Confession to One Another or Repentance unto Salvation?

James 5:16
Confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

While faults, sins, trespasses, offenses and transgressions appear as synonyms in the Bible, this particular verse is not addressing willful rebellion against God, but harm done to a fellow man, and concerns people who have been redeemed from bondage to sin (saved). 

What's important to remark is that the prayers of the brethren are not a substitute for the genuine repentance that God requires of all of us if we have committed sin out of rebellion against God and his ways (ex: knowing right from wrong and choosing to do wrong). Technically, that's sinning willfully against our knowledge of the truth (Hebrews 10:26). The apostle John made a point that the response to such sins leading to death in particular is not prayer:

1 John 5:16-17
16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

These sins leading to death are those listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:3-5, Colossians 3:5-6 for instance. They need to be addressed with genuine repentance in complete submission to God. Then forgiveness will be granted and the ex-sinner will have peace with God in Christ, being called righteous or a saint of the Most High, not given a way forward to continue to sin "under grace." Such understanding of continuing to sin as a "new creature in Christ" in whose life old things are supposed to have passed away and all things are supposed to have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17), shows a perversion of God's grace to accommodate ongoing sin (Jude 1:4 warning).

The same apostle James, in the same chapter of our verse under consideration, has addressed rebellion against God by a brother or sister another way than exhorting to confession to one another and praying for one another:

James 5:19-20
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Wandering from the truth (Jesus) is heading towards destruction, walking on the broad way that leads to destruction, not the narrow/difficult way that leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14). That's a life and death matter, where "sin leading to death" is clearly involved. What a brother/sister can do then is to minister a correction in truth and love to the brother/sister who has wandered from the truth. There is no Once Saved Always Saved to count on in that scheme (Jude 1:5 warns us, 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 and 2 Peter 2 likewise).

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James 4:7-8
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.

These scriptures call people to repentance or describe God's disappointment in how people are living and what He expects:

Isaiah 1:16-18
16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson,They shall be as wool.

Isaiah 55:6-7
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

Jeremiah 8:6
I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle.

Ezekiel 14:6
"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.'"

Ezekiel 33:11
11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

Acts 8:22-23
22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

James 1:21-22
21 Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.

See also:
Freedom From Sin

Is Repentance Just a Change of Mind? 

Are We All Sinners?

Repentance According to the Bible


 

Going Towards The Light

How intentional are you about going towards the light of God's word so it can fill your heart and make your paths straight? The world is the "valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23:4) and the way to be safe while passing through it is to stand on God's word and walk in his light. "In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:6). That's conditional. In other words, IF you acknowledge God in all your ways, He will make your paths straight. God's promise can't fail us.

John 8:12

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 12:46-48

46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

Matthew 24:35

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Luke 6:46-49

46 “But why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

John 3:19-21

19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

John 9:39-41

39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” 40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Revelation 3:14-22

14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19 ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me. 21 ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne. 22 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

James 1:21-22

21 Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.

1 Peter 1:22-23

22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

Psalm 119:11

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

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Image source:

https://alamptomyfeet.org/2014/07/25/your-word-is-a-lamp-to-my-feet-25-july-2014/

Counting the Cost of Pornography Addiction

This message is for anyone who is bound in porn addiction. Imagine that you had to pay to watch porn. Did you ever consider that with money in your hands, you would just pay for it to satisfy your lust? Did you consider that you would be blind to others around you that don't have money for their needs while you go and spend your money on porn? Did you consider that you would as well neglect your own family's present and future needs because of your investments in porn? Did you consider that you would be totally driven by selfishness because serving and pleasing yourself would have taken priority over serving and pleasing God? Are these things actually true of you right now? 

Do you realize that you will give an account to Jesus for every cent that has passed through your hands? Now, you don't worry about money because the devil has made porn available to you for free. But you are still buying it. Loads of it for $0.00! Someone who wants you to die won't make it hard for you to get your hands on poison, especially if you are already calling that poison a "good thing." I guess we could get technical and get a cost from the portion of your phone data plan and maybe electricity use that goes into supporting your evil desire to watch porn. But the cost of that sin is your most precious possession, which is your own life (cf. Mark 8:36-37), because sin leads to death (James 1:13-15, Romans 6:23). 

