Repentance And FaithBy Fred HandschumacherA root problem in the human race can be seen in Luke 9:57-62... "Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go. And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Then He said to another, Follow Me. But he said, Lord let ME FIRST go and bury my father. Jesus said to him, let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord I will follow You, but let ME FIRST go and bid them farewell who are at my house. But Jesus said to him, No one having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."Notice that the requests being made were not that unreasonable. The key words are "ME FIRST." Repentance begins by turning away from "ME FIRST" and the insistence "I WILL DO THINGS MY WAY." God says you can't earn salvation. Many say, "I will approach God my own way. I will live a good life and attend Church three times a week. God will see how good I am and accept me."Proverbs 14:12 says... "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."Just because Jesus died for the world's sin does not mean everyone in the world is automatically saved. Salvation is imparted to our lives when we receive the "new birth". The human condition of "sin" must be confronted and eliminated. Rejecting or failing to see a need for Jesus Christ to save you is the first initial "sin" that the unbeliever must confront. Recognizing that you need a saviour requires a death to human pride. The "sin" of rejecting Jesus Christ is forever settled the moment you accept God's solution by meeting the simple conditions of faith found in Romans 10:9-10. At the beginning of Romans chapter 10, the apostle Paul talks about the nation of Israel who sought to do things their way."...being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."Israel rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. They didn't like God's way of dealing with sin and sought to establish their own righteousness by earning it through keeping the Old Testament law (religious works). They refused to meet God's conditions. There are many today that profess Christianity who have decided to reject God's way and insist on doing things their way. This is a disastrous, but common path.Jesus speaks more about this subject in John 16:8-11... "And when He (the Holy Spirit) is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: OF SIN, BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE NOT ON ME; Of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; of Judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."Initially, THE ONLY "SIN" THE UNBELIEVER HAS TO REPENT OF IS REJECTING JESUS CHRIST. All other sin issues fall under the ministry of God's Holy Spirit after salvation is received--not before. Many teach that all sin must be confessed and repented of before you can be saved. This common belief and practice is the pathway to total frustration. Assurance of your salvation may not be gained because you can never be sure you confessed every sin you've committed during your entire life. The world is hell bound. To change this destination, they need to be born again by believing in God's solution--Jesus Christ--for man's sin problem.Repentance is an easy concept to understand once some of the misconceptions are eliminated. The word "repentance" as used in the new testament comes from the Greek word "metanoeo" (met-an-o-eh'-o) and means to reconsider or to think differently. Repentance means that you were walking in one direction and then decided to walk in another direction. It is a "change of mind" concerning the course of your life. In reference to salvation, it is changing your mind about rejecting Jesus--to the act of accepting or receiving Jesus into your life--as spoken of in I John 5:11-13... "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." (KJV)There are "prerequisites" required by the Gospel. The very first prerequisite for the unbeliever is that of repentance. In this case, God is asking the unbeliever to "change their mind" about the cross of Jesus Christ. Repentance and belief can be viewed as two sides of the same coin. If a person "repents" for the sin of unbelief, it means they made the choice to become a "believer" in Christ. A believer is the "opposite side of the coin" from an unbeliever. The changing of direction from unbelief to belief is an act of repentance. It is a simple concept. If it were hard, many of us would fail to meet its requirements. God wants everyone to receive Christ's salvation. But, God doesn't accept everyone--only those who enter through the doorway, which is Jesus Christ (John 10:7-9). For the unbeliever, repentance and belief go hand in hand. Contrary to some popular teaching, THE BIBLE DOES NOT REQUIRE AN UNBELIEVER TO CLEAN UP HIS OR HER LIFE BEFORE BELIEVING IN CHRIST. This "cleaning up" process can only occur after Jesus is received. Our separation from sin is part of the "sanctifying" work of the Holy Spirit--all of God's children receive the same treatment.Sin In The Christian's LifeAfter receiving Jesus into your life many things will change. This is especially true with how sin is dealt with. When a Christian sins they should confess it immediately to their Heavenly Father (God). No secrets are to be kept between you and your Father. In this process, the Christian never leaves the state of being a "believer". They are just as much a Christian after the sin is committed as before. Sin does not have the power to end a Christian's salvation. It can, however, "cloud" the Christian's relationship with God. Yet, this situation disappears when a Christian acknowledges the sin. As far as God is concerned the sin never happened and will never be held against you in the future. Through this act, the Father says that He is faithful and just to forgive the sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). It is a common misconception among some professing Christians that you can lose your salvation if you don't repent and confess your sin. This misconception has caused many people great distress. Living in unrepented sin can cause grief and conviction; but it does not have the power to nullify our salvation. If sin had the power to end our salvation then it could not be founded on grace (unmerited favor) as the Bible says it is. The Bible teaches "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the law but under grace." (Rom. 6:14) Sin can only affect and condemn those who are under the law--and a Christian is NOT under the law. This truth is covered in the article "Freedom From Sin's Oppression". What would be your response if your parents threw you out of the house and disowned you whenever you disobeyed? No loving parent would do such a thing, and your heavenly Father is no different. As a Christian, you are a son and daughter of God...a member of God's family (Ephesians 2:19). Charles Finney, a famous evangelist, once told an interesting story. At one of his meetings, a young girl approached him and was upset by some of the things he had taught. Finney had been discussing worldly dancing in his message and how Christians should not engage in it. The girl told Finney how much she enjoyed dancing and could not imagine giving it up yet she had a desire to accept Jesus Christ into her life. Finney told her to go and give her heart to Jesus and then to go and dance all she wanted. She came back some time later and told Finney that after believing on Jesus she somehow lost all desire for worldly dancing! While habits and desires don't always drop off this easily, the Bible is clear that God will change you. God does not save you and then leave you to change in your own strength. You change by His strength. It's a work of His HOLY Spirit on your life. If you invite Jesus into your life, He will make sure you are aware of the things that must change. He wants to change you... not leave you the way you are. This is part of the cost of being a Christian...you have given Jesus permission to change your life. You have given him permission to make you a member of God's family. His goal is to change you into His likeness. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2:11-14 KJV) |
