Metanoia/Repentance
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You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matt 5:43-48
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Matt 12:30
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Matt 7:16
All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.
Psalm 119:160
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Luke 21:33
We do not know who is friend or foe until they declare their love and allegiance to
Jesus's words.
I am merely a servant of the King, commanded and loyal to His Spirit at work
within me. I cannot define the meaning of things that come from God, only His
Spirit witnessing in my soul can do this.
So when God says repent of sin, I say amen. Too easily people want to generate
traps, which are meaningless.
Matt 5:43-48
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Matt 12:30
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Matt 7:16
All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.
Psalm 119:160
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Luke 21:33
We do not know who is friend or foe until they declare their love and allegiance to
Jesus's words.
I am merely a servant of the King, commanded and loyal to His Spirit at work
within me. I cannot define the meaning of things that come from God, only His
Spirit witnessing in my soul can do this.
So when God says repent of sin, I say amen. Too easily people want to generate
traps, which are meaningless.
:8) theres no hope for those who only want to get revenge
for something like
Gnosticism and Hyper-Grace doctrine versus everyone
and theres no justice on that
and that
could put us all into a hate thread
and by the way
we are told not to bother anyone unless theres
something fishy goin on
we hope for all your kindly consideration
my brethrens brothers and sisters
:ty:
godbless us all always
for something like
Gnosticism and Hyper-Grace doctrine versus everyone
and theres no justice on that
and that
could put us all into a hate thread
and by the way
we are told not to bother anyone unless theres
something fishy goin on
we hope for all your kindly consideration
my brethrens brothers and sisters
:ty:
godbless us all always
you remind us of that joker :rofl: our brethrenthats why the letter P stands for peter and you jump from letter O
what does that means
by the way
as it is written
:read:
Juan: 7. 50.
Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
51. Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
. ... its up to all of you my brethrens my brothers and my sisters
for all your decisions will be our salvations
believe it or not
:ty:
godbless us all always
Last edited:
:haha: well O stands for OL OF US
BUT PETERS SAYS LOVE THY NEIGHBOR
AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT
FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS
AND ALSO FOR willy who talk with :smoke: before though
he never knew who he was
but still willy knew that were in battle against spiritual things
and against fleshly corruptible things
and we do it by means of the scriptures
and not by guns or whatever they may call it
thats all
:ty:
godbless us all always
BUT PETERS SAYS LOVE THY NEIGHBOR
AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT
FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS
AND ALSO FOR willy who talk with :smoke: before though
he never knew who he was
but still willy knew that were in battle against spiritual things
and against fleshly corruptible things
and we do it by means of the scriptures
and not by guns or whatever they may call it
thats all
:ty:
godbless us all always
Repentance
You could think of a word like repentance as a bad thing, something that condemns
that is defeat. But repentance means on thing, God has come to speak with you.
Only when the light shines do we see things as they actually are. Only when Christ
came, spoke, made friends, and humbled himself and died did we really know how much
we are loved.
So repentance is the Light of God coming to your heart to bring you life.
I used to look forward to the next lesson or issue that needed reproof or focus. I used
to measure the sense of where I was in comparison with the King and His work in my soul.
But now to even talk about standards, or justice, or righteousness, being right, being pure,
being holy is alien. It is like someone robbed the bank and no one noticed.
How many people in the public eye are they words they are a good person used.
Our leaders are often brought low, our heroes fighting for a dubious cause funded
by a pressure group. Our pastors are often over-loaded, over worked and under paid.
And now the very word about comparing God to ourselves and us coming up short is
being taken away. Once gone we can be God in this dark world, we can have command
authority to command exnihilo into existance. We can heal, whether we do or not does
not matter, it is the trying that does.
This is not the Holy Spirit bring praise to Christ, but the world creating a Christ who is
of this world.
You could think of a word like repentance as a bad thing, something that condemns
that is defeat. But repentance means on thing, God has come to speak with you.
Only when the light shines do we see things as they actually are. Only when Christ
came, spoke, made friends, and humbled himself and died did we really know how much
we are loved.
So repentance is the Light of God coming to your heart to bring you life.
I used to look forward to the next lesson or issue that needed reproof or focus. I used
to measure the sense of where I was in comparison with the King and His work in my soul.
But now to even talk about standards, or justice, or righteousness, being right, being pure,
being holy is alien. It is like someone robbed the bank and no one noticed.
How many people in the public eye are they words they are a good person used.
Our leaders are often brought low, our heroes fighting for a dubious cause funded
by a pressure group. Our pastors are often over-loaded, over worked and under paid.
And now the very word about comparing God to ourselves and us coming up short is
being taken away. Once gone we can be God in this dark world, we can have command
authority to command exnihilo into existance. We can heal, whether we do or not does
not matter, it is the trying that does.
This is not the Holy Spirit bring praise to Christ, but the world creating a Christ who is
of this world.
Well, this thread seems to be winding down. I read all the posts, and I think this thread was needed, and it was done correctly.
But before I continue, I want to remind you that I am not Arminian, I believe in eternal security. BUT, you really have to be saved first - in order for God to keep you!
I used to side with the hyper grace crowd, because I don't believe in legalism and still don't! I don't agree that people suddenly turn away from God and he lets them go!
But I do believe that repentance is necessary to be saved! It is one of the two things, along with believing that makes us Christian. Yes, God gives us that faith to believe - totally! But he also gives us the desire to repent and turn away from our sins, as many times as we need to! In other words, all the days of our lives!
In fact, I was just doing some research to start a thread like this. So, when this one dies, I will start another. Because I am deeply concerned with what I see to be a major and deadly flaw in the hyper grace movement. And that is not believing in the need for repentance, for confessing sins.
We simply do not grow in Christ, if we stick to some stock recitation about being in Christ and not assessing and evaluating the way God would have us to go.