And what's being presented to your mind through your porn watching is a counterfeit. It's not really what your soul thirsts for. God did not create you for porn to be what you feed on. It's like eating fake food greedy people have made in their laboratories to sell and neglecting to eat natural food God has made for humans to feed on. And that feeding on porn counterfeit also has nothing to do with love, when God commands us and says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all  your mind and with all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Now I speak this to men in particular: How are you loving the woman on your screen who ended up on the set of porn movies, seeing she is lost? Would you watch your sister if she ended up on porn movie sets? When you find nothing wrong enough with porn watching to turn you away from it for good, you are actually not far at all from that horrible thought. Because the more you reject agreeing with God about what's good and what's evil, the easier it becomes for you to call more evil things good and more good things evil, until you reach a point of possibly no return. God Himself lets you have more of the wickedness that you keep showing Him that you love (see Romans 1:18-32) and that, of course, will lead to your total ruin or perdition. 

That woman on your screen is still someone's daughter, sister, niece, granddaughter... Let's consider again that you had to pay to watch her, and that she eventually got some of your money as her income, do you think she doesn't deserve better than that? Aren't the word to save her soul and prayers to have her eyes opened and be rescued from that life more important than your money? Can you love that person and be praying for her and at the same time be contributing to her staying in the bondage of the porn industry? See, you are both in bondage, not free in Christ. She needs to have her eyes opened, be brought from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18) and so do you. You need to get saved as much as she does! Because you haven't seen the salvation of Jesus Christ or you have despised it and regarded the pleasures of sin as more precious than fellowship with God in the light (1 John 1:5-7,  John 3:19-21). You are not following Jesus, the light of the world, so you are walking in darkness (John 8:12) on the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). You cannot call Jesus your Lord and Savior when you are being disobedient to Him and sinning (1 John 3:8):

Luke 6:46
Why do you call me ’Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?

Matthew 7:21
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 

John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

You cannot get saved as long as you don't think you need to. But the reality is that you do need to. You do not belong to Jesus Christ. Let it hit you. You are not led by his Spirit (Romans 8:9). You are led by your flesh that you have not crucified (Galatians 5:24). It's practical. "There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according the the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). That is not you. That can't be true of you until you do repent and receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and do walk according to the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, Romans 8:12-13). Then the Spirit of God in you also won't lead you to find satisfaction in porn. You will rather be led to pursue righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:17-24), and you will turn to Jesus to heal all the brokenness in you. You will be led to give to Jesus all your burdens, and not turn to porn or any other thing you want to live for because of whatever good you think you get out of it (based on a lie that you have believed). You need to first come clean with God and stop calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). If you are calling porn "good" even if it's 1% of your heart that loves it, it still means you don't hate it 100% like God hates all sin, so you are "buying" that stuff without money to finance your own slavery to it; and you can't get delivered from it because you are not demonstrating to God with all your heart that you want to be delivered. God calls you to make up your mind. I am speaking the truth to you. I am not condemning you, I am telling you what’s keeping you under condemnation, as you are still being disobedient to God and under his wrath (John 3:36; Colossians 3:6), being still caught in the devil's death trap of sin (2 Timothy 2:26). And if you know that I don't speak for you and you know that you had been saved from bondage to sin, realize that you are now a slave of sin (again) and a slave doesn't remain in the house forever (John 8:34-36). You need to genuinely repent and be saved from that death trap of sin! Truth establishes reality. The truth sets you free from sin (John 8:31-32). Lies that you believe about you or about the goodness of porn for you (or others involved in it at any level) maintain you in your delusion and bondage to sin that leads to death (not to eternal life). You have idols in your heart and God cannot accept your worship until you repent and throw down with your own hands those idols that are in your heart. Take them and break them! Then your faith in God can be pure and you will be blessed of the blessing Jesus came to bring into the world (Acts 3:26). Come clean with God because He expects you to and because you are able to if you want to. Your only hindrance is loving your sin more than God. Face that truth and repent (do the right thing) or you will face God when you can't repent anymore (Revelation 22:11-12). This is an urgent plea!

James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.


May Jesus bless you!



See also:

‘I was raped at 14, and the video ended up on a porn site’

 

Is free porn online actually free? The abuse behind the industry

 

Online porn videos of missing teen lead to man's arrest

 
Pornhub Exposed as #Traffickinghub

Freedom From Porn Addiction - YouTube playlist

Confession to One Another or Repentance unto Salvation?

