Q&A: Forgiveness

2 Thessalonians 1:6 , Does This Mean It Is Okay To Wish Bad On Our Enemies?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living, Q&A: Forgiveness
2 Thessalonians 1:6 , Does This Mean It Is Okay To Wish Bad On Our Enemies?

“Seeing it is a RIGHTEOUS THING with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;”
(2 Thessalonians 1:6 KJV)

This is truth. God will one day take vengeance on all who do not believe and who persecuted believers. That is what God will do in righteousness. He offered them the gift of salvation and as a gift, it can be accepted or rejected. By rejecting such a great gift, they will pay for their sins themselves (John 3:18).

But should we use this as a positive thing in how we treat our enemies? Like this?.. “You will pay one day!!! I call God to curse you!” Unfortunately I see those calling them self believers doing just that! Or should we boast about this fact in gladness at all? NO. It is just a statement of fact Paul is giving to encourage believers under persecution to stay the course, keep the faith.

How about we should LOVE OUR ENEMIES and PRAY for those that persecute us as Jesus taught?

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?” (Matthew 5:44-46 KJV)

How about we forgive our enemies and pray that God not hold it against them as Jesus prayed on the cross…

“Then said Jesus, FATHER, FORGIVE THEM; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” (Luke 23:34 KJV)

…and as Stephen prayed while being stoned,

“And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60 KJV)

The point is encouragement to keep our faith in being saved in 2 Thess. 1, but in our walk we are to love above all.

Do We Need More Forgiveness Because As Believers We Will Still Sin?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Forgiveness, Q&A: MYTHS, Q&A: Salvation
Colossains 1:27 Christ In Your. The Hope of Glory.

Contrary to this myth being taught in church building and pulpits, the Bible teaches us that Jesus already gave us all the forgiveness we will ever need.  How many churches do we see today asking members to come to the front to gain forgiveness for sins this past week? What about going to a confessional to get your sins absolved? Colossians and the Book of Hebrews tells us otherwise.

“And YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM, which is the head of all principality and power:” (Colossians 2:10 KJV)

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened TOGETHER WITH HIM, having forgiven you ALL TRESPASSES;” (Colossians 2:13 KJV)

This truth is so often overlooked.We need to watch the tense of these passages as well. God foreknew every sin of every person from Adam and Eve until the end of the Kingdom Age to come. He knows everyone that will be born physically. He knows even the number of hairs on each persons head (Matthew 10:30). God also foreknew each person that will accept the gift of salvation by belief on His blood atonement and His rising from the dead and who will reject God’s great gift of redemption through Christ crucified, died and risen.

“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,” (Ephesians 1:4-5 KJV)

It is not that God has predetermined who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. That is false. Jesus said that WHOMSOEVER believeth on Him has eternal life in John 3. When Jesus died on that cross HE did not only pay for the believers sins, He paid for all the sins of the whole world, believer and non believer,

“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2 KJV)

Jesus blood atonement for all sins was given as a gift and as a gift it is either accepted or rejected by each person. When someone accepts the gift of salvation by belief on Christ, as God, who never sinned and went to the cross willingly to die and pay for our sins and then rose again, God foreknew it. Our core being is our Spirit. God is a Spirit being and so to be born again as a member of God’s family, we must be born again in The Spirit (John 3). God foreknew the acceptance of the person and placed their old Spirit of Adam (dead sin bent Spirit we are born with) and placed it on the cross WITH CHRIST 2000 years ago. When Jesus died, our old Spirit of Adam died with Him. At that moment, God made us a completely new creation in the Spirit and gave us a born again Spirit of God. Our old spirit died and rose again with Christ. This new Spirit of God we have been made into is in perfect UNION with Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells within our new born again Spirit and sealed us in salvation forever (Ephesians 1:13-14). As Jesus explained it in His prayer for all Church Age believers,

“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:21-23 KJV)

Because God foreknew that a person will accept the gift of salvation, He also chose to predestine those who choose to accept this great gift of redemption, to all that salvation provides to the believer. This gift of salvation includes forgiveness of all of the person’s sins committed during their life (past/present/future) and literally making them, by imputation of God, the very righteousness of God, in Christ.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV)

We see in Colossians 2 that when Jesus died on that cross HE quickened us TOGETHER WITH HIM on the cross, that is our old Spirit of Adam, and so all our sins were judged and bore by Christ. The penalty for our sin was paid by Christ and we, together with Christ, had our sins 100% penalty paid having ALL OUR SINS PAID IN FULL. We were made alive together with Christ. Again, ALL means all. Before the very foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) God foreknew all that each of us would do as individuals and that is long before you or I came into physical existence right? God foreknew every sin you and I would commit. God is the alpha and omega. He sees the beginning to the very end. God created TIME itself and is outside of time. So He seen and knows all the sins we have committed or will commit in the future. Yet, Jesus Christ still died on that cross to forgive us and save us from perishing in our sins. This is the unconditional love of God.