I am confident I am saved. I know I walk with God. This week, on FB in a private group, I got attacked by the atheists in the group. It was total lies, and they truly were disturbed people. They all left, the group is recovering. I never once mentioned the name of Jesus, or told anyone else they needed him! (Although they certainly said I did)
But I got viciously attacked, in what another Christian member in the group called "persecution by evil." So I was not at fault. No confessing or repentance, right? Not! God pointed out many tiny personal flaws I haven't been working on. He showed me how important attitude is. He told me to repent of some things which I now think are major. Like pride and arrogance. I know that bothered these people, and maybe was partly underlying the blow up.
I also am obligated to forgive these people. Two I have easily forgiven, but the third one has been hard. She claimed to be a Christian, when I first met her. I supported and encouraged her. Then she decided to convert to Judaism because her fiancé wanted her to. She resisted, said Jesus was too important to lose. But she did!
Then she ran from him. The abuse of this doctor was too much. And she lost not only religion but civility and common sense. I know she was suffering, and plus she also had RA, a bad case like me. So I continued to try and encourage her, but she was the one who attacked me hardest. I never told her to come back to Christ, and she was obviously not saved in the early days when I first knew her. Her heart is black. She needs to repent. Will she? Only God knows.
So I am still confessing that sin, and appealing to God in prayer to melt the hardness in my heart towards her, even if I never talk to her or see her again.
I have learned a lot about me through this. I have been able to draw closer to God, as he has pushed me to examine my heart, motive and self and to repent from my part in what happened.
But for those who do not believe in repenting, they are not listening to God. They are not walking close to the small still voice, that shows them ways they can grow and change to be more like Christ. How tragic they have bought into the Joseph Prince lie, and they are stuck, thinking they are happy and loved, when in fact, God has turned away from them. (Not saying they are not saved - but will this mean they are just saved, as though the fire)
As for people like Grace777, mocking repentance, and claiming it is the same as changing from a market to a Farmer's market, woe betide you!
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." Gal. 6:7.
You have over stepped the bounds, along with Lauren for mocking God and comparing repentance to avocados, or dragon eggs. I rarely warn people, but I am in particular warning Grace777 for his leading so many people astray with his posts.
I am warning EG for saying that people are not allowed to post what the Bible says (Because that is what is happening) and never posting the Bible yourself. You are a parrot. God is not mocked.
I was taken in by this hyper grace heresy, because I did not understand it. And because I am not Arminian. But, when I realized it is not about replacing legalism with grace, but rather replacing true and godly repentance with "live the way you want, just keep a few mystical incantations going about God, and never listen to what the Holy Spirit says.
I rarely post against specific people, but this thread certainly deserves it. With its mocking of God and his standards, its demands for the thread to be closed because people don't agree with the content or theology, but don't even back it up with Bible verses, or worse, pulling both Bible verses and definitions out of context. I am not going to back down to popular opinion anymore.
"that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires." 2 Peter 3:2-3
But before I continue, I want to remind you that I am not Arminian, I believe in eternal security. BUT, you really have to be saved first - in order for God to keep you!
I used to side with the hyper grace crowd, because I don't believe in legalism and still don't! I don't agree that people suddenly turn away from God and he lets them go!
But I do believe that repentance is necessary to be saved! It is one of the two things, along with believing that makes us Christian. Yes, God gives us that faith to believe - totally! But he also gives us the desire to repent and turn away from our sins, as many times as we need to! In other words, all the days of our lives!
In fact, I was just doing some research to start a thread like this. So, when this one dies, I will start another. Because I am deeply concerned with what I see to be a major and deadly flaw in the hyper grace movement. And that is not believing in the need for repentance, for confessing sins.
We simply do not grow in Christ, if we stick to some stock recitation about being in Christ and not assessing and evaluating the way God would have us to go.
I am confident I am saved. I know I walk with God. This week, on FB in a private group, I got attacked by the atheists in the group. It was total lies, and they truly were disturbed people. They all left, the group is recovering. I never once mentioned the name of Jesus, or told anyone else they needed him! (Although they certainly said I did)
But I got viciously attacked, in what another Christian member in the group called "persecution by evil." So I was not at fault. No confessing or repentance, right? Not! God pointed out many tiny personal flaws I haven't been working on. He showed me how important attitude is. He told me to repent of some things which I now think are major. Like pride and arrogance. I know that bothered these people, and maybe was partly underlying the blow up.
I also am obligated to forgive these people. Two I have easily forgiven, but the third one has been hard. She claimed to be a Christian, when I first met her. I supported and encouraged her. Then she decided to convert to Judaism because her fiancé wanted her to. She resisted, said Jesus was too important to lose. But she did!
Then she ran from him. The abuse of this doctor was too much. And she lost not only religion but civility and common sense. I know she was suffering, and plus she also had RA, a bad case like me. So I continued to try and encourage her, but she was the one who attacked me hardest. I never told her to come back to Christ, and she was obviously not saved in the early days when I first knew her. Her heart is black. She needs to repent. Will she? Only God knows.
So I am still confessing that sin, and appealing to God in prayer to melt the hardness in my heart towards her, even if I never talk to her or see her again.
I have learned a lot about me through this. I have been able to draw closer to God, as he has pushed me to examine my heart, motive and self and to repent from my part in what happened.
But for those who do not believe in repenting, they are not listening to God. They are not walking close to the small still voice, that shows them ways they can grow and change to be more like Christ. How tragic they have bought into the Joseph Prince lie, and they are stuck, thinking they are happy and loved, when in fact, God has turned away from them. (Not saying they are not saved - but will this mean they are just saved, as though the fire)
As for people like Grace777, mocking repentance, and claiming it is the same as changing from a market to a Farmer's market, woe betide you!
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." Gal. 6:7.
You have over stepped the bounds, along with Lauren for mocking God and comparing repentance to avocados, or dragon eggs. I rarely warn people, but I am in particular warning Grace777 for his leading so many people astray with his posts.
I am warning EG for saying that people are not allowed to post what the Bible says (Because that is what is happening) and never posting the Bible yourself. You are a parrot. God is not mocked.
