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I'm going to use an illustration to explain how one Biblically comes to Christ. For a long time I thought that repentance meant "turning from my sins"(ie: to stop sinning). In other words, there is a popular teaching today that requires sinners to "stop sinning"(ie:turn from their sins) and/or making a commitment to the Lord as a prerequisite to coming to Christ(getting their sins forgiven and salvation). Repentance in greek means "a change of mind". Many people dont define the term directly. Which is why you get "turning from your sins" as a popular interpretation. "Believe" in the greek means to "depend upon", in other words faith. The next verse is an example of belief=faith:
"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." John 20:27
When a patient goes to the hospital he has realized these things:
1)He is aware of his sickness
2)he knows that he can't do anything on his part to cure himself because otherwise going to the hospital wouldn't be necessary.
3)he trusts the doctors to cure him
Notice, before a patient realizes he is sick he did not feel a need to go to a doctor. Let me parallel this illustration to how we come to Jesus. We are all sick with sin(Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:10). The penalty of sin is death(Romans 6:23). Jesus has dealt with our sins and can cure us(Acts 10:43, Romans 5:8, 1 John 2:2, John 5:24).
When a sinner goes to the Savior he has realized these things:
1)He is aware of his sin(Romans 3:19-20, Galatians 3:24)
2)He knows that he can't do anything on his part to cure himself because otherwise going to the Savior wouldn't be necessary.(Galatians 2:16, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:1-3, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 11:6)
3)He trusts the Savior to save him(Romans 4:5 , Romans 10:9, Romans 10:13-14, John 3:16, John 3:18, John 3:36, John 7:28, 1 John 5:13 ).
If it was required for one to "turn from their sins"(stop sinning) as a requirement to come to Jesus, that is like the doctor saying to the patient, "I would like to cure you of your illness, but before I will help, you must stop being ill and doing the things that made you ill". If it was required for one to "make a life commitment to the Lord" as a requirement to come to Jesus, that is like the doctor saying to the patient, "I would like to cure you of your illness, but before I will help, you must commit your life to healthy living".
Jesus says otherwise:
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37
The root of our faith is Jesus(Romans 4:5). The fruits of our faith are good works(James 2:18, Ephesians 2:10, Romans 12:1). Genuine faith produces fruit. Just as healing is EVIDENCE of the patient going to the doctor to get cured! Fruits of our faith are "wanting to commit to the Lord" and "hating sin/turning from sin."
Many times throughout Scripture, God tells us that BELIEF(trust) in the Son saves man. But UNBELIEF is what condemns man. Isaiah 53:6 says "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." "his own way" is not God's way but our own way! God's way is placing our faith in Jesus Christ(ie:believing the gospel). In order for one to go by God's way(belief), they must go from UNBELIEF to BELIEF(a "change of mind"-repentance)! One must repent of the very thing that keeps one unsaved in order to be saved!
"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." John 20:27
The verse above shows Thomas without faith(unbelief). Jesus tells him to stop doubting and believe! He turns from UNBELIEF to BELIEF in the next few verses as Jesus explains(John 20:28-29). This is a "change of mind"(repentance). Changing ones mind from our "own way" to "God's way" is what saves us!
Notice, that while there be many verses in the Word that have the word "repentance" in them, the word "repentance" shows up not even once in John! But the word "believe" shows up in John dozens and dozens of times! It is understood that one that has believed has also repented. Repented of what? Repented of their unbelief!
"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:30-31
What was it that was hindering salvation in the above verse? UNBELIEF. What was done for salvation? They turned from unbelief to belief. The "change of mind"(repentance) was from unbelief to belief! Even though the answer to the question did not involve the word "repentance" it was understood that those who turned from unbelief to belief had repented.
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
“…for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Matthew 9:13
He came to call sinners to repentance(a change of mind). A sinner w/o Christ is under condemnation and without BELIEF. He turns to the Savior in BELIEF to get saved!
I believe Mark 1:15 and John 20:27 are great parallel verses:
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15
"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." John 20:27
To "be not faithless", one must turn from their faithlessness.This is a "change of mind".
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19
This verse does NOT say that belief is not enough for salvation. It does say that EVEN the demons believe "that there is one God" and tremble. Believing that there is one God saves no one! Only through one's guiltiness before God under the law and trusting Jesus Christ as the Savior! No one can even come to the Father but by Jesus!
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” John 14:6
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37
"Turning from your sins" is a condition for being a disciple, not a condition for being saved(Luke 14:26-27, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:33). Discipleship happens AFTER Jesus comes into your heart when you believed. As a Christian, when you sin, you are not "following after Christ"(ie:discipleship).
SUMMARY:
One comes to Christ through the conviction that one is a sinner before God deserving of hell-fire, and trusting Jesus as the Savior. In order to come to Christ one must have a "change of mind"(repentance). The change of mind is concerning your sinful state and what you must do to be saved! Turning from unbelief to belief in the gospel is the answer! The fruits of genuine belief(faith) is a desire to turn from your sins, a desire to commit your life to the Lord! Before you were saved, sin was desirable. After salvation you HATE sin! We must NEVER require the fruits as a prerequisite to being saved though!