“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God FOR US: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now ONCE in the end of the world hath he appeared to PUT AWAY SIN BY THE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was ONCE OFFERED to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time WITHOUT SIN UNTO SALVATION.” (Hebrews 9:24-28 KJV)

On that cross 2000 years ago, Christ solved our SIN PROBLEM! All our sins have been TAKEN AWAY completely from us and will no longer condemn a believer. In fact, as we see in 1 John 2:2, Christ paid for the sins OF THE WHOLE WORLD (not just for believers but for ALL people in ALL AGES). And God then OFFERS this FREE GIFT of Salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9) to all people. And whosoever BELIEVETH on Christ for the atonement of sins then RECEIVE the GIFT of Salvation . Free will is important to God. We each have a free will to choose to accept the gift of Salvation and Eternal life or to reject Christ and remain with our sins in pride; sins still to be paid for at the Great White Judgement of unbelievers. This is what Jesus said Himself in John 3:

“He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned ALREADY, because he hath NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)

The Book of Hebrews cannot be denied! Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross washed away our sins and the penalty of sin against us ONCE FOR ALL. A believer is completely and utterly forgiven.

“And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL.” (Hebrews 10:10 KJV)

“For by ONE OFFERING he hath PERFECTED FOR EVER them that are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14 KJV)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let that sink in to your belief. We have been PERFECTED FOREVER by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Yes, we have that Fleshly stinking thinking in our minds just after Salvation; the remnants of the old sin nature until our bodily resurrection in the future. Right now, only our Spirit has been redeemed and our body is still corrupt with this thing called sin. It is not ready nor can inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50) which is why one day we will have a bodily resurrection at the Rapture. Yes, we still fall into sin and stumble. Yet, we have been given a newly created spirit. This spirit is the NEW US whereas the Flesh is the OLD US wanting to sin continually. It is a struggle Apostle Paul describes as a war within ourselves in Romans 7. As believers on Christ, God now sees us in the newly created spirit. Our sins are not a barrier anymore to God as God is indwelling us right? If the Holy Spirit is sealed and lives within us that means our sins have been paid for. God sees us through Christ because we are in Christ and Christ is in us as we see Jesus prayed for us,

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:20-23 KJV)

Jesus prayed this. Jesus is God (John 1). Do you think it will happen then as believers? YES! WHAT A PROMISE! One with Christ and one with the Father. Amazing grace indeed!

Christ came and died on the cross, wiping out the penalty for sins Himself. We did not do it by being a good person. We did not do this by doing good deeds. We did not do it by our religious rituals. We did not do this by following the Ten Commandments. We do not keep it by our good works after Salvation. We do not keep it by never sinning again after Salvation. (we strive to not sin of course as Apostle Paul in Romans 7). Will anything we have done, nor will do, give us or keep our Salvation? NO! God alone did this for us! Christ Alone did this for us. Jesus ONCE FOR ALL took all our sins away in full payment that was sufficient. Jesus replaced the Old Covenant with the New Covenant and when you believe on Christ alone for Salvation this is what God Himself has to say about it:

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I REMEMBER NO MORE.” (Hebrews 8:12 KJV)

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I REMEMBER NO MORE.” (Hebrews 10:16-17 KJV)

In fact, as a believer we should not have a sin consciousness. We should not be focusing on not sinning as a way to remain saved. That is no different that Law following for righteousness and it will cause a person to sin more because “…the strength of sin is the law.” (1 Cor, 15:56) Yes, we strive to not sin but our minds have not been renewed fully yet and we will at times sin as a believer. When we do, we thank God that He forgave our sin on that cross and we confess our sin as wrong. We ask God to help us overcome the temptation in the future. We ask God to give us more faith. Believers need not walk around feeling condemned all the time because we sometimes blow it and sin.

If you have accepted the FREE GIFT of eternal life and Salvation, by faith and belief on Christ alone, and the atonement for sin HE provided as God in the flesh then you have been set free from the penalty of your sins COMPLETELY and UTTERLY and are no longer condemned.

YOU ARE FORGIVEN.

FOREVER FORGIVEN.

God no longer remembers your sins nor holds them against you. He seen them all from the foundation of the world and seen Christ die and take the punishment for them crying out on the cross “IT IS FINISHED” which in the Greek it was penned literally means “debt paid in full!”. And He seen you one day receiving His free gift of Salvation from your debt of sins and no longer remembers them.

THAT is the unconditional love of God. That is utter forgiveness. Amen! Do not let ANYONE take this from you as a believer teaching otherwise.