I was taken in by this hyper grace heresy, because I did not understand it. And because I am not Arminian. But, when I realized it is not about replacing legalism with grace, but rather replacing true and godly repentance with "live the way you want, just keep a few mystical incantations going about God, and never listen to what the Holy Spirit says.
I rarely post against specific people, but this thread certainly deserves it. With its mocking of God and his standards, its demands for the thread to be closed because people don't agree with the content or theology, but don't even back it up with Bible verses, or worse, pulling both Bible verses and definitions out of context. I am not going to back down to popular opinion anymore.
"that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires." 2 Peter 3:2-3
Ephesians 4:
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
2 Corinthians 7:
9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
Philippians 2:
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
John 7:17
Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
Matthew 7:24
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 18:
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.
3 And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
2 Corinthians 7:
9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
Philippians 2:
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
John 7:17
Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
Matthew 7:24
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 18:
2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.
3 And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
I haven't read the entire thread, but my thoughts on repentance is more towards turning to God.
As believers in Christ we desire to follow God's ways.
We see this because as soon as people get saved, their lives suddenly start changing.
Now, there is a process of "renewing our minds" to who we are in Christ.
I think this is a 2 part process.
1. We discover how good and kind He is, how better His ways are.
2. We discover that it's harder to sin than it is to love, because His love for us empowers us.
And love actually keeps the entire law, not just the things we shouldn't be doing, which many focus on. But also the things we should be doing, which many do NOT focus on.
Example: Jesus compared sheep and goats to who belong'd to Him. What was the difference? They loved each other. The sheep gave Him food, drink, water, visited Him in prison, etc. When did they do this? When they did it for the least of His.
In this example, Jesus gives us two images, one He is looking at our love for one another, this is how we show our love for Him and 2 the union between us and Him. We are in Him, and He in us.
Because this thread is about repentance, I am sharing both sides of the coin.
Avoiding sin doesn't always lead us to God or Love.
But turning towards God or Love always leads us to avoiding sin.
So the reason I do not focus heavily on don't sin is because I believe it gives half the picture and completely misses the mark.
And why do we love? Because we know His love for us. So anything that detracts from an understanding of His love misses the mark as well.
So while it might seem like I am "light on my focus of sin", I'm actually probably far heavier than most people, because I preach to love and to love sacrificially. Where others might be saying, don't sleep around, don't do drugs, etc. To me that's just where we start. And it happens AFTER we are saved. Because that's when we experience His love, His forgiveness, and our sin nature is crucified.
Of course we follow the Spirit of God, but when you experience His love and forgiveness truly, it's not an obligation as much as it is a joy.
Love you Angela! Love your heart!
C.
As believers in Christ we desire to follow God's ways.
We see this because as soon as people get saved, their lives suddenly start changing.
Now, there is a process of "renewing our minds" to who we are in Christ.
I think this is a 2 part process.
1. We discover how good and kind He is, how better His ways are.
2. We discover that it's harder to sin than it is to love, because His love for us empowers us.
And love actually keeps the entire law, not just the things we shouldn't be doing, which many focus on. But also the things we should be doing, which many do NOT focus on.
Example: Jesus compared sheep and goats to who belong'd to Him. What was the difference? They loved each other. The sheep gave Him food, drink, water, visited Him in prison, etc. When did they do this? When they did it for the least of His.
In this example, Jesus gives us two images, one He is looking at our love for one another, this is how we show our love for Him and 2 the union between us and Him. We are in Him, and He in us.
Because this thread is about repentance, I am sharing both sides of the coin.
Avoiding sin doesn't always lead us to God or Love.
But turning towards God or Love always leads us to avoiding sin.
So the reason I do not focus heavily on don't sin is because I believe it gives half the picture and completely misses the mark.
And why do we love? Because we know His love for us. So anything that detracts from an understanding of His love misses the mark as well.
So while it might seem like I am "light on my focus of sin", I'm actually probably far heavier than most people, because I preach to love and to love sacrificially. Where others might be saying, don't sleep around, don't do drugs, etc. To me that's just where we start. And it happens AFTER we are saved. Because that's when we experience His love, His forgiveness, and our sin nature is crucified.
Of course we follow the Spirit of God, but when you experience His love and forgiveness truly, it's not an obligation as much as it is a joy.
Love you Angela! Love your heart!
C.
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Angela.....what you said here is simply not true . And I am not "mocking repentance"...that is complete foolishness. I am simply using it the way the actual word means - not the way our religious upbringing has said about the word. If that offends your religious beliefs - then you will just have to be offended.
I am happy to leave what I have posted before God and I praise Him for the opportunity to speak about His wondrous grace and love for us. I will continue to post about Christ and what He has already done for us no matter who maligns me. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
Here is your quote below that is simply not true. It is a "twist" of what is really being said. It is incomplete in many ways.
Quote:
And that is not believing in the need for repentance, for confessing sins
Unquote:
Here is what people have posted and you too have seen this many times and yet why you do not believe what is really said here - is beyond me.
You are free to malign people that believe differently then you do all you want - but at least speak what the truth is about what is really being said and represent it accurately. Thank you.
Here is the truth which is what we are saying:
Hyper-Grace Preachers Don’t Believe in Repentance
Not only do we believe in repentance, but we seek to understand and teach it thoroughly and accurately. In the New Testament, “to repent” is a translation of the Greek verb “metanoeo” meaning “to change one’s mind or perspective.”
Obviously, when we receive Christ, we have repented in the genuine sense of the term – changing our minds about our need of a Savior and receiving Christ.
Before Christ, we lived as self-sufficiently as possible, thinking that God would probably grade on a curve and accept us at least partly on the basis of our own best efforts and self-generated goodness.
When we came to understand our spiritual bankruptcy and our desperate need for Christ’s forgiveness and new life, we repented (had a change of perspective) and received Christ by trusting in Him alone to rescue us.