Is Repentance Just a Change of Mind?

Crucify the Flesh - YouTube playlist

Freedom From Sin

 

"You're gonna answer for your crimes against God*... Sin is not a calamity you were born in, it's a choice that you made to rebel against God." 

- Mike DeSario, 'Darkness and Light'
*If you don't repent and become a committed follower of Jesus (a believer or disciple of Jesus according to the Bible's definition)

ADDITIONAL EXHORTATION

Put forth whatever effort becomes clear to your mind that you must put forth to become a servant of God, because you are putting forth an effort into being a servant of sin, and through that, a servant of the devil. You have a choice to make about that right now. Don't wait on any answer to prayer that would cause you to be changed suddenly if you are not doing what God wants you to be doing (James 4:7-8). The process to get free starts with you agreeing 100% with God about what is good and what is evil and resolving to turn away from evil as He commands (Isaiah 5:20, Isaiah 55:6-7, James 1:21-22). You need God's word, which is truth, to be in you (Psalm 119:11). You can't fight the battle against sin, the flesh and the devil with human reasoning alone. You are likely then to only go on feeding your addiction with the lies you continue to believe. Eve sinned because she chose to believe a lie. There is nothing different today when anybody goes and sins deliberately, wether it's a one time thing or a habit. You sin, you die (Romans 6:23a, James 1:13-15). Don't believe a lie. That's God's word. Don't explain it away, don't let anyone explain it away for you. You are accountable to God for your choice to sin rather than to deny yourself, take up your cross to follow Jesus (Mark 8:34) [video].

Exposing The "Regeneration Before Faith" Myth

Faith is required for salvation through the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5).

No one gets born again then afterwards comes to have faith that leads to salvation. That's backwards and illogical. Someone who has experienced the new birth the Bible speaks of cannot not know that, just like a woman cannot not know that she had been pregnant (whether she was aware of it or not), before giving birth to a child!

You get the point, but this analogy is far from silly.

1 Peter 1:23

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). The word of God is a seed (Luke 8:11) and when planted in a good and honest heart (Luke 8:15) it bears the fruit of a new life in Christ standing on the pillars of righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24), not ongoing sin.

Romans 10:13-17

13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

And keep these in mind about calling on the name of the Lord to be saved:

Isaiah 55:6-7

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts;* Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

2 Timothy 2:19

Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from unrighteousness.”*

*That's repentance.

Reminder:

2 Timothy 4:3-4

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

A tree is known by it's fruit as Jesus taught (Matthew 7:15-20, Luke 6:43-45, Matthew 12:33). So, on the tree that you find this myth of regeneration happening before faith, you also find salvation by faith alone excluding works or deeds of faith (James 2:14-26), no repentance with deeds worthy of repentance (Acts 26:20) being the square one for a relationship with God, or possibly repentance (some unbiblical definition) coming after regeneration also, living a sin / repent / sin / repent lifestyle forever and claiming eternal security or Once Saved Always Saved, with a dubious "Once Saved" part to begin with, and speaking of sanctification while willful sin goes on. These are teachings of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).


See also: 

Faith Implies Obedience

Romans 10:9 Salvation

Jesus vs False Teachers

How Do We Know That We Love God?

You Cannot Be Unborn

Can You Lose Your Salvation?

Who is Hebrews 10:26 speaking to?

What Would Jesus Do?

Is that just a cute saying? We certainly are called to do what Jesus did (e.g. honor his Father and obey Him in all in full submission to his will). So, we will one day be confronted with the fact that we may not have always cared to do what Jesus did or would have done when faced with the temptations we are faced with. And we know this about Jesus and facing temptations:

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.
                                                                        _______
  

1 Peter 4:1

Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

Are you willing to suffer in your body so you can be done with sin? When you pluck out your right eye that causes you to sin or cut off your right hand that causes you to sin (Matthew 5:29-30), you suffer in your body. No need for a surgeon to do that. You do that when you deny yourself and take up your cross (an instrument of death) to follow Jesus (Mark 8:34). You die to yourself and that's how the new life in Christ can come, full of good fruit (cf. Romans 6:4-6, John 15:4-5). 

Mark 8:35

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News will save it.