What Should Be Focusing On

REST IN CHRIST, WHERE YOU NOW ABIDE

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1 KJV)

 

“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:3-5 KJV)

Know who God has made you, in Christ!

Believe it and then walk in life knowing it.

 

RENEW OUR MIND BY GOD’S WORD

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17 KJV)

 

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2 KJV)

Read the Bible. Believe what it say and who it says God made you at your conversion in salvation. This is what repentance is for a born again believer. It is renewing the old sin bent beliefs and thoughts ion the mind and replacing them with the truth from the Bible, by guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The word REPENT is defined by the Bible as ‘change your mind’. Before salvation is is changing your mind about how to be justified and righteous with God; not by works but by faith on the Messiah, The Christ who bore our sins in death and rose again. Once born again we still REPENT, that is change our mind about many things. It is a changing of our world view to God’s view, by God’s Word.

We live outwardly by what we believe in our MIND.

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV)

By renewing our MIND with God’s truth from the Bible, we make better decisions. As we understand and believe who God made us, in Christ, it impacts our life. As we abide more and more in Christ by truth, our sanctification (John 17:17), our new creation in Christ changes our minds and we produce good works in love for others outwardly into our lives. This is ‘walking in the Spirit’ and it helps us to avoid the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

If you have a strong sin consciousness and are always worried that God is just waiting to punish you, you are in wring belief and the devil will use those false beliefs from the Old, now dead, Spirit of Adam you once were. The old thoughts are in your MIND, but your Spirit is born again. Hebrews 10 tells us that Christ paid fro all your sins. God no longer remembers your sins against you. God is FOR YOU. God is WITHIN YOU.  Believe it and have no more consciousness of sins and start renewing your mind to the truth of who God has made you, in Christ.

We will never be ‘sinless’ until our bodily resurrection
at the Rapture but we will ‘sin less’
as we renew our mind to the truth of
who we now are in Christ!

God bless.

How Do I Become Saved? Why Did Jesus Have To Die On The Cross?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Forgiveness, Q&A: Salvation , , ,
How Do I Become Saved? Why Did Jesus Have To Die On The Cross?

Before answering these questions there is another question that you must answer and that so many believers leave out when answering these questions. That question is, ‘Do you believe that the Bible is the one word of the one true God?’ You must believe that it is the true word of the only God of the universe because Salvation is based on the truths of the Bible which all focus on Jesus Christ.

If you do believe this then read on. If you are unsure, or you are unsure why you believe this to be true then first go read another article I have written; The Bible Is The True Word Of God .

Believing that the Bible is the word of God, the very next question you need an answer to is what is God really like? Starting with knowing about God and His perfect ways gives you a solid foundation upon which to build better understanding when reading the Word of God. Let us quickly look at some of God’s characteristics from the Bible.

  • God is eternal. He is not a created being. He has always existed. God never changes. He is the same today as He has always been.
    (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8 , James 1:17, Deuteronomy 33:27, Psalms 90:2)
  • God cannot do anything against His own perfect character. God keeps His promises to us. (Psalms 12:6-7, Mark 13:31)
  • God is perfect in every way:
    + Perfect in love. (1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16, 1 John 4 :7)
    + Perfectly Holy and perfect in justice.(Revelation 4:8, 1 Peter 1:15-16)
    + Perfect in mercy. (Hebrews 13:5, Romans 3:23-24, Psalms 111:9)

NOTE: The list continues because He is truly perfect in every way. I have a more complete article on what the Bible has to say about God’s characteristics and His ways that you can read here . For the purpose of this article we will focus on the above attributes of God.

GOD IS LOVE. Then, All Is Good Right?

Perfect love is the trait of God that we want to hear about the most right? If God loves us then what have we to fear? In fact, many pulpits focus on this aspect of God yet deny the other attributes of God. We must remember that God is also perfectly JUST and Holy. And that is the problem that we humans need to address and face head on. If we compare our goodness to others who have done greater sins than we have, that is not a fair assessment of our true sinfulness. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23 KJV) and that “…we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; ” (Isaiah 64:6 KJV). The very best thing we do in goodness is as filthy rags to God. You see, we all have a SIN NATURE in us. And God is so Holy that even just ONE sin is enough to cause Him to punish us with His perfect justice.

To make matters worse, the punishment for even ONE SIN is eternal death in a place of torment that was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). God is THAT HOLY! And when we compare ourselves to God, believe me when I say that we fail miserably. God gave us the Ten Commandments as His Absolute Truth to show us just how sinful we really are. No normally born human has kept the Ten Commandments perfectly.

