Sunday, September 14, 2008

156. Repent and Believe the Good News

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3 comments:

  1. Only taking 2 today, I already have the new one + I got the Steve McVey one you put up a while back. I like to leave tracks and notes back here one reason, I afraid someone will lean up against my white board and erase the last episode numbers that I took, then I'd have to start all over again, shame huh... I started at 114 because it was at the bottom of this page so when I catch up, I'll still have 114 to go.
    Best
    me

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  2. It makes sense for us to repent from our unbelief or have a change of mind. But what I'm confused about is Heb 6:1 which says 1Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, So my mind keeps wanting to see this passage as repenting from sinful actions. Please Help....

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  3. Dear Anonymous (I love that name!)...

    The New King James puts it this way and many other translations are similar: "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God..."

    First of all, when you say repent from sinful actions, what do you think that means? Many believers may think it means to ask God to forgive them for committing a specific sin. Repenting from dead works can simply mean to turn from the old covenant way of trying to establish your own righteousness through what you do. In other words, dead works aren't just necessarily "sins" but could apply to works that we would call good. The problem is that when we attempt to do good with the attitude that it somehow secures our position with God, that is not living in faith. We're trusting in our own efforts instead of the finished work of Christ. But let's get to the point...

    Remember this; God forgave you of ALL your sins (it's already been done). But that not all He did. Your sin was actually taken away through his blood. Because of this, they no longer exist. Do we still fail? Sin? Make mistakes? The answer is yes, but here's the really great news.

    Romans 8:1 states there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Please read the following carefully and you'll discover a "formula" we learn about in John chapter 8.

    The woman caught in adultery was told by Jesus:
    1) that He did not condemn her.
    2) go and sin no more.
    And He did it in that order. So we see that it's not "repenting" that keeps us from experiencing condemnation, it is the ABSENCE of condemnation that inspires us and motivates us to repent and turn from our sins and even to turn from trusting in our own good works.

    In other words, repentance does not bring grace, grace is what leads to repentance. Romans 2:4 "The goodness of God leads to repentance."

    In summary, the concept that if we repent, God won't condemn us is a legalistic doctrine and simply isn't true. That sort of thinking is completely backwards and opposite of new covenant Bible teaching. The truth is that God does not condemn us and because of this love and grace that is demonstrated towards us, we'll WANT to "repent" and will experience a desire to want to do what is right (because that is now a part of your new nature).

    Hope this helps give you a different perspective!

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