Samer, can you give me a definition of repentance

[Guest Guest]

I don't know if that constitutes turning from my old lifestyle.

Lets be clear, when we say repentance means turning from sin we don't mean cleaning up your life and not sinning any more. That would be a works salvation. No one here is supporting that, and it can't be done. When the heart repents and turns to God it means you will have a horror of sin and a strong desire to please God rather than sin. You will have a new heart. One of the proofs of salvation for a Christian is the misery that comes when he does sin and the joy that comes when he does the will of God.

A lost person in sin will not be nearly as miserable as a saved person in sin. Why? the saved man is a new creature and has the Holy Spirit within crying out in protest against that which goes against the character of God.

On the other hand the lost person is dead in his sins and all he has is occasional external drawing of the Holy Spirit and the law written on his heart(which can be seared over through rejection).

[Anon]

Well only you know if you are really saved or not....God does say that we can backslide so much we don't know we are saved.

I Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5

[Samer]

No time to reply to everything now. I think "Setting Captives Free" is a very good resource, but I don't think any of their stuff is KJV.

[victoryoversin]

Tried it. I always get up to about lesson 13, and it's all doubt your salvation, if you are addicted to pornography you probably aren't really saved, and until you stop sinning you haven't really repented and so on.

I am going through www.in-purity.org

It's much better.

[John81]

One thing my husband points out is in the verse "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved", repentance is included there. You have "Lord" which means you are believing in Jesus as your LORD and Master, which means turning from living for self and sin and making Him the Lord of your life. "Jesus" is acknowleging that He is the Son of God, and "Christ" recognizes his sacrificial death on the cross.

Too many people are being taught that you can be saved without the "Lord" part.

There are many professing Christians today who have been led to believe all they had to do was say a "sinners prayer" and they are saved. Not a word spoken to them about repentance or accepting Christ as your Lord, submitting to Him, etc. Just say that prayer and go on as you were; or maybe clean up a few outward things so you "look more Christian", and that's it. Find a church that doesn't cramp your style, if you feel like it, and you're all good.

It makes me very sad when I think of such people who truly believe they are heaven-bound yet they are just as lost and hell-bound today as before. :sad

[pneu-engine]

Lets be clear, when we say repentance means turning from sin we don't mean cleaning up your life and not sinning any more. That would be a works salvation. No one here is supporting that, and it can't be done. When the heart repents and turns to God it means you will have a horror of sin and a strong desire to please God rather than sin. You will have a new heart. One of the proofs of salvation for a Christian is the misery that comes when he does sin and the joy that comes when he does the will of God.

A lost person in sin will not be nearly as miserable as a saved person in sin. Why? the saved man is a new creature and has the Holy Spirit within crying out in protest against that which goes against the character of God.

On the other hand the lost person is dead in his sins and all he has is occasional external drawing of the Holy Spirit and the law written on his heart(which can be seared over through rejection).

Excellent post, Seth. :thumb

V-O-S,

I have an idea that should help you. Knowing your situation now after reading of your struggles is why I prescribe this. It guarantees success if you are totally serious.

#1. Read your Bible consistently and with a constant prayer-attitude asking God to reveal himself to you as you are reading. Allow at least an hour in the morning for this before you do anything else. You'll probably have to adjust your evening schedule to make time in the morning.

#2. Keep a notebook and write down verses that are a special blessing. Write down promises that speak to you directly.

#3. Make it a point to put into practice those verses that apply to you directly. I.E. Put yourself in subjection to them. Write them on 3x5 cards and carry them with you thruout the day so you can review them and pray over them. E.G. Here is a good one to get started with::::::::::::::

I Corinthians 10:

12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, from idolatry.

Flee::::::: It means to run for your life. This is not the time to try and prove how strong you are.

Three things we are told to flee::::::::::::

***Flee idolatry, and evil concupiscence is idolatry. Evil concupiscence:::::::: filthy, sexual fantasizing of thoughts in your mind.

***Flee youthful lusts.

***Flee fornication.

Do you see how all of these things lead one into the other. Do what Joseph did when he was confronted by Potiphar's wife. He ran from her as fast as he could. He even left his jacket in her hands when she grabbed him by it.