Some say, I have not committed murder or adultery! However, Jesus said that if you have hate toward another in your heart you have committed murder. If you lust after the opposite sex you have committed adultery in your heart. And have you really loved God with ALL YOUR HEART AND MIND? Honestly, none of us have. You see our heart, our inner being is where the problem is. We all were born with a SIN NATURE and a ‘bent’ toward sinning since the fall of Adam and Eve.

So we have all sinned. What does that make us? It makes us sinners! And what does the Bible say happens to sinners? They are headed for God’s judgement and condemnation in hell.

“For the wages of sin is death;…” (Romans 6:23 KJV)

A look at this verse in the Greek in which it was penned defines this death as ‘with the implied idea of future misery in hell’. This is an eternal death. That is not good news right?! So, what about God’s love you keep hearing about? Isn’t God perfect in love and mercy? YES He is! But not in a wishy washy sense. What I mean is that God is not going to just tell you in the court room of God, “ok. You did more good deeds than bad, so I will allow you eternal life in heaven”. NEVER. God CANNOT do anything against His perfect Holiness! To be given entrance to Heaven a person must be perfect and without any sin debt.

Here is the good news! The wonderful news!

God is also perfect in love and mercy and so He must also abide by these character traits perfectly. You see God loves you and me more than any being in the universe. He does not want anyone to end up in Hell. No! He loves the sinner but hates the sin. He wants all to be in heaven with Him forever and ever.

“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 KJV)

But this SIN is in the way because He must judge it. The penalty MUST be paid. So what is God to do in this predicament?

This is what Salvation is all about. The Bible tells us that God is a Trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:7). The Bible is clear that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). God in His perfect love and mercy decides to commit the single greatest act of love in the universe for all of time. God decides to take the punishment for our sins upon Himself so that our penalty for sins can be paid in full. To do this, He would have to become a man but also still be God. This God-man is Jesus The Christ.

Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary and was not born into the sin nature as we were. He is God after all. He could be tempted to sin but never sinned in His entire life in deed, nor in thought. Why? Because He is God become flesh. God had to become flesh and live as one of us so His blood could be shed for us. It was the only way that we could be forgiven our sins because they had to be paid for. God is perfectly just and our sins MUST be paid for.

When Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood God took upon Himself all the sins of the whole world (past/present/future) and paid for them (1 John 2:2) so that we could be freed from our sin debt against the Holy God Almighty. Salvation is a FREE GIFT of God’s grace and an unmerited favor. So you see, yes God is love. Amazing love! But His love that saves us was not in a wishy washy way. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sins and in doing so kept all His perfect traits and characteristics intact. He loves us perfectly. He judged our sins in His perfect justice and Holiness on Christ who willingly paid for our sins. He was perfectly merciful toward us in paying the penalty for our sins. THAT is the true love of God from the Bible. THAT is the love of God that you hear so much about. It far surpasses any love we have for each other here on Earth.

The Free Gift of The Grace Of God

“For by GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

The Bible is clear that this act of love towards us is a FREE GIFT to be accepted or rejected. As a GIFT, it is never earned. That is, it is not us working our way to heaven by performing good deeds and good works, being a good person nor by religious rituals. It is a Grace GIFT from God. An UNMERITED favor from God to humankind. Now God did not create us as robots. Instead He gave us a free will so that we could have a real relationship with Him. And so God offers the free gift of Salvation to all who believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, who atoned for our sins on the cross, died and rose again on the third day. Jesus on the cross cried out, “It is finished” and if we look at the Greek that the New Testament was written, it actually means “DEBT PAID IN FULL!” God does not force anyone to accept this free gift and turn to God for Salvation from our sins. As a GIFT, it must be received or rejected. Jesus said about Salvation through Him,

“That WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE.

For God SENT NOT his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world THROUGH HIM might be saved.

He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned already, because he hath NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:15-18 KJV)

This is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is called the good news!

What Must I Do To Be Saved?

Only one thing which is not of your own self righteous efforts in any way; BELIEVE the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who paid your penalty for the sins you have committed. When a person believes this they are from that very moment saved eternally, even without saying a prayer (it is good to give Him thanks in belief, do not get me wrong!), The Holy Spirit of God indwells the person and they are SEALED and saved for all eternity!

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye BELIEVED, ye were SEALED with that holy Spirit of PROMISE, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-16 KJV)

And this Scripture below shows just how much God has saved such a person for all eternity. To be with God in Heaven we must be without sin debt. In belief, the person actually becomes the very righteousness of God, in Christ. An amazing truth to be so thankful for, yet many believers have not grasped how powerful our Salvation is!