Beyond this initial experience of “getting saved” (as we often call it), repentance is a daily lifestyle in which an ongoing “renewal of the mind” process is taking place within us.
As we grow in faith and in our understanding of God through His Word and our union with His Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), we begin to replace old thinking with new thinking and false thinking with true thinking. This renewal of the mind (Rom. 12:1-3) is an integral part of the transformative process of the Spirit’s work in our lives. This is the essence of a lifestyle of repentance – taking false thoughts captive, making them obedient to (in conformity with) Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).
Paul affirmed in no uncertain terms that God’s kindness (His expressed grace toward us) is what leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Far from being anti-repentance, hyper-grace theology affirms repentance and the ongoing renewal of the mind as an integral part of what it means to follow Jesus under His New Covenant.
Hyper-Grace Preachers Are Against Confession of Sin
This is one of the most common misrepresentations of hyper-grace theology. The Biblical term “to confess” simply means “to speak the same thing as” or “to agree with.”
We teach that confession is important because we should yield our minds to agreement with God about everything He reveals – including, but not limited to, sin.
What we often also teach (and this is where the rub is with some people) is that confession is not about triggering any transaction between us and God that would issue forth more forgiveness, as though God were dispensing forgiveness in various doses based upon our confessions.
Forgiveness of sin is something that was provided objectively ONE time by ONE act of grace through ONE Savior who shed His blood on the cross for us 2000 years ago. As the book of Hebrews repeatedly emphasizes, He is the “once for all” sacrifice for sin.
Confession of sin then, is about humility and walking in agreement with God – not about getting more forgiveness from Him. Some will suggest that God’s forgiveness is dispensed using a “two-tiered” approach.
On one level, they say, God has forgiven our sins judicially and objectively through the cross. On the second tier, however, we need to confess our sins in order to receive “relational” or“experiential” forgiveness in order to maintain close fellowship with God.
This two-tiered approach is nowhere taught in the New Testament, and has only been popularized because of two basic levels of rationale.
The first is based upon a misinterpretation of two passages in the New Testament, both of which have been clearly explained in books and sermons by a host of solid gospel teachers.
These two passages are Matthew 6:12 (where Jesus appears to be commanding His followers to ask for God’s forgiveness) and 1 John 1:9 (which seems to link forgiveness to confession of sin).
I encourage you to investigate these writings for yourself in order to understand the context in which these passages were intended to be understood.
The bottom-line is this. We hyper-grace preachers DO value confession of sin. We also practice confession of sin in our own lives. However, we understand confession to be about agreeing with God concerning the foolishness of our sin rather than begging for forgiveness based upon a humanly-invented two-tiered approach to somehow "maintaining close fellowship" with Him.
Our fellowship with God was purchased unconditionally and irreversibly by Jesus at the cross. Once we receive that fellowship by simple faith in Christ, it is our eternal possession regardless of our recent performance or track-record. As I’ve written in my book, The Gospel Uncut:
"The way I now approach confession is to simply agree with God about the foolishness of my sin. I admit to Him that my sin hurts me as well as others and that it fails to bring glory to His Name. Often I am sorrowful over the foolishness of my actions. The Apostle Paul wrote that there is a “godly sorrow that brings repentance” (2 Cor. 10:7). When I know I have sinned, I humbly admit that my sinful behavior is out of step with my new nature and identity in Him, and I ask Him to help me rest in His completed work. Now here comes the best part! After agreeing with God about my sin, I begin thanking Him for the fact that this sinful act was already forgiven at the cross.
Understanding these realities has literally transformed my practice of confession, changing the experience from a guilt-ridden begging session into a dynamic, worshipful encounter in which my conscious mind (and behavior) is realigned with the grace and truth of Jesus.
So yes! By all means confess your sin to God! Agree with Him about sin and everything else He has revealed. But don’t think of confession as a means of obtaining something that Jesus Christ died “once for all” to secure for you.
Remember that confession is about humility and the ongoing renewal of the mind process – and never about getting something from God that is already yours in abundance through the finished work of Christ.
If you are a believer in Christ, you are NEVER out of fellowship with God. Fellowship is an identity issue, meaning that you now share "all things in common" with God as a joint-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17)!
This never has been and never will be based upon your behavioral performance and is not something that you must confess sin in order to have reinstated! Because of Christ, you are always clean and God is always close!
Why I am Hyper-Grace: Answering Five Common Objections
I am happy to leave what I have posted before God and I praise Him for the opportunity to speak about His wondrous grace and love for us. I will continue to post about Christ and what He has already done for us no matter who maligns me. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
Here is your quote below that is simply not true. It is a "twist" of what is really being said. It is incomplete in many ways.
Quote:
And that is not believing in the need for repentance, for confessing sins
Unquote:
Here is what people have posted and you too have seen this many times and yet why you do not believe what is really said here - is beyond me.
You are free to malign people that believe differently then you do all you want - but at least speak what the truth is about what is really being said and represent it accurately. Thank you.
Here is the truth which is what we are saying:
Hyper-Grace Preachers Don’t Believe in Repentance
Not only do we believe in repentance, but we seek to understand and teach it thoroughly and accurately. In the New Testament, “to repent” is a translation of the Greek verb “metanoeo” meaning “to change one’s mind or perspective.”
Obviously, when we receive Christ, we have repented in the genuine sense of the term – changing our minds about our need of a Savior and receiving Christ.
Before Christ, we lived as self-sufficiently as possible, thinking that God would probably grade on a curve and accept us at least partly on the basis of our own best efforts and self-generated goodness.
When we came to understand our spiritual bankruptcy and our desperate need for Christ’s forgiveness and new life, we repented (had a change of perspective) and received Christ by trusting in Him alone to rescue us.
Beyond this initial experience of “getting saved” (as we often call it), repentance is a daily lifestyle in which an ongoing “renewal of the mind” process is taking place within us.
