Wednesday, 15 April 2009
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Our Relationship with Christ Has to Include Repentance
Are you waiting on something to happen before getting "really serious" about following Christ? You may find this passage interesting. I don't recall having ever heard it in a sermon, possibly because it would take some 'splaining on doctrine:About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’
“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’” - Luke 13:1-9 (NLT)This passage makes me think of a couple of others. First, Jesus, speaking to a crowd of people:
A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. - Matthew 7:18-19 (NLT)Jesus speaking to the church at Laodicea:
“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!" - Revelation 3:15-16 (NLT)I'm not arguing that one can or can't lose his salvation. The point I'm trying to bring out here is that our relationship with Christ had better be marked by genuine repentance, and it should be making a visible difference in our lives (and by extension, in the lives of other people) -- our love for God should be producing good works.
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Comments (32)
@leadworshipper82 - I think that repentance is often a result of salvation too.
@Sosthenes - well right... a Christians life is one of repentance... Luther said that well... repentance is in truth a sign of mature humility knowing that a person is a sinner and is in full experience of his/her fallenness... it's just that it's also merging the idea of being Justified and Expiated... considering Jesus is where He not only justified us but is also our expiation... we are not only redeemed as saints but we are also clean... repentence is the cyclical sign of humility.... knowing our place and placing God where He should be, Sovereign...
@Sosthenes - "Repentance isn't a part of the gospel"
OK, I have to say something here. James points out that "faith without works is dead, being alone". Repentance is a part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is His Gospel. In fact, it's the second principle, right behind faith. In fact, it is an act of faith. If you have faith in Jesus Christ, then you would not dispute the fact that repentance is necessary, in fact, a DAILY necessity.
The Savior Himself said that belief is not enough. In fact, that doctrine has no origin until the 1960s (during the rise of the "Born Again" movement). A man may say "Lord, Lord" and still not enter the kingdom of heaven.
@J_Goldens_Shadow@xanga - Repentance is a part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is His Gospel.
Where is repentance in 1 Cor. 15?
1 Cor. 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
I'll even give you the link:
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Cr&c=15&v=1&t=KJV#top
Found it yet? You haven't. You want to tell me it is there? Keep searching.
You are arguing what I've already answered in different ways. I wish you would go back and re read what has been written.
OK, I have to say something here. James points out that "faith without works is dead, being alone".
And I have to point out he is talking about showing your faith before men (James 2:18). The Pharisees were great at works and your righteousness has to exceed the righteousnes of the Pharisees. Who could be more righteous than them? Who can be more righteous with works than someone with a greater means like Princess Diana? If you are going by works then the rich have an advantage and you will confuse dead works with salvation and a seed in the ground that has spiritual life with damnation.
Matthew 5:3 Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
In other words, "Oh how happy are the spiritually bankrupt: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". It is those who know they can't do anything that can trust Christ alone.
There is nothing righteous to base your salvation on apart from Jesus:
Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become **unprofitable**; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
You can have the greater means like Princess Diana but the Bible says there is none that doeth good and that she is unprofitable which is kind of hard for the world to understand.
@Sosthenes - It sounds like you believe in what is called "Cheap Grace". What do I mean by that? I mean that you assert that all you need to do is make a pulpit call, say "Lord, Lord" and have your seat locked up in heaven, in spite of anything you may or may not have to do, including repent. This refrain is not found anywhere in the Bible. Peter spoke very plainly when he shared the basic principles and ordinances of the Gospel on the day of Pentecost. Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism by immersion by one who has authority from God, reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying of hands by someone with that same authority, and enduring to the end. If that teaching offends you, I would ask what kind of person cheap grace invents and what kind of person the teaching I showed, that is someone working out their salvation with fear and trembling invents?
@J_Goldens_Shadow@xanga - Mormon, I don't believe in cheap grace and God's grace isn't cheap.
Repentance is a condition of salvation but not a cause. It is God's kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). God exalted Jesus as Leader and Savior to give repentance and forgiveness (Acts 5:31). The only way we repent is through the grace of God. Our repentance is a fruit of God's work in us. A man dead in sins and transgressions is powerless and has no ability to repent but by the grace of God.