“For he hath made HIM [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be MADE the righteousness of God IN HIM.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV, [] brackets for clarification)

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And BY HIM ALL THAT BELIEVE ARE JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” (Acts13:38-39 KJV)

Because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and has imputed the righteousness of God to us, in God’s eyes He sees us through the filter of Christ! To Him we are holy, righteous and redeemed for all eternity. To God, all your sins (past/present.future) have all been fully paid for and so there is now no condemnation for them that believe on Christ alone in faith and belief.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 KJV)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 KJV)

Is Just Believing Enough To Save us? What About Repentance?

The New Testament was first penned in the Greek. The Greek word for the English word ‘repent’ is ‘metanoia’ and is defined as “…a change of mind, change in the inner man”. (see http://biblehub.com/greek/3341.htm) It is not defined as ‘turn from sin’ as many pulpits teaching works based Salvation are telling their church members. That is the modern day dictionary definition but not the Biblical definition of ‘repentance’.

In fact, we see in the Word of God that God Himself repents many times, yet God has no sin to turn from! To repent is to ‘change your mind’.

You can see clearly now that the Biblical meaning of ‘repent’ is nothing like the dictionary definition (change one’s life for the better; be penitent. ) True repentance is not a work that WE DO to gain God’s acceptance and favor after Salvation. God reached out to us first and provided a way for us sinners to be forgiven completely, but it is NOT from our own efforts. God gives Salvation to us as a free gift to be received. The Bible tells us that BEFORE God created the Earth He established the one and only way for us to be forgiven our sins and that way is by faith in the act of atonement provided by Jesus The Christ on the cross.

Repentance is changing our mind and thinking about how to be saved. We are NOT saved by our works, which is what the every religion in the world teaches. Repentance and belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (which is Salvation by faith alone In the atonement for our sins through Christ crucified) is two sides of the same coin. That is if you repent about how to deal with your sins (change your mind about how to get forgiveness for your sins) and believe that this is accomplished only through faith and belief in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and the atonement for our sins on the cross, you HAVE ALREADY repented.

Repenting is the change in your mind from the world’s way of dealing with sin and changing to God’s way of dealing with sin which is believing on Christ for Salvation apart from works of any kind (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Stopping the practice of a particular sin is a result of repenting and changing your mind. That is, it is not the repenting itself.

The Main Books Of The Bible On How To Be Saved Prove This!

The book of John is all about how to be saved. Do you know that the word ‘repent’ nor ‘repentance’ does not even appear once! But the word ‘believe’ on Christ is seen all over the book many times.

The book of Galatians. This is the book fighting against the false Gospel based on works for Salvation right? Again, the word ‘repent’ is not found once in this book contending for the true Gospel! However the word ‘faith’ in Jesus Christ is found all through the book.

The book of Romans. Paul tells us again and again that Salvation is NOT OF WORKS IN ANY MANNER! And where the word ‘repent’ is found, it is not the same Greek word. It does not mean ‘turning from your sin’.

The Christian religions need to stop using the dictionary definition of the word ‘repent’!!! They are teaching a FALSE GOSPEL WHICH WILL NOT SAVE ANYONE.

Believe The Gospel And Be Saved

Do you believe Jesus is the Christ (Christ is not Jesus’ last name, it means ‘the anointed one’), the only begotten Son of God who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, born without sin, lived a sinless life, atoned for and paid in full the sins of the whole world (past/present/future) on the cross (1 John 2:2), died and rose again on the third day? If so, the Holy Spirit now resides within you and you are SEALED and saved for all eternity. You are Heaven bound and your sins will not cause loss of your Salvation. They are fully PAID by Christ on the cross 2000 years ago.

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The Parable Of The Unforgiving Servant. Proper Application For Believers.

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living, Q&A: Forgiveness, Q&A: Parables Of Jesus
The Parable Of The Unforgiving Servant. Proper Application For Believers.

“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” (Matthew 18: 21-35 KJV)

Context matters greatly when reading difficult verses of Scripture and verse 34-35 are certainly difficult if not using proper context. There are those ignoring the context and focus of the Gospels based on verse 35. You must admit, verse 24-25 are some harsh words from Jesus right? Does this mean if we do not forgive a person as Jesus forgave us that we will be condemned to hell then and lose Salvation? It is so important to understand that the context here matters greatly. And what is the context in Matthew 18?

First we must realize that passages in the Gospels that are before the cross are addressed directly to the Israelites; the Jewish people and Pharisees of that time who were believing that Law keeping is the way to be favored by God. There are certainly learning to be had in this parable for believers about how we should be forgiving others as Christ forgave us but to make verse 34-25 about a believer who loses Salvation is just not in proper context for the Body of Christ.

Jesus is talking to His early disciples (early learners) here. Earlier, Peter is asking Jesus about forgiveness to his brother (fellow believers, starting at verse 22). Just how often am I to forgive a brother who sins against me?