As we grow in faith and in our understanding of God through His Word and our union with His Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), we begin to replace old thinking with new thinking and false thinking with true thinking. This renewal of the mind (Rom. 12:1-3) is an integral part of the transformative process of the Spirit’s work in our lives. This is the essence of a lifestyle of repentance – taking false thoughts captive, making them obedient to (in conformity with) Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).
Paul affirmed in no uncertain terms that God’s kindness (His expressed grace toward us) is what leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Far from being anti-repentance, hyper-grace theology affirms repentance and the ongoing renewal of the mind as an integral part of what it means to follow Jesus under His New Covenant.
Hyper-Grace Preachers Are Against Confession of Sin
This is one of the most common misrepresentations of hyper-grace theology. The Biblical term “to confess” simply means “to speak the same thing as” or “to agree with.”
We teach that confession is important because we should yield our minds to agreement with God about everything He reveals – including, but not limited to, sin.
What we often also teach (and this is where the rub is with some people) is that confession is not about triggering any transaction between us and God that would issue forth more forgiveness, as though God were dispensing forgiveness in various doses based upon our confessions.
Forgiveness of sin is something that was provided objectively ONE time by ONE act of grace through ONE Savior who shed His blood on the cross for us 2000 years ago. As the book of Hebrews repeatedly emphasizes, He is the “once for all” sacrifice for sin.
Confession of sin then, is about humility and walking in agreement with God – not about getting more forgiveness from Him. Some will suggest that God’s forgiveness is dispensed using a “two-tiered” approach.
On one level, they say, God has forgiven our sins judicially and objectively through the cross. On the second tier, however, we need to confess our sins in order to receive “relational” or“experiential” forgiveness in order to maintain close fellowship with God.
This two-tiered approach is nowhere taught in the New Testament, and has only been popularized because of two basic levels of rationale.
The first is based upon a misinterpretation of two passages in the New Testament, both of which have been clearly explained in books and sermons by a host of solid gospel teachers.
These two passages are Matthew 6:12 (where Jesus appears to be commanding His followers to ask for God’s forgiveness) and 1 John 1:9 (which seems to link forgiveness to confession of sin).
I encourage you to investigate these writings for yourself in order to understand the context in which these passages were intended to be understood.
The bottom-line is this. We hyper-grace preachers DO value confession of sin. We also practice confession of sin in our own lives. However, we understand confession to be about agreeing with God concerning the foolishness of our sin rather than begging for forgiveness based upon a humanly-invented two-tiered approach to somehow "maintaining close fellowship" with Him.
Our fellowship with God was purchased unconditionally and irreversibly by Jesus at the cross. Once we receive that fellowship by simple faith in Christ, it is our eternal possession regardless of our recent performance or track-record. As I’ve written in my book, The Gospel Uncut:
"The way I now approach confession is to simply agree with God about the foolishness of my sin. I admit to Him that my sin hurts me as well as others and that it fails to bring glory to His Name. Often I am sorrowful over the foolishness of my actions. The Apostle Paul wrote that there is a “godly sorrow that brings repentance” (2 Cor. 10:7). When I know I have sinned, I humbly admit that my sinful behavior is out of step with my new nature and identity in Him, and I ask Him to help me rest in His completed work. Now here comes the best part! After agreeing with God about my sin, I begin thanking Him for the fact that this sinful act was already forgiven at the cross.
Understanding these realities has literally transformed my practice of confession, changing the experience from a guilt-ridden begging session into a dynamic, worshipful encounter in which my conscious mind (and behavior) is realigned with the grace and truth of Jesus.
So yes! By all means confess your sin to God! Agree with Him about sin and everything else He has revealed. But don’t think of confession as a means of obtaining something that Jesus Christ died “once for all” to secure for you.
Remember that confession is about humility and the ongoing renewal of the mind process – and never about getting something from God that is already yours in abundance through the finished work of Christ.
If you are a believer in Christ, you are NEVER out of fellowship with God. Fellowship is an identity issue, meaning that you now share "all things in common" with God as a joint-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17)!
This never has been and never will be based upon your behavioral performance and is not something that you must confess sin in order to have reinstated! Because of Christ, you are always clean and God is always close!
Why I am Hyper-Grace: Answering Five Common Objections
I agree. When people say the opposite of what is really being said, it is mis-representing the truth.
It is OK to agree to disagree on things too but at the very least it needs to be presented accurately.
I believe in "hyper-repenting" as I learn new truths about the loveliness of our Lord and His love and grace for us in His perfect work and anything I am doing that the Lord shows me is harmful - that too I am eager to trust in His life to transform me by the Holy Spirit.
It is OK to agree to disagree on things too but at the very least it needs to be presented accurately.
I believe in "hyper-repenting" as I learn new truths about the loveliness of our Lord and His love and grace for us in His perfect work and anything I am doing that the Lord shows me is harmful - that too I am eager to trust in His life to transform me by the Holy Spirit.
I am convinced these people believe their own position. Once you have seared your conscience,
decided how everything is to be interpreted (lenses) there is only one answer. You have locked
God out.
I am truly touched by your dilemma with bitterness and betrayal and how you love people overwhelmed
by the failure of their choices. C S Lewis in the great divorce got it right how emotional perspectives
take over your life unless you abide in the vine and love.
Years ago I talked to someone who talked about their admiration of Himmler. My wife did research on
the holcaust, and I know what Himmler represented. I could never talk to them again. The evil is just so
bad. People so easily become totally blind to the sin that possess them and in their world they are certain
everything agrees with them.
So until we hear Gods small voice speaking to us in the quiet place, in the place of holiness and grace,
it is easy to end up completely wrong. I think this is why we can never really know who is in communion
with God and who has lost the plot. But thankfully we are only responsible for our own walk and honouring
Christ. So Amen, and God bless you, the Lord is our King, faithful to His sheep.
And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Mat 5:22
What the irony is, those who say a position is foolish call the above words of
Christ a lie, because they can never be judged or loose their salvation.
decided how everything is to be interpreted (lenses) there is only one answer. You have locked
God out.