Now let's go back to your situation. Do you now see pornography as evil concupiscence? God tells us thru His Word to flee from it. Flee at all costs.

#4. Pray continually thruout the day for God to help you see your sin as He sees it. Ask Him to give you a serious aversion to it. Ask Him to show you thru His Word just why it was that your sins (and mine too) put Jesus on the Cross of Calvary.

When you see your sin just as an infinitely holy, all powerful God sees it you'll be on your knees in a heartbeat asking Him to forgive you and cleanse you. Practice thruout the day and every day being on your knees in abject humility in your mind's eye. You cannot physically spend all day on your knees in prayer or you would not get anything else done. I mean for you to see yourself doing it in your mind's eye.

Remember this::::::::

God loves you and wants to bless you. The devil hates you and wants to destroy you. He (Satan) will set you up if you let him with some willing young lady for the express purpose of ruining your testimony and forfeiting a lot of future blessings that God has in store for you. if you would give in to that the LORD would have no choice but to bring swift judgement upon you. That would not be a pretty sight at all, but would last for a looooooooooooooooong, looooooooooooooooooooong time.

[victoryoversin]

Thanks for your advice Pneu.

This bit confused me

When you see your sin just as an infinitely holy, all powerful God sees it you'll be on your knees in a heartbeat asking Him to forgive you and cleanse you.

I do see it as that. I guess I am confused as to whether you mean ask for forgiveness to be saved, or ask for forgiveness and cleansing from sin.

If you mean ask for forgiveness and be saved, then you are saying I am unsaved right now, but I know and believe that Jesus went to the cross for my sins, and that he went for the sins I have committed, and the sins I will commit. I don't just believe this as some fact that is true, but that he died for ME. I've never "prayed a prayer of salvation". I read a tract, was on my knees, convinced of sin and the Saviour. I simply believed. I went of my own accord to find a church, eventually being led to a bible believing baptist church. I desired to go doorknocking, soulwinning and streetpreaching, before anyone suggested it to me. All of that was of God. My problem was that I was struggling so hard with sin, and since I wasn't being discipled, I didn't really know how to just let Christ do His work.

I hate my sins, especially this one at this time. I have not been tempted by it for about two weeks now, and I pray daily for deliverance from it. My Pastor knows, my wife knows, my best friend knows. I've pretty much told anyone that would listen, so it's no big secret. I have prayed for forgiveness and cleansing from it.

My doubts stem from my inability to forgive myself I think. I have been forgiven by God for my sins. I just have to let them go.

I got a bit confused though. It sounded like you were saying I could lose my salvation. Now, I may not know a lot, but I do know that can't happen.

It was this bit here

"He (Satan) will set you up if you let him with some willing young lady for the express purpose of ruining your testimony and forfeiting a lot of future blessings that God has in store for you. if you would give in to that the LORD would have no choice but to bring swift judgement upon you. That would not be a pretty sight at all, but would last for a looooooooooooooooong, looooooooooooooooooooong time."

Now, the first part already happened. I did become a fornicator several years ago. I regret it deeply, and repented. My testimony (at least, in my own mind, because noone else knew) was ruined, and the guilt stopped me from doing things for God for some time. I am married now.

It seems to me that you are saying that I am saved, but If I give in to temptation, God will have no choice but to judge me swiftly, and the looooooong time bit implies eternity in hell. I'm not sure what you mean Brother.

[Bakershalfdozen]

PE doesn't believe a Christian can lose his salvation. All sin is serious in God's sight but some carry harsher consequences. Sexual sins will haunt a person a whole lot longer than other kinds of sins.

[Truthseeking]

What I believe:
The Greek means a change of mind, and the English is from Latin, re + pent, think again. It involves having a change of mind and heart about a holy God, who sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins. it is a change of mind about ourselves as well, and about our former ways that have not pleased God. Job said he abhorred himself and repented in sackcloth and ashes. There is a clear evidence there of contrition and turning to God in humility and faith.

The Gospel does call sinners to repentance. That is why Christ came, to call sinners to repentance.