The debt here represents our SINS. It is a debt that we cannot repay. The servant owed 10,000 talents. That is a massive debt, truly massive. That would be like several million dollars today. This shows us just how sinful we are in the God’s sight. We have an absolute impossibility to repay our debt of sins, through our own efforts.

The King/Master is Jesus Christ. This scene looks almost like a court room. The servant is brought in to give an account for his sin debt to God.

The servant owed an enormous debt (had a lifetime of sins) and the King demanded that payment be made but it was such a large debt that the servant could not pay it. The King’s judgment is to sell the servant and his entire family to regain the money owed to him. Not that just the servant will be sold but his entire family. It is a severe judgment. As is judgment for a persons sins. We are all hopelessly guilty before God with no way to repay. God keeps an account of sins and every sin is added to an account and logged.

At the appointed time that God has set, He will open this account to settle it. Each sin debt will either be paid in punishment or forgiven by God. The terms by which this will happen are in perfect alignment to the perfect character of God who never changes. God will ensure that His character remains intact. We have to be accountable to God, but God is accountable to Himself, as there is no other higher being that exists.

In verse 26, the servant pleads to God saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.’  This verse is a tell tale. What I mean is, the servant is saying he will pay back this enormous debt if given more time, as if he could through his own efforts, yet knowing it has already been a long time without repayment because he has been brought before the King.

Again, this parable is addressed to the Jewish people who believed their Law keeping would justify them and gain favour with God by their deeds and self righteous efforts; it is not addressed to believers of the New Covenant of the Grace of God through Christ crucified, died and risen. This servant is not a believer on Christ for Salvation. He is a servant because He is one of God’s chosen people; a Israelite. This particular servant is just like all of us in that we have a huge sin debt against God. But this servant, in his plea for mercy, does not seem to admit that he could never pay back this debt. He outright lies about doing so. It is utterly impossible. Then again, when we first come to the Lord Jesus we may not always see just how bad things really are in God’s sight. Isn’t that true? Yes we acknowledge we have a huge sin debt but I am willing to bet you the debt is MUCH LARGER than we think it really is!

So what does this King do? Remember, the King is really God in this parable. The King forgives his entire debt, all of it! Millions of today’s dollars! And then RELEASES and FREES the servant! The King gives him a free pass! This my friends is the very nature of God and shows how much he loves us in His perfect compassion and love, even when we are yet sinners. Now something to also realize is that it was only after the servant cried out and begged for mercy, in fear of the King’s righteous punishment, that the King was moved to compassion and forgave all this servants debts.

Notice that the King did not PAY for the servants debt in this parable; the king forgave the servants debt.  Jesus however PAID for our sin debt completely and this is another point showing that this parable is not addressed to saved believers today nor about a believer’s loss of Salvation as some are teaching. It is addressed to God’s chosen people, the Jews who were under the Old Covenant of Law keeping.

You would think that after being forgiven the debt and being made completely free that this servant would have had some serious gratitude and a very thankful heart. After having been so forgiven while he was seriously guilty of not paying his debts you would think that he would have such compassion on others as well. Unfortunately, this particular servant shown a complete lack of caring, feeling as we see when he runs into another person who owes him just 100 denari, or in the Greek 100 denarius . A denarius was around the equivalent to a days wage being around $20USD. So that equates to just about $2000 USD in today’s modern economy. Now if yo compare the millions of dollars this servant owed and was forgiven of when he asked the King for mercy, what is a debt of $2000? This forgiven servant in anger grabs the guy an demands that he pay him back NOW. The person that owes him money, “…fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.”  Here we see a fellow servant, another person living under the Law of Moses. And did this forgiven servant remember what it was like to owe a debt that you cannot repay yet? I mean, he could never have paid back the millions. Here it is only about 100 days of work. Surely a payment plan could have been arranged over a couple years or more. But what does he do instead? “And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.” He threw this guy in prison! Not nice at all is it?

When the King finds out what he has done (and God knows everything that we have done!) the reaction is swift and harsh indeed.

“Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?”

Does it seem like the King was fair or unfair? Would you say, more than fair? Now we are getting to the bottom of this parable to the disciples. The forgiven servant is now called ‘wicked’.  This unforgiving servant has sinned against his fellow Jew and the King’s justice is falling upon him just as the Law requires.

Jesus then says something that we really need to take to heart that is of great importance.

“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

This parable is not saying that once a person is saved and forgiven their sins through the atonement of Jesus Christ that their Salvation can be revoked. That would go against so many Scriptures that show we are secure in Christ from the moment of our Salvation. That would even contradict the words of Jesus Himself many times in Scripture. Again, all of Matthew 18 is Jesus burying the Jewish peoples in their Law keeping to have favour with God. Jesus is not addressing us today who are saved by the blood of Jesus.