That verse comes right after the command for those who want to be Jesus' disciples to deny themselves and take up their cross to follow Him (Mark 8:34). You suffer because you choose to resist the devil and not fall prey to him when you are tempted by some forbidden fruit that is quite attractive (e.g. Genesis 3:6). And it's because you love the forbidden fruit. If you didn't love it, you would't suffer by just turning away from it. But if you obey God rather than your evil desire, your love for what is good, righteous and pure will grow. You will be transformed through your obedience to the truth, which is God's word, not the devil's word to you (lies certainly).

John 8:31-32

31 Jesus therefore said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free [from sin, see v. 36].

We can't be Christians and do away with those words. And that's the truth. Let's not realize that too late, because we have been conditioned to sum up the gospel as John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9. The message of the Bible will never fit in a tweet!

John 12:24-25

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. 25 He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it to eternal life.

If you are still attached to your life in this world and in particular to the sin that's in it, that's the strongest signal that you can send to God, after hearing the Gospel, that his gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23) does not interest you.

But when you give up on living in this world according to its principles, and you truly give your life to God, looking forward to eternal life, He knows you mean business and you shall enter in through the narrow door.

Luke 13:23-24

23 One said to him, “Lord, are they few who are saved?” He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able.

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.14 How narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way that leads to life. Few are those who find it.

If this post disturbs you, we can discuss on the basis of the scriptures I have mentioned. Why shouldn't they be in your heart? Why wouldn't you love them and live by them?


See also:

Love Out Of A Pure Heart (1 Timothy 1:5)

Suffer The Cross To Overcome Addictions

Crucify the Flesh - YouTube playlist

If your right hand...

DWJS Do What Jesus Said!

Love Out Of A Pure Heart (1 Timothy 1:5)

1 Corinthians 13:13

Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4:16-19

16 We have come to know and rely on the love that God has for us. God is love, and the person who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 This is how love has been perfected among us: we will have confidence on the day of judgment because, during our time in this world, we are just like him. 18 There is no fear where love exists. Rather, perfect love banishes fear, for fear involves punishment, and the person who lives in fear has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because God first loved us.

1 John 5:3

For this demonstrates our love for God: We keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

John 15:9-10

9 Just as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. So abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you’ll abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

It's just a wrong and terrible mindset that prevents someone from taking these words to heart because "salvation is by grace not by works." Deliverance won't come without offering to God a heart that is ready to obey Him in all (that's total, wholehearted, surrender to God - no more rebellion). That's how we show God we love Him. And He wants that in our relationship with Him. It's an honor to suffer for Jesus' name, for the sake of doing what's right. But Satan has convinced countless believers that Jesus having done what's right before the Father exempts them from having to do what's right and their deliberate sins are allowed to go on, with no self-denial and taking up one's cross to follow Jesus (Mark 8:34). Following Jesus is walking on the way to reach eternal life (John 6:68) and cannot be something Jesus has done Himself on behalf of the believer. The believer / disciple / follower has to do what Jesus says (Luke 6:46), obey Him, and that expression of love for Him will lead to victory with Him over sin, the flesh and the devil.

1 John 5:18

We know that whosoever is born of God does not sin; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one does not touch him.

1 Timothy 1:5
Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith.

 

See also:
What Would Jesus Do?

 

How Do We Know That We Love God?

 

How Do You Love God with All Your Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength?

Heart photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com



You Obeyed from your Heart

 

Is Repentance Just a Change of Mind?

Repentance is a change of mind about both God and sin. And a change of mind by itself means nothing if action does not follow. If you are driving on a road going South and decide to go North for whatever reason, you have to actually stop and turn around or take an exit somewhere and re-enter the road in the opposite direction. So, in repentance, what we do is a turn toward God to be faithfully obedient to Him out of love going forward, and that's simultaneously a turn away from sin, which is disobedience to God.

As sad as it is, this is a teaching that many won’t receive as the apostle Paul prophesied that it would be in these last days (2 Timothy 4:3-4). If that’s you, please stop and think about what you just read.

Another example: You got ready to go see someone and the person calls you to tell you that he won’t be there, so you change your mind about going to see that person. Then you don’t still get in your car and drive to that person’s house. Do you? What you DO proves whether or not you have really changed your mind about going to see that person at the moment. Otherwise, it can be said that you have not changed your mind at all. Or it can also be said that you have not believed the person when he told you that he wouldn’t be home.