When I say "repent of sins," I mean "repent of sins." Sinners have lived their whole lives against God, and need to see that fact for what it is, that they have offended a holy God, and must humbly turn to Him in faith for forgiveness. That's turning from ourselves and our sins to trust in God.
Acts 8:22 says to repent of wickedness, seeking forgiveness. Acts 17:30 commands repentance in view of man's idolatry. Acts 26:20 commands repentance, turning to God, and after salvation, works meet for repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10 tells us sorrow precedes repentance--this is more than mere acknowledgment of sin, for all know we have sinned, but until conviction leads to repentance, acknowledgment does us nothing. There's also plenty of repenting of deeds and works and sins in the book of Revelation.

There's nothing meritorious in in--nothing we can work or do. I've read Ironside's book "Except ye repent," and I thought it was good, but I don't think I had read those quotes by him as you posted. But about those quotes... If you're asking if I believe there is some element of humility and heart submission involved in repentance, then yes I do. Sinners who get saved submit themselves to the Gospel, and to the kindness and love of God our Saviour, casting themselves upon the finished work of Christ, believing in Him, and are saved by faith. It doesn't produce perfection, but it does produce a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17).

Good post Samer :goodpost:

[Truthseeking]

Just to add. If one looks at the OT (KJV) You will find that God did himself also repent as in changed his mind. The NT is built around the sinners need for Salvation and for the already saved Christian, a guide map from God Himself. We must believe it as it is written for it is Gods Word. The call to repentence is for everyone, not just the sinner. We as Christians are not perfect. If we say we are then we put ourselves on Gods level and that is WRONG.

[victoryoversin]

PE doesn't believe a Christian can lose his salvation. All sin is serious in God's sight but some carry harsher consequences. Sexual sins will haunt a person a whole lot longer than other kinds of sins.

Thanks, I thought this might have been what he meant, but wasn't sure, because of the wording of that paragraph. My sins do haunt me, and I pray that the memory of them will go. I also pray daily that I would not be tempted, but also that if I am tempted, that God would give me grace to overcome the temptation, and find that way to escape.

[Truthseeking]

Thanks, I thought this might have been what he meant, but wasn't sure, because of the wording of that paragraph. My sins do haunt me, and I pray that the memory of them will go. I also pray daily that I would not be tempted, but also that if I am tempted, that God would give me grace to overcome the temptation, and find that way to escape.

:amen:

[Calvary]

As a once saved always saved born again Christian, when does the act of repentance ever become unnecessary in one's life?

Answer: One will always find need to repent as God's desire is to conform us to the image of His Son. That's God's purpose in all of our lives.

The day you stop repenting of "whatever" is the day you will stop growing in Christ.

God bless,

Calvary

[Guest Guest]

As a once saved always saved born again Christian, when does the act of repentance ever become unnecessary in one's life?

Answer: One will always find need to repent as God's desire is to conform us to the image of His Son. That's God's purpose in all of our lives.

The day you stop repenting of "whatever" is the day you will stop growing in Christ.

God bless,

Calvary

Calvary. My pastor always says...that as Christians, God is always binding us to receive a spiritual truth. Once we receive that truth...he releases us to learn another truth. We are forever growing as Christ Followers until we take our last breath on earth.

We must never think that we know it all. :-) We are all students of His Holy Word. :smile

[pneu-engine]

PE doesn't believe a Christian can lose his salvation. All sin is serious in God's sight but some carry harsher consequences. Sexual sins will haunt a person a whole lot longer than other kinds of sins.

Precisely correct, Jess. :thumb

v-o-s,

A thorough search and analysis of all the different types of sins that an individual could possibly commit will show that sexual sins carry the strongest punishment, chastisement and judgement. Please remember, too, that God's mercy, grace, and goodness are infinitely greater than anything we could ever do. However, the devil will tempt you into thinking that you might have lost your salvation. Remember that he is the chief liar, and lying is his stock in trade. It is what he does best.

***Before we are saved, we repent as part of receiving salvation.

***After we are saved, we repent as part of restoring fellowship with God.

Confession and Repentance always go together. They are opposite sides of the same coin.

Hope this helps. :smile