
You must repent of all sin to receive the impartation of the Spirit. Repent and Be Baptized Peter said and we shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians go thru a process to be sanctified and crucify their flesh. But we are told the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable so that if one subsequently backslides, the Holy Spirit is not taken away. The Spirit continues to convict of sin and guide us, but we must listen to the voice of the Spirit and follow Jesus. To be purified anew, we must repent of any backslidden condition and get back on the road that leads to the narrow gate of eternal life. Just because one has the Spirit of God in them does not guarantee their salvation, the must follow the Spirit and the guidance from God. If we rebell against God and reject the leadings of the HS, Jesus will tell us Depart from me, I never knew you, ye who work inequity. (mat 7:11-24)
you wrote.
“I myself have struggled mightily with some sin behaviors. Some I have conquered with the grace of God, others I am still working out with fear and trembling. But the Lord has made it clear to me that unless I come to him and own up to my weakness and cry out to Him in mourning that I truly hate this sin and love Him, He is not going to burn it out of me. We must hate our sin as God hates our sin. Until we reach that point, we will not repent. I pray that all of us will examine ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to show us where we have unrepented sin. This is the godly sorrow Paul spoke about”.
when you say some sins you have conquered with the grace Of God what do you mean?..Granted some sins are hard to overcome….are you saying you can not overcome without Gods intervention in someway??
Ben
you wrote in ur February 15, 2009 posting
“If we have unrepented SIN and we have the Holy Spirit, we will know what needs repenting”.
Can you have the holy spirit in you,,,,as a sinner?. Isn’t it true Only a repented person can have the indwelling, or infilling of the Holy spirit.
Alvin, This is a very good question and your answer provides wisdom in terms of what is sin to God. Thank you for your input. I like to instead change the subject away from sin per se and ask what did Jesus tell us we must do to enter His kingdom and eternal life? He never said don’t sin exactly, he said Obey My Commandments. Obeying the Son is the will of the Father and a requirement Jesus said to enter the kingdom of God. Mat 7 “Not everyone who calls me lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those that do the will of my father in heaven”
Jesus said in John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. He also chunked up the requirements to enter eternal life into two commandments 1) love the lord with ALL your heart, mind and soul and 2) love our neighbor as yourself.
In the great commission, Jesus told us to go make disciplies of all nations teaching them to obey ALL I have commanded (mat 28). So I am focused on obeying the commandments of the king of the kingdom we are seeking to enter. He is the King and He sets the rules. He said if you love me you will obey my commandments.
The Father told us what His will was. THis is my beloved Son, LISTEN to Him. So you cite good verses that define sin, rather than focusing on avoiding sin, we should instead focus on obeying the commandments of Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord or Lords. YOu heard the adage you get what you focus on? If we focus on sin, we may well be caught up in it.
We must know Jesus and He must know Us. Playing church and relegion as widely taught in most churches will not get us in. Jesus is the King, the Judge and He alone determines. He said in many places DEPART from me, you who call me Lord, I never knew you.
We will be judged by the very words of Jesus on the last day. Too many people are twisting and perverting the words of Paul and the Apostles to directly contradict the words spoken by Jesus that will be our Judge. (John 12:47-48). God Bless You
What is sin? someone should/might ask.
1 John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law
James 2:8-9
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
James 4:17
Therefore, to Him Who Knows to Do Good and Does Not Do It, to Him is Sin.
Romans 14:23
And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Also many others are indicators.
No, the spotless Bride is the standard Christ defined. There is no difference. Lukewarm Christians are spit out of his mouth. In His love, He gave us all we need to become spotless. His grace is suffucient for thee. His sheep hear His voice, they know him, they follow him. If we don’t obey Him we are not following him. If we don’t listen to him, we don’t know Him. If we are living in sin, we are not hearing his voice. Remember the parable of the Wise steward in Luke 12. He did not endure to the end, and he was cast into hell with the unbelievers Jesus told us and was given a worse punishment because he knew the truth. The wise steward walked with the light, then failed to endure to the end to be saved. His master came back and required his soul when he had unrepented SIN in his life. He was not spotless.
The spotless bride is a higher standard than just what Christ commands?
No. We need to repent of all SIN. If we have unrepented SIN and we have the Holy Spirit, we will know what needs repenting. If we aren’t sure we need to ask. God’s spirit will guide us in ALL truth and CONVICT us of our sin. I believe God grants us mercy in that if we truly repent yet still struggle to defeat a SIN, while we are fighting to stop that sin, we are covered for it in case he calls us home. But I believe not a single unrepented SIN comes into heaven. That is what a pure and spotless bride is. Spotless means spotless, not a single blemish or sin. Thankfully we have grace and its many provisions of forgiveness, repentance, imputed righteousness to enable us to become the pure and spotless bride.
Should people repent of anything less than what Christ commands?
Yes. The saved will include all of those who repented and were then made righteous in God’s eyes and then walked the narrow road with Him. If someone fell off the road and re-repented, they will be saved. We just must endure and perservere to the end. If anyone never did truly repent or repented but subsequently fell from grace, they will perish. The imputed righteousness those perishing got when they first repented (assuming they did) would not cover their future acts of disobedience.
Will the saved include both those with repentance (the 99) and the few sinless?
Anyone who plans or wishes to go to heaven will need to repent. We all must turn from our sins, seek God and follow Him and his commandments. So nobody can bypass repentance. Most of us are not sanctified instantly but instead it is a process of learning by the Holy Spirit and foresaking our sins via further repentance as we are convicted of our sins by the HS. The 99 other sheep spoken about in Luke 15, are saved souls who at one point went thru the process of repentance to become saved. Jesus was not diminishing the joy of their salvation by the statement about the one sheep that repented. I believe he was simply pointing out how critical true repentance is to be saved and once it happens, angels rejoice because the battle is won for that soul. As I have blogged about, I believe it is our call and aim and fully possible to be sinless on this side of the grave. Few achieve it but Jesus also said few would enter into his kingdom. I thank God for the Spirit that will instantly convict us of our sin and guide us to our need to repent to once again be made pure. To live with unrepented sin is gambling with your soul. Some are done with repentance (the other 99), that is those who have crossed over from death into life and have fully been transformed into the likeness of Christ.
Other than Christ, who is without sin that they will need to repent tomorrow?