The way the servant asks the King for mercy and the request to give him more time (be patient) to pay back the debt shows that this individual does not grasp the reality of the situation. He thinks he can pay back the debt of sin in self effort but we cannot repay for our sins ourselves. Only Christ accomplished this for us on the cross. And being forgiven by the King, he then thinks arrogantly and that he is better than others who are sinning and have a sin debt, as if he does not have sin still. And treats them harshly based on their debt as a sinner. Too full of PRIDE just like Satan is. The King calls this servant ‘wicked’ and that is not a term ever used for the Body of Christ, for believers in Christ’s atonement.

God forgave us with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. It was not just an easy pass. Salvation is a free gift for us to receive without self effort. But for God and Jesus it was hardly free; it was an extremely painful act in love towards us. As a redeemed person we need to have a forgiving heart towards others, even when they sin against you in a vial manner; forgive others to the extreme! Pray that God open their eyes and save them. Only God can do it!

Does Forgive Mean To Forget?

And do not think that to forgive means to forget. Forgive and do not repay them for their wrongdoing, that is forgiveness towards others. It does not mean that you have to go back and continually take abuse of any kind. But just WALK AWAY and know that God is right there with you. Recognize that you too sin against others at times and forgive them. But do not take revenge yourself against such a person,

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19 KJV)

Give that task to God but ask Him to forgive them as Stephen did, even while they were stoning him! As Christ did even as they were mocking Him and hanging Him on the cross! Pray for them, pray for even your enemies, and for God to bring them repentance unto Salvation in Christ. In other words, “Let go. And let God.” By doing this you are doing right as a forgiven child of God.

The Tragedy Of The Wicked

“But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.” (Psalm 73:2-5 KJV)

Have you ever noticed how the ‘wicked’ and as yet ‘unredeemed’ people of the world tend to have some pretty amazing luck? How many times have you heard a believer ask “I am redeemed through Christ and I try to do good works for the Lord, but why is it I keep having major problems while I see so many wicked evil people doing so well?” It sure does seem that way at times, doesn’t it? This world is being ruled to a certain extent by Satan until Christ’s returns and bounds him for 1000 years. Anything that goes against the world system, or the worlds way, is going against the wind and it causes turbulence.

God loves people unconditionally right? Does he not love a person that is yet, unredeemed and who has not accepted Christ? The Bible is clear that God loves everyone, sinners included, unconditionally. And you know what? If a person is not recognizing their sinfulness and is asking God for mercy, saying to God “I WILL pay you back”, that person is trying to buy their way to freedom from their sin debt. That will NOT save that person. However, does God have the right to help them from their financial situation in compassion? Look at this Scripture,

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 43-48 KJV)

These are the very words of Jesus instructing us how to behave and live for God. This is how our attitude should be. He tells us here that God loves the unredeemed too and He sends good things to both the wicked and the good. Jesus is telling us plainly that this is how we should be treating others, both believers and non believers, after our Salvation. Where would we be without the forgiveness that God obtained for us through Jesus Christ? We would be hell bound for eternity my friend. Thank God for His forgiveness, now go and forgive others and God will highly respect that as He works through you to a lost world.

You have trouble while the wicked seem not to have troubles? Understand that God has given you ALL THINGS through Christ. You are Heaven bound forever. But what of the wicked and unredeemed? They may be having it good now but it is fleeting. Be encouraged because Christ said ,

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 KJV).

The word ‘tribulation’ used here in the original Greek is the word ‘thlipsis’ which has a meaning of ‘pressure (what constricts or rubs together), used of a narrow place that “hems someone in”; tribulation, especially internal pressure that causes someone to feel confined, a feeling of no way to escape” .

With the Holy Spirit residing within us we are bound to go against the grain of the world system as it is today because it is an ungodly world system right now. And it will continue to be until Jesus returns to Earth to rule and reign. As believers in Christ, the Holy Spirit guides us and renews our minds over time and we start to see things through God’s eyes and not the worlds eyes. We need to have a heart for the lost. Do you not remember that you were once lost too?

One side of the coin is that the wicked prosper because God is good to the unbeliever and the believer. The other side of the coin at work is Satan and his fallen angels. The Bible calls Satan ‘the ruler of this world’ (John 12:31) And Satan is perfectly fine with a person that either rejects God altogether, or a person that bases his status with God on their own self effort and good works. Satan loves it when people do all kinds of ‘religious things’ and ‘rituals’ and ‘penance for sins’. He loves it when people compare themselves with others as a standard of righteousness instead of comparing against the true standard, our Holy God. He loves it because these people are having the same sin that Satan has; the sin of pride. It is all about self effort and self righteousness. If you think about it a moment; will Satan and his fallen angels work to continue them in prosperity and keep their mind off God, or give them troubles in life?