I am truly touched by your dilemma with bitterness and betrayal and how you love people overwhelmed
by the failure of their choices. C S Lewis in the great divorce got it right how emotional perspectives
take over your life unless you abide in the vine and love.
Years ago I talked to someone who talked about their admiration of Himmler. My wife did research on
the holcaust, and I know what Himmler represented. I could never talk to them again. The evil is just so
bad. People so easily become totally blind to the sin that possess them and in their world they are certain
everything agrees with them.
So until we hear Gods small voice speaking to us in the quiet place, in the place of holiness and grace,
it is easy to end up completely wrong. I think this is why we can never really know who is in communion
with God and who has lost the plot. But thankfully we are only responsible for our own walk and honouring
Christ. So Amen, and God bless you, the Lord is our King, faithful to His sheep.
And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Mat 5:22
What the irony is, those who say a position is foolish call the above words of
Christ a lie, because they can never be judged or loose their salvation.
Grace777 converting repentance into your oft cited "change your mind" instead of turning from sin to God, and then your example of going from a market to a farmer's market, is NOT repentance. I have studied the Greek first hand on this word, and I also told you that you simply cannot take a compound word in Greek and assume it is the sum of the two words. Sometimes it is, sometimes it is not, and sometimes it intensifies it.
In the case of metanoia μετάνοια Bauer, BAGD says the following:
"repentance, turning about, conversion" as a turning away, (from sin). Also the positive aspects of repentance as turning towards God.
"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." 2 Cor. 7:10
It is NOT changing your mind about which market to go to! That was your answer which trivialized the entire gospel. It shows how little you understand the meaning of this word. Or maybe you once did, but JP has convinced you, or brainwashed you otherwise. So is repentance about just changing your mind? Or does the Bible tell a different story?
"I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:22
Who is Jesus calling to come to repentance? Repentance is totally about sin! Because sinners are the ones who are called! It is not some silly thing that anyone can do in a second, without reference to sin. In fact, Paul is clear that repentance involved grief. Not some "come to Jesus and be happy" nonsense. That is false conversion. It will not last. And then Arminians will say, "Hey, they walked away from God." But they were not truly saved, because they did not repent of their sins. Anyone coming to Christ needs to repent. Of sin!
"As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us." 2 Cor. 7:9
And who is this repentance towards? A change of mind is all about self. The Bible is clear that repentance has to do with GOD!
"how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 20:21-21
Paul went about telling people to repent from their sins towards God and Jesus Christ.
None of what you say is true! Repentance is a humble act of contrition, prompted by the Holy Spirit. The Bible convicts us of sin, and the Holy Spirit leads us to conversion and repentance.
You totally trivialize the meaning of this vital word of the gospel. You can post all you want about lies concerning hyper grace, but the fact is, you do not follow the basic Scriptural principles of what repentance is, and how important it is.
It is this over identification with "being Jesus," that becomes a HUGE stumbling block. You are "claiming" who you are in Christ. But I do not believe the Bible tells us to "claim" anything, ever. Give up things, is more like it. And cling to Christ, who changes us.
For me, the hyper grace movement is a stumbling block to Christian growth, both in salvation and sanctification. A big one! In fact, a heresy! You can copy and paste all the links defending this movement you want, I agree with HeRose, it is just Gnosticism coming round with a new name and a different face.
I am so grateful for God saving me, and is transforming me! But that transformation relies on confession of sins, and really rooting out wrong things, wrong attitudes and beliefs. Yes, the positive aspect is that it is God that is leading us and changing us. The negative aspect, is that if we only want the "happy" part of salvation, and don't look to our souls, we have fallen for a lie of the devil.
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]As the old KJV says "Hath God said?" Has God truly said that we can be like God? Or is that Satan? That is the question I pose today!
The hyper grace movement comes perilously close to pretensions to be God, as the Word of Faith movement did. I am grieved, as I know the Holy Spirit is, to see that while people seem to be abandoning the lies of the WoF movement, they are walking right into the arms of Joseph Prince, who seems to be the leader of this new wave of heresy.
Has God said, indeed?[/FONT]
In the case of metanoia μετάνοια Bauer, BAGD says the following:
"repentance, turning about, conversion" as a turning away, (from sin). Also the positive aspects of repentance as turning towards God.
"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." 2 Cor. 7:10
It is NOT changing your mind about which market to go to! That was your answer which trivialized the entire gospel. It shows how little you understand the meaning of this word. Or maybe you once did, but JP has convinced you, or brainwashed you otherwise. So is repentance about just changing your mind? Or does the Bible tell a different story?
"I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:22
Who is Jesus calling to come to repentance? Repentance is totally about sin! Because sinners are the ones who are called! It is not some silly thing that anyone can do in a second, without reference to sin. In fact, Paul is clear that repentance involved grief. Not some "come to Jesus and be happy" nonsense. That is false conversion. It will not last. And then Arminians will say, "Hey, they walked away from God." But they were not truly saved, because they did not repent of their sins. Anyone coming to Christ needs to repent. Of sin!
"As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us." 2 Cor. 7:9
And who is this repentance towards? A change of mind is all about self. The Bible is clear that repentance has to do with GOD!
"how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 20:21-21
Paul went about telling people to repent from their sins towards God and Jesus Christ.
None of what you say is true! Repentance is a humble act of contrition, prompted by the Holy Spirit. The Bible convicts us of sin, and the Holy Spirit leads us to conversion and repentance.
You totally trivialize the meaning of this vital word of the gospel. You can post all you want about lies concerning hyper grace, but the fact is, you do not follow the basic Scriptural principles of what repentance is, and how important it is.
It is this over identification with "being Jesus," that becomes a HUGE stumbling block. You are "claiming" who you are in Christ. But I do not believe the Bible tells us to "claim" anything, ever. Give up things, is more like it. And cling to Christ, who changes us.
