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As a poster said in one of these threads...they were the key
in some stories in Luke 15...like in the story of the Prodigal son and others. Humility and Repentance...he said.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love humility, nothing wrong with remorse that I did something wrong
and say to myself, 'I won't do that again', thus, learning the lesson and moving on.
They are great things.
But, among the many stories and parables that Jesus told..I personally 'get' something different.
And, as a simple human being...someone I love...does not need humility or repentance
for me to love them or forgive them.
THIS is key:
If I am just 'me'....just think of the unconditional love God the Father has for us...
I say to you... your humility and repentance are great...but they are not 'the key'.... God's Love is...period.
At that is what I 'get' from Jesus' stories and parables...boundless love
with no logic or reason. ....open to it, realize it...that is what I 'get'.
Humility and repentance then are naturally present, taking a backseat...and become small
next to His Love....and opening to it like a child.
Entering through the narrow gate is the key. Few find it.
As a poster said in one of these threads...they were the key in some stories in Luke 15...like in the story of the Prodigal son and others. Humility and Repentance...he said.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love humility, nothing wrong with remorse that I did something wrong
and say to myself, 'I won't do that again', thus, learning the lesson and moving on.
They are great things.
But, among the many stories and parables that Jesus told..I personally 'get' something different.
And, as a simple human being...someone I love...does not need humility or repentance
for me to love them or forgive them.
THIS is key:
If I am just 'me'....just think of the unconditional love God the Father has for us... I say to you... your humility and repentance are great...but they are not 'the key'.... God's Love is...period.
At that is what I 'get' from Jesus' stories and parables...boundless love
with no logic or reason. ....open to it, realize it...that is what I 'get'.
Humility and repentance then are naturally present, taking a backseat...and become small
next to His Love....and opening to it like a child.
Before repentance and humility there must be: Faith.
We are Not born with faith, we acquire faith. We need to become aware of having a spiritual need to be met.
A need to be an H.H.H. person of being Honest, Humble, and Hungry ( for spiritual food as found in the Bible )
Faith without works is dead. A work of faith is repenting so as Not to perish (be destroyed) - 2nd Peter 3:9.
A work of faith is also being humble and meek, besides putting faith in God-like love as mentioned at 1st Cor. 13:4-6.
God's concept of "perfect" only means perfectly human, not a human trying to be God.
Well, Jesus said, "Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." This was not a suggestion; it was a commandment. No, none of us can achieve this goal during our mortal lives, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to be everything sons and daughters of God possibly can be. Life is all about growth, self-improvement. It's not about complacency. It's not about becoming perfect on our own, because that's impossible. It's about becoming "perfect in Christ," which means something else entirely.
The first thing that Jesus began to teach at the opening of His public ministry was repentance because the kingdom of God was at hand. He stressed repentance through out His ministry....
With regard to eternal salvation, believing in Christ and repentance are co-terminus. When you believe in Christ you have repented. And when you believe in Christ/repent your sins which were judged at the cross and forgiven in a judicial sense are forgiven in a relational sense.
Paul indicates that our sins were forgiven at the cross. This is true in a judicial sense.
But in a relational sense your pre-salvation sins are forgiven when you believe in Christ.
The believer's post salvation sins are forgiven when he simply acknowledges the sin as per 1 John 1:9.
Hi, Mike. Okay, I have to see if I'm understanding you correctly here. You seem to be saying that repentance is essential, but that it is only necessary for us to repent once, and that is when we accept Jesus Christ's sacrifice on our part. Obviously, when a person sincerely repents, he feels sufficient remorse for his past behavior that he vows never to repeat it. It would truly be wonderful if everyone who ever repented never committed the same sin again? But that's not how it is. No matter how sincere we all are in our resolve, we're all going to continue to do things throughout our life that we know are not pleasing to God. It sounds like you're saying that once a person is "saved," he just has to acknowledge future sins when they take place but do nothing more.
Let's take a man who has a rough start in life. He commits a few petty crimes, does drugs and can't hold a job. Then, at the age of twenty-two, he is "saved." He marries and appears to have straightened his life out. But at one point, he loses his job, starts drinking heavily, and eventually starts being abusive to his wife. One morning, he staggers into the kitchen to see his wife with a black eye and numerous cuts and bruises on her face. Is it enough for him to "simply acknowledge the sin," to say, in essence, "Wow! I really did a number on her. That was wrong. Oh, well... Lucky I'm saved."
I believe that continued repentance is necessary. We are not going to stop sinning at some moment in time, just because we have accepted Jesus Christ. Both the remorse and the commitment to do better in the future has to remain with us every day of our lives.
Hi, Mike. Okay, I have to see if I'm understanding you correctly here. You seem to be saying that repentance is essential, but that it is only necessary for us to repent once, and that is when we accept Jesus Christ's sacrifice on our part. Obviously, when a person sincerely repents, he feels sufficient remorse for his past behavior that he vows never to repeat it. It would truly be wonderful if everyone who ever repented never committed the same sin again? But that's not how it is. No matter how sincere we all are in our resolve, we're all going to continue to do things throughout our life that we know are not pleasing to God. It sounds like you're saying that once a person is "saved," he just has to acknowledge future sins when they take place but do nothing more.
