Repent and Be Saved

Ever wonder why some "Christians" seem to live lives no different than the self-centered sin filled lives of others?

Could it be that we've stopped preaching the word that Paul was commissioned by Jesus to share with the world?

Paul wrote, "...but [I] kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance." Acts 26:20

Fact: People who "accept Jesus into their hearts" only in order to have a "full and wonderful life", or even an "abundant life", are still going to Hell even if they call themselves "Christians". They're still lost!

Why are they still lost? Because, they never experienced a need to be saved from the eternal consequences of their sin in the first place, did they? If they didn't see a need to be saved then Jesus cannot really be their Savior, can He?

"It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..." 1Tim.1:15

Spiritually one cannot have any kind of savior without recognizing a need to be saved. Let's look at this logically. If a person is lost in the middle of the ocean and ignores the offer of a life preserver because they don't believe that they are going to drown without it then they are destined to drown. In order to truly grasp that lifesaver with a life saving grip one would have to believe how desperately one needs to be saved!

The same principle holds true spiritually. One must recognize the need to be saved in order to call out for help and be saved.

There's also no hope for the drowning people who have a passing thought that, "Well, just maybe I might drown eventually so how about if I wear a T-shirt with the picture of a life preserver on it? I'll join the club and that way I won't drown. I'll dress the part." And, so they go to church every Sunday, just in case. Especially Christmas and Easter!

Remember that just wearing a T-shirt with the picture of a life preserver (just going to church frequently) will be easy but it certainly won't do much good when it really counts.

God's clear call is to repentance first. He will even give you the desire to repent and that will include your heart suddenly being unsatisfied with the life that you are living AND the desire to change to living a life pleasing to God. Being truly convicted that you really do deserve Hell and sharing that revelation with Him, He then gives you opportunity to accept Jesus' sacrifice and be saved (saved: delivered from the eternal consequences of your sin) by grace through faith.

Forgiveness is all about Jesus and His atoning death on the cross.

If God is not calling you to repent then you simply cannot be saved. On the other hand, if He is calling you to repent and be saved then it would be wise to respond with a resounding, "Yes!"

On the other hand, if you think you've been saved because you've made a profession of faith but you've seen no change in your life, in your attitude toward sin and your devotion to God, then the evidence of scripture is that you're likely not saved at all.

Again, those that "REPENT and turn to God"*, that is,

those that change their opinion about sin and realize (because God has placed that understanding in their life) that from now on they want to live their life for God, focused on pleasing Him instead of being focused on their own selfish and sinful thoughts, and as a consequence of this change THEN turn to Jesus Christ by faith for forgiveness from the consequences of their sins past, present and future, ahhh, these are the one's that have lives different than the norm! Still far from perfect but under God's conviction to live holier lives.

While you may not be comfortable with my dogmatic approach to the issue, I'm sure you will agree that someone committed to serving God in their daily life because they've answered His call to "repent AND be saved" is going to be different from the overwhelming majority of people in society.

This is the difference between those that think they are Christians because they go to church every week and those that honor God with their daily lives since they are committed to God..

Doesn't that make sense to you? Doesn't it clear up a lot of confusion? Doesn't it make sense that it is these people that God empowers to live a life pleasing to Him and that's why their lives are different from the norm? Doesn't it make sense because in the beginning they repented and then found Jesus because they were looking for a savior and their lives are different from the norm?

Didn't (Saint) Peter write in 2 Peter 3:9 that the Lord is "...not willing that any should perish but for all to come to repentance"? It's not empty words and magic phrases like the "sinners prayer" that save but the broken and contrite spirit that sincerely calls out to the Lord for mercy that is saved.

Do Christians still sin? Sure we do, but when Christians sin it really bugs us. It hurts us because we've failed God again. We can't sin habitually simply because it hurts too much. God won't let us get away with it without causing us enough pain to motivate us to stop.

(By the way, just between you and God now, how do you really feel about sin in your own life? "No big deal" or "Very frustrating"?
Does it feel good or ultimately make you feel bad?)

Jesus died for repentant sinners.
Isn't it time for you to obey the words of Jesus who said, "Repent and Be Saved"?

Saving the best for last we have this quote from John MacArthur, Jr.:

"Finally, despite what is being widely taught today, affirming that repentance and acknowledgment of Jesus' lordship are necessary to salvation does not "add" anything to the requirement of faith for salvation. It is not "faith plus repentance" that saves, but rather a repentant faith. The notion that salvation is possible apart from a genuine, heartfelt repentance, which includes a deep hatred of sin, is a relatively new one, neither believed nor taught by the people of God until the twentieth century."

*Acts 26:20 "...but [I] kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.

If you agree with the basic message contained above, that people must be convicted by God (convinced) of the fact that they are sinners in need of salvation from the eternal consequences of their sin in order to be saved, then please place links to this site in various locations that more people might read this.

Salvation is about redeeming SINNERS and until one recognizes that they are truly sinners in need of salvation and become repulsed by their current lifestyle, then they are not really going to be turning to Jesus Christ for salvation but rather for a more abundant life, as in, "What's in it for me?" The question should only be, "What must I do to be saved?"

To comment please write to Jim at "repent[-at-]1800send mail.com".

(The format of my email address above is incorrect so that I can escape robots harvesting email addresses. Just insert the proper @ and remove inappropriate spaces and you should be fine.)

Thank you.