For me, the hyper grace movement is a stumbling block to Christian growth, both in salvation and sanctification. A big one! In fact, a heresy! You can copy and paste all the links defending this movement you want, I agree with HeRose, it is just Gnosticism coming round with a new name and a different face.
I am so grateful for God saving me, and is transforming me! But that transformation relies on confession of sins, and really rooting out wrong things, wrong attitudes and beliefs. Yes, the positive aspect is that it is God that is leading us and changing us. The negative aspect, is that if we only want the "happy" part of salvation, and don't look to our souls, we have fallen for a lie of the devil.
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]As the old KJV says "Hath God said?" Has God truly said that we can be like God? Or is that Satan? That is the question I pose today!
The hyper grace movement comes perilously close to pretensions to be God, as the Word of Faith movement did. I am grieved, as I know the Holy Spirit is, to see that while people seem to be abandoning the lies of the WoF movement, they are walking right into the arms of Joseph Prince, who seems to be the leader of this new wave of heresy.
Has God said, indeed?[/FONT]
While I don't agree you can lose your salvation, I think there are too many people (not necessarily here!) walking around who think they are Christians, who never were in the first place.
And perhaps you are right, that sometimes evil is evil, and we cannot let it destroy us. Certainly, I am going to continue to pray, and to go the way God is showing me. But I no longer am going to lose sleep over people that never really were my friends, anyway! (as in "they never were saved anyway!)
And perhaps you are right, that sometimes evil is evil, and we cannot let it destroy us. Certainly, I am going to continue to pray, and to go the way God is showing me. But I no longer am going to lose sleep over people that never really were my friends, anyway! (as in "they never were saved anyway!)
These are all your opinions and you are free to choose them.
The BAGD is what they determined the word meant even though it is clear that it is simply saying " change your mind" - and as I have said numerous times and I will say it again and again and again if need be. Repentance is a turning to God to believe all that He has said and yes that means sin too.
Jesus said "repent" and believe the gospel. Repentance itself does not "mean to stop sinning" altho it should be a fruit of having already repented to trust in the gospel. There is no requirement for stopping sinning in the gospel. I'll prove this to you in a minute.
Here is what the "fruit" of repentance looks like. In this post.
Metanoia/Repentance
Please read again what I said in the above link.
And the link to the grace of Christ and Gnosticism is complete foolishness. There is an agenda as can be seen by the way some ( and you did too in your original post) have mis-represented what is really being said.
Some say that we don't believe in repentance and confession of sins. That is not true and yet people still go on mis=representing what is really being said.
No one is saying not to confess sins...this is complete foolishness. Obviously you must not have read what I posted.
Your opinions are just as valuable as anyone else on CC and we do value what you have to say in some areas.
And God is not going to "get me" because of the meaning of a word that violates someone else's religious beliefs. My loving Father is going to put His arms around me and tell me how precious I am to Him - and He is going to do the same to you too.
Believing in Christ's finished work for us is no more heresy then you are a man.
It's in the acknowledging of what Christ has done for us and who we are now in Him - beloved children of God - that makes our faith effectual - working.
Philemon 1:6 (KJV)
[SUP]6 [/SUP] That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
The BAGD is what they determined the word meant even though it is clear that it is simply saying " change your mind" - and as I have said numerous times and I will say it again and again and again if need be. Repentance is a turning to God to believe all that He has said and yes that means sin too.
Jesus said "repent" and believe the gospel. Repentance itself does not "mean to stop sinning" altho it should be a fruit of having already repented to trust in the gospel. There is no requirement for stopping sinning in the gospel. I'll prove this to you in a minute.
Here is what the "fruit" of repentance looks like. In this post.
Metanoia/Repentance
Please read again what I said in the above link.
And the link to the grace of Christ and Gnosticism is complete foolishness. There is an agenda as can be seen by the way some ( and you did too in your original post) have mis-represented what is really being said.
Some say that we don't believe in repentance and confession of sins. That is not true and yet people still go on mis=representing what is really being said.
No one is saying not to confess sins...this is complete foolishness. Obviously you must not have read what I posted.
Your opinions are just as valuable as anyone else on CC and we do value what you have to say in some areas.
And God is not going to "get me" because of the meaning of a word that violates someone else's religious beliefs. My loving Father is going to put His arms around me and tell me how precious I am to Him - and He is going to do the same to you too.
Believing in Christ's finished work for us is no more heresy then you are a man.
It's in the acknowledging of what Christ has done for us and who we are now in Him - beloved children of God - that makes our faith effectual - working.
Philemon 1:6 (KJV)
[SUP]6 [/SUP] That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
Angela....here is what I wrote about "repentance"..if this offends your personal beliefs about it - then that's ok.
But please be truthful and say that we do believe in repentance and we believe if we teach the grace of Christ - it will teach us to live godly in this present world.
We are all for living a holy life, dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ and repenting of anything that is wrong about our beliefs as the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us.
Let's look at it through what scripture has to say about repentance ( changing our mind - the way we think ) concerning preaching the gospel. I know we have been taught differently through our religious upbringing and beliefs handed down to us. Let's let God's word speak life to us.
We have two word-for-word preaching of the true gospel of the grace of Christ.
Peter preached the gospel of the grace of Christ. to Cornelius ..no word used for repentence was said
Acts 10:43-44 (NASB)
[SUP]43 [/SUP] "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins."
[SUP]44 [/SUP] While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
They were not told to "repent" here.
I love how the Holy Spirit "falls upon " them as soon as they hear about the forgiveness of sins proclaimed to them because of Christ!
( All of heaven responds to Jesus' finished work for us )
Peter got in trouble with the Jewish Christians when he went back because he went into a gentile's house and preached the gospel to them...he says in Acts 11:17,18
Acts 11:17-18 (NASB)
[SUP]17 [/SUP] "Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?"
[SUP]18 [/SUP] When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
What was their repentance even though the word "repent" was not used?...they changed their mind toward God and had faith in Jesus and in His complete forgiveness of sins. This is the gospel message.