Let's take a man who has a rough start in life. He commits a few petty crimes, does drugs and can't hold a job. Then, at the age of twenty-two, he is "saved." He marries and appears to have straightened his life out. But at one point, he loses his job, starts drinking heavily, and eventually starts being abusive to his wife. One morning, he staggers into the kitchen to see his wife with a black eye and numerous cuts and bruises on her face. Is it enough for him to "simply acknowledge the sin," to say, in essence, "Wow! I really did a number on her. That was wrong. Oh, well... Lucky I'm saved."
I believe that continued repentance is necessary. We are not going to stop sinning at some moment in time, just because we have accepted Jesus Christ. Both the remorse and the commitment to do better in the future has to remain with us every day of our lives.
Hi Katz. Actually, I was speaking only with regard to eternal salvation. In that regard, repentance is co-terminus with believing in Christ. Before hearing the gospel you didn't believe in Christ. Then you heard the gospel and believed in Christ. You repented. You changed your mind about Christ. You thought differently about Him. Sorrow may or may not have been involved when you believed/repented. I was five years old when I believed in Christ and there was no sorrow involved. Believing and repenting take place at the same time. And you only have to believe/repent once in order to be eternally saved. I realize that not everyone agrees with that.
In a non spiritual context, if I say to myself, ''I'm not going to go to the store today,'' but later I change my mind and do go to the store today, I have repented of my decision to not go to the store. I don't have to feel sorrow or regret about it.
I agree that in the Christian life you must repent as often as is necessary for the sake of your spiritual life and growth. But not in order to retain your eternal salvation. And I do not agree that you have to feel remorse every day of your life.
The writer of Hebrews talks about repenting from dead works (Hebrews 6:1). If you find yourself getting into a system of dead works and then have a change of mind about doing them, you have repented of those dead works. You don't have to feel sorry about having done dead works, just simply stop doing them. I'm not saying that all works are dead by the way. But the dead works of the believer will be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ as per 1 Cor. 3:15, while the believer's acceptable works will be rewarded.
Sin in the life of the believer is handled by simply acknowledging the sin(s) to God as per 1 John 1:9. When the believer cites his sin to God it is forgiven at that moment. You don't have to promise God that you won't commit that sin again, and you shouldn't promise because you probably are going to commit that same sin again. Simply name it to God and get back in fellowship with God and resume your spiritual growth. With spiritual growth you will probably grow out of some particular ''pet'' sin of yours. And perhaps develop a new pattern of sin. Every time you sin, apply the principle of 1 John 1:9. Name it and then forget it and move on. A person may or may not regret having done some particular sin, but having regret is not a requirement for being forgiven of it. Just name it by which you admit that you sinned, and God will forgive you.
Last edited by Michael Way; 07-11-2017 at 10:40 AM..
Hi Katz. Actually, I was speaking only with regard to eternal salvation. In that regard, repentance is co-terminus with believing in Christ. Before hearing the gospel you didn't believe in Christ. Then you heard the gospel and believed in Christ. You repented. You changed your mind about Christ. You thought differently about Him. Sorrow may or may not have been involved when you believed/repented. I was five years old when I believed in Christ and there was no sorrow involved. Believing and repenting take place at the same time. And you only have to believe/repent once in order to be eternally saved. I realize that not everyone agrees with that.
In a non spiritual context, if I say to myself, ''I'm not going to go to the store today,'' but later I change my mind and do go to the store today, I have repented of my decision to not go to the store. I don't have to feel sorrow or regret about it.
I agree that in the Christian life you must repent as often as is necessary for the sake of your spiritual life and growth. But not in order to retain your eternal salvation. And I do not agree that you have to feel remorse every day of your life.
The writer of Hebrews talks about repenting from dead works (Hebrews 6:1). If you find yourself getting into a system of dead works and then have a change of mind about doing them, you have repented of those dead works. You don't have to feel sorry about having done dead works, just simply stop doing them. I'm not saying that all works are dead by the way. But the dead works of the believer will be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ as per 1 Cor. 3:15, while the believer's acceptable works will be rewarded.
Sin in the life of the believer is handled by simply acknowledging the sin(s) to God as per 1 John 1:9. When the believer cites his sin to God it is forgiven at that moment. You don't have to promise God that you won't commit that sin again, and you shouldn't promise because you probably are going to commit that same sin again. Simply name it to God and get back in fellowship with God and resume your spiritual growth. With spiritual growth you will probably grow out of some particular ''pet'' sin of yours. And perhaps develop a new pattern of sin. Every time you sin, apply the principle of 1 John 1:9. Name it and then forget it and move on. A person may or may not regret having done some particular sin, but having regret is not a requirement for being forgiven of it. Just name it by which you admit that you sinned, and God will forgive you.
Just a side note here. The reason the works are dead, is because the Spirit is not empowering them. In type, this is why the blood was applied to the thumb (hands speak of works), the earlobe (what you hear you speak), and the feet (the walk). Good post, carry on. Peace
This has turned into a talk on repentance, sin, humility, faith, quotes, salvation,
what is needed or what you must have and so on...which is fine.
So as Simon Cowel says on America's Got Talent, 'Off ya go..." I've said what I wanted to..it's an open mick.
And it was good. Thanks MissH ... ((hugs))
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Peace