You see, it is a funny thing about life troubles. Many times it is only in these life troubles that people tend to cry out to God for help. We realize the trouble is way out of our control. When we are at the very bottom , there is only ONE way to look and that is UP! Up to God for help. Satan does not want people turning to God or thinking that maybe there is a God who will help me, who loves me. So, as ruler of this world Satan and his fallen angels may be assisting these people in being successful in the worldly and ungodly system, in which we live. And this being the case, if you are having troubles in life that just seem to gnaw at you and you are fighting one battle and then into another. You need to know where it is coming from. It is like Jesus says,

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12 KJV)

Rejoice when you are being persecuted and people say all kinds of evil things about you? When they gossip about you and falsely accuse you? Why rejoice in that? Because God has given you ALL THINGS.

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32 KJV)

At the Rapture you will be as Jesus is! Immortal. Blessed for ever. The wicked do not have this long term blessed hope. All they have is FEAR in what is coming for them. But believers in Christ do! Jesus says to be exceedingly GLAD! GREAT is your reward in heaven!

This world and world system is fleeting. Most people have a life span of maybe 90 years? Most only around 70-80 years. What is that amount of time verses forever and ever and ever in the presence of God, with no more fleshly sinful mind in people? Where everything is a pure blessing. Where there will be no more tears even? At the moment of a persons Salvation our inner nature became a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) A heaven bound creation. We are just waiting for our bodies to be changed and then ZAP!.. we are in the presence of Jesus forever in immortality.

Forgive everyone that sins against you!
Even when it is very hard!
Especially when it is very hard!
Give it to God.
You do the RIGHT thing and leave all the rest to God.

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Have You Been Sifted By God Yet?

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” (Luke 22:31-34)

Whenever Jesus calls a persons name more than once in a conversation, He is emphasizing how important what He is about to say is. “Simon, Simon,” is what Jesus said to Peter. This was of course at the Last Supper just prior to Jesus being taken into custody. The next days would be very hard on Jesus as the very moment and point of His life, indeed the very purpose He came for, was upon Him now. He is about to face the utmost in human torture and even separation from God the Father; something He never dealt with before in Eternity where the Father and Jesus (the word) were always one together. And even then, knowing what He was going to go through, Jesus still cared for His disciples greatly, thinking of what they are about to go through!

The disappointment and discouragement felt by the Apostles and even their own shame was about to come pressing down upon them. Peter probably thought he would never deny Jesus. He knew that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. He exclaimed in protest that he would go to prison and even suffer death with Jesus and not deny Christ. Yet Satan sifted Peter as wheat and he did just what he thought he would never be capable of doing. Have you ever felt like that? You NEVER thought you could “do such a thing”, yet one day there you are doing what you thought you would never do! The sin nature in us is indeed a powerful force in our lives and Satan and his demons know just where to attack us in our life.

Jesus said that although He is allowing Satan to sift Peter, he prayed for Him. Jesus knew he would not escape the sifting. The point is that even before Peter denied Christ, Jesus was praying that it would not end His faith but increase it. “And when you come back, strengthen your brethren”. You see, all the apostles (not just Peter) scattered in fear. John is the only one we see at the foot of the cross. That is interesting to me because John wrote he was the disciple Jesus loved, while Peter was the disciple that said he loved Jesus.

And Judas? Almost to the point of losing all hope and faith. Judas could not take it. Not only did he misjudge what the Sanhedrin were really going to do, he betrayed Jesus. He could have asked for forgiveness and believed but instead he killed himself. Judas was with the disciples and Jesus – He knew Him first hand. He was in he “inner circle” right? Yet, Judas did not believe salvation in Christ as Messiah. What he wanted was for Jesus to end Roman occupation and ruler ship. He tried to force Gods hand to do things his way. 

We know that not only did Peter come back from this incident, he seen the risen Christ and went on to preach and see the salvation of thousands of people during his lifetime and countless millions after his death. So have you ever felt like you are being sifted? Maybe you feel like you are being sifted right now. If so, Keep the faith! God has NOT abandoned you even if you feel like He has. You must remember about the character of God and His attributes and keep the faith in God.

Remember that God is not disappointed when you fail in your faith. Nothing takes God by surprise and He knows everything you will do in your entire life from eternity past! And even so, Jesus prays to the Father on our behalf! Be of good cheer. Even Christ said that in this world we will have trouble… But fear not for He has (past tense) overcome the world (John 16:33).

We all fall. But we need to get back up. Ask for forgiveness and strength for our faith in Christ and move forward; Shake it off. God will remain with you through it all. He will make all things work for your good.