Apply that to God dealing with people now. God said, "The way of sin leads to death, repent!" Notice that God's message has two parts. The first part is an announcement or a revelation: "The way of sin leads to death." And the other part is a commandment: "repent! (if you want to live)" Now "just believing" the announcement and doing nothing won’t save a person. That's faith without works, which is dead (James 2:14-26). And "just changing one's mind" about not going on the way of sin anymore won’t save a person either, until that person actually fully surrenders to God's will and turns around and starts going the opposite way of sin/rebellion/disobedience to God. Then God will know that such person has believed his word and repented.

So, believing that repentance is "just a change of mind" out of the Greek word ‘metanoia’ and ignoring what the Bible plainly teaches about God calling people to repent, to return to Him, to forsake their evil ways and learn to do good, is believing in something else than what the Bible calls repentance! There are eternal consequences for rejecting God's truth in favor of a lie.

What do you do that proves you have changed your mind? What have you changed your mind about that you call your repentance? God cares (Acts 26:20; Matthew 3:8). You should, too.

Isaiah 1:16-20
16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; 0For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it0.

Isaiah 55:6-7
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

James 1:21-22
21 Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness [that's repentance], receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word [that's faith], and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.

If repentance is just a change of mind, conversion (a change of course) is also implied.

Acts 26:19-20 KJV
19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: 20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Acts 26:19-20 NHEB
19 "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to them of Damascus, at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the non-Jews, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.

Acts 26:19-20 NIV
19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 

REPENT GENUINELY

You need to repent genuinely. That's the basis for the forgiveness of your past sins, that is, the sins you have committed up to the point of deciding to live a new life that is pleasing to God, no longer one where you seek to please yourself and your flesh and continue to sin (1 Peter 4:1-3). If you ever come to a point where you truly regret having sinned against God, then you will stop sinning against God. When you turn to God, you turn away from sin; that’s repentance and conversion (Acts 3:19). Turning to God that way is also the key to answered prayers (Isaiah 59:1-2, 1 Peter 3:12). And what you come into is a relationship with God that is like a marriage. You need to approach it like a person who gets married would completely turn away from past partners. Sin is supposed to remain in your past (like a past partner) once you come to God. The relationship with sin gets broken off in repentance. Read Romans 6:1-11. Sin is then not what you love anymore. You love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30), and you obey Him precisely because you love Him (John 14:15,  Galatians 5:6, 1 John 5:3). You don't give in to sin unless you have been double-minded about serving God faithfully from the start (see James 4:8). In other words, you were not actually prepared and ready for that "marriage," or to "give your life to God." So, go back to the square one of your repentance followed by faithful obedience to God (faith) out of love going forward (Acts 20:20-21, James 1:21-22). God's grace will empower you (Titus 2:11-14). 

At the heart of genuine repentance is what the Bible calls "godly sorrow." Read what the Scriptures say about that and repentance and salvation in 2 Corinthians 7:10. You don't need a whole lot of knowledge about these topics. Just ask God to lead you to see sin as He sees sin, especially your own sins that you have committed against Him. You need to be sorry about your sin in the same measure that God is hurt/offended when you sin. Once your heart is broken and contrite about sin, then you will want to no longer be on the earth and be on the "wrong side" of Almighty God, completely despising the sense of his love to the point of sending his only Son to die so that you could have a shot at eternal life and not perish. You need to fear Him and that will be wisdom to you leading to salvation.

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 34:18
The LORD is near unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.

Proverbs 3:5-7
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Matthew 10:28
And fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.




See also: 

Freedom From Sin

 

"Our own righteousness is as filthy rags"

Suffer The Cross To Overcome Addictions

 

Repentance According to the Bible

 

Out of Egypt and Out of Sin

 

Connecting with God through Jesus (Book)   

 

Past Sins are Forgiven — Past, Present and Future Sins are NOT Pre-Forgiven

Who Is the Man Struggling in Romans 7?

Are You an Ex-Sinner Calling yourself a Sinner? 
 

What does "by grace are you saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8) really mean?

Godly Sorrow Leads to Repentance

Repentance Teachings - video playlist

How Do You Love God with All Your Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength?

Confession to One Another or Repentance unto Salvation?

You Are Accountable to Repent - video

Works Of Faith Are Not Works Of The Law - video 

 

This message is an answered prayer for a simple way
to explain to this generation what God's call to repentance is.
Received 3/06/2017.
For a sticker with this message click here.