Notice that - it was God that granted them repentance.
New Covenant repentance is not something we conjure up on our own nor is it a work we produce.
2 Tim 2:24-25 says that God may grant them repentance so that they may know the truth. God grants the repentance..not a work we do on our own.
Paul preached the gospel of grace here in the only recorded time in scripture.
Acts 13:38-39 (NASB)
[SUP]38 [/SUP] "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,
[SUP]39 [/SUP] and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
Again ..no telling them to "repent" was voiced here either by Paul...but Paul did tell them later on and .." urged them to continue in the grace of God"
Both of the examples we have of New Covenant preaching about the gospel of grace had NO words of telling people to repent.
These clearly show that "repentance " was not told to them.
So, repentance does not mean "turn from sin '..it means change your mind ( change your way of thinking and rely on God only for things dealing with your life) and turn to God and believe in Jesus and what He has already done.
There is a change after we come to Christ and His life in us transforms us. This is where we see the "fruit" of repentance. Fruit is not the "root" of repentance.
Fruit of an exchanged life comes after we have "repented " - changed our thinking to rely on Christ's work only for salvation.
We all need to repent every day as we hear the beauty of our Lord proclaimed!
Brethern ...I urge you to believe in the awesome greatness and splendor of our Lord's magnificent finished work on our behalf!
But please be truthful and say that we do believe in repentance and we believe if we teach the grace of Christ - it will teach us to live godly in this present world.
We are all for living a holy life, dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ and repenting of anything that is wrong about our beliefs as the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us.
Let's look at it through what scripture has to say about repentance ( changing our mind - the way we think ) concerning preaching the gospel. I know we have been taught differently through our religious upbringing and beliefs handed down to us. Let's let God's word speak life to us.
We have two word-for-word preaching of the true gospel of the grace of Christ.
Peter preached the gospel of the grace of Christ. to Cornelius ..no word used for repentence was said
Acts 10:43-44 (NASB)
[SUP]43 [/SUP] "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins."
[SUP]44 [/SUP] While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
They were not told to "repent" here.
I love how the Holy Spirit "falls upon " them as soon as they hear about the forgiveness of sins proclaimed to them because of Christ!
( All of heaven responds to Jesus' finished work for us )
Peter got in trouble with the Jewish Christians when he went back because he went into a gentile's house and preached the gospel to them...he says in Acts 11:17,18
Acts 11:17-18 (NASB)
[SUP]17 [/SUP] "Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?"
[SUP]18 [/SUP] When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
What was their repentance even though the word "repent" was not used?...they changed their mind toward God and had faith in Jesus and in His complete forgiveness of sins. This is the gospel message.
Notice that - it was God that granted them repentance.
New Covenant repentance is not something we conjure up on our own nor is it a work we produce.
2 Tim 2:24-25 says that God may grant them repentance so that they may know the truth. God grants the repentance..not a work we do on our own.
Paul preached the gospel of grace here in the only recorded time in scripture.
Acts 13:38-39 (NASB)
[SUP]38 [/SUP] "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,
[SUP]39 [/SUP] and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.
Again ..no telling them to "repent" was voiced here either by Paul...but Paul did tell them later on and .." urged them to continue in the grace of God"
Both of the examples we have of New Covenant preaching about the gospel of grace had NO words of telling people to repent.
These clearly show that "repentance " was not told to them.
So, repentance does not mean "turn from sin '..it means change your mind ( change your way of thinking and rely on God only for things dealing with your life) and turn to God and believe in Jesus and what He has already done.
There is a change after we come to Christ and His life in us transforms us. This is where we see the "fruit" of repentance. Fruit is not the "root" of repentance.
Fruit of an exchanged life comes after we have "repented " - changed our thinking to rely on Christ's work only for salvation.
We all need to repent every day as we hear the beauty of our Lord proclaimed!
Brethern ...I urge you to believe in the awesome greatness and splendor of our Lord's magnificent finished work on our behalf!
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Let us rejoice just as Paul did…
9And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.
10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
When we believe wrongly, we are doomed to fail in our walk with God.
In changing our minds as believers, God reveals who were are to ourselves and who we need to be in Him.
Sometimes this is painful and sometimes it is indeed joyful.
Repentance brings joy, and that joy should be expressed. Thank you G777x70 and others who do bring some humour to our all so serious faith.
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” (Psalm 51:12)
Time to see God as a God of LOVE and we should be having fun with it, we rejoice in His love.
9And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.
10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
When we believe wrongly, we are doomed to fail in our walk with God.
In changing our minds as believers, God reveals who were are to ourselves and who we need to be in Him.
Sometimes this is painful and sometimes it is indeed joyful.
Repentance brings joy, and that joy should be expressed. Thank you G777x70 and others who do bring some humour to our all so serious faith.
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” (Psalm 51:12)
Time to see God as a God of LOVE and we should be having fun with it, we rejoice in His love.
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Amen..I love repenting as I see new truths about the beauty and nature of our Lord and Father.
As, I said..I make no bones about it. I believe in "hyper-repenting". And if people want to malign me for that - then so be it! I'm joyful in my Lord.
Repentance is a beautiful gift from our Father. Some repentance is sorrowful but only for a moment but most of it is joyful and exciting as I "repent" about the new wonderful, glorious realities of the beauty of the Lord when they are revealed to me by the Holy Spirit.
Thank you Father! We trust You and thank you for Your Son - our Lord Jesus Christ. I just typed myself happy!...lol
As, I said..I make no bones about it. I believe in "hyper-repenting". And if people want to malign me for that - then so be it! I'm joyful in my Lord.
Repentance is a beautiful gift from our Father. Some repentance is sorrowful but only for a moment but most of it is joyful and exciting as I "repent" about the new wonderful, glorious realities of the beauty of the Lord when they are revealed to me by the Holy Spirit.
Thank you Father! We trust You and thank you for Your Son - our Lord Jesus Christ. I just typed myself happy!...lol