"I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life FREELY." Revelation 21:6
May the Lord bless you. In humility, rk
"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." John 20:27
When a patient goes to the hospital he has realized these things:
1)He is aware of his sickness
2)he knows that he can't do anything on his part to cure himself because otherwise going to the hospital wouldn't be necessary.
3)he trusts the doctors to cure him
Notice, before a patient realizes he is sick he did not feel a need to go to a doctor. Let me parallel this illustration to how we come to Jesus. We are all sick with sin(Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:10). The penalty of sin is death(Romans 6:23). Jesus has dealt with our sins and can cure us(Acts 10:43, Romans 5:8, 1 John 2:2, John 5:24).
When a sinner goes to the Savior he has realized these things:
1)He is aware of his sin(Romans 3:19-20, Galatians 3:24)
2)He knows that he can't do anything on his part to cure himself because otherwise going to the Savior wouldn't be necessary.(Galatians 2:16, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:1-3, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 11:6)
3)He trusts the Savior to save him(Romans 4:5 , Romans 10:9, Romans 10:13-14, John 3:16, John 3:18, John 3:36, John 7:28, 1 John 5:13 ).
If it was required for one to "turn from their sins"(stop sinning) as a requirement to come to Jesus, that is like the doctor saying to the patient, "I would like to cure you of your illness, but before I will help, you must stop being ill and doing the things that made you ill". If it was required for one to "make a life commitment to the Lord" as a requirement to come to Jesus, that is like the doctor saying to the patient, "I would like to cure you of your illness, but before I will help, you must commit your life to healthy living".
Jesus says otherwise:
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37
The root of our faith is Jesus(Romans 4:5). The fruits of our faith are good works(James 2:18, Ephesians 2:10, Romans 12:1). Genuine faith produces fruit. Just as healing is EVIDENCE of the patient going to the doctor to get cured! Fruits of our faith are "wanting to commit to the Lord" and "hating sin/turning from sin."
Many times throughout Scripture, God tells us that BELIEF(trust) in the Son saves man. But UNBELIEF is what condemns man. Isaiah 53:6 says "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." "his own way" is not God's way but our own way! God's way is placing our faith in Jesus Christ(ie:believing the gospel). In order for one to go by God's way(belief), they must go from UNBELIEF to BELIEF(a "change of mind"-repentance)! One must repent of the very thing that keeps one unsaved in order to be saved!
"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." John 20:27
The verse above shows Thomas without faith(unbelief). Jesus tells him to stop doubting and believe! He turns from UNBELIEF to BELIEF in the next few verses as Jesus explains(John 20:28-29). This is a "change of mind"(repentance). Changing ones mind from our "own way" to "God's way" is what saves us!
Notice, that while there be many verses in the Word that have the word "repentance" in them, the word "repentance" shows up not even once in John! But the word "believe" shows up in John dozens and dozens of times! It is understood that one that has believed has also repented. Repented of what? Repented of their unbelief!
"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:30-31
What was it that was hindering salvation in the above verse? UNBELIEF. What was done for salvation? They turned from unbelief to belief. The "change of mind"(repentance) was from unbelief to belief! Even though the answer to the question did not involve the word "repentance" it was understood that those who turned from unbelief to belief had repented.
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
“…for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Matthew 9:13
He came to call sinners to repentance(a change of mind). A sinner w/o Christ is under condemnation and without BELIEF. He turns to the Savior in BELIEF to get saved!
I believe Mark 1:15 and John 20:27 are great parallel verses:
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15
"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." John 20:27
To "be not faithless", one must turn from their faithlessness.This is a "change of mind".
"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19
This verse does NOT say that belief is not enough for salvation. It does say that EVEN the demons believe "that there is one God" and tremble. Believing that there is one God saves no one! Only through one's guiltiness before God under the law and trusting Jesus Christ as the Savior! No one can even come to the Father but by Jesus!
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” John 14:6
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37
"Turning from your sins" is a condition for being a disciple, not a condition for being saved(Luke 14:26-27, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:33). Discipleship happens AFTER Jesus comes into your heart when you believed. As a Christian, when you sin, you are not "following after Christ"(ie:discipleship).
SUMMARY:
One comes to Christ through the conviction that one is a sinner before God deserving of hell-fire, and trusting Jesus as the Savior. In order to come to Christ one must have a "change of mind"(repentance). The change of mind is concerning your sinful state and what you must do to be saved! Turning from unbelief to belief in the gospel is the answer! The fruits of genuine belief(faith) is a desire to turn from your sins, a desire to commit your life to the Lord! Before you were saved, sin was desirable. After salvation you HATE sin! We must NEVER require the fruits as a prerequisite to being saved though!
"I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life FREELY." Revelation 21:6
May the Lord bless you. In humility, rk