Q&A: Repentance

Do We Repent and Then Believe For Salvation? Or Do We Believe For Salvation And Then Repent To Keep Salvation?

Don Gerrity General OSAS Questions, Q&A: Repentance, Q&A: Salvation
Do We Repent and Then Believe For Salvation? Or Do We Believe For Salvation And Then Repent To Keep Salvation?

So many pulpits are teaching falsely what the word REPENT actually means in the Bible.

Repentance GOES BEFORE WE BELIEVE for Salvation. Salvation is not of our self righteous works. Do not confuse the free gift of Salvation with our sanctification and works after Salvation.

REPENT as a word simply means ‘change your mind’. The Greek word for the English word ‘repent’ is ‘metanoia’. It is not defined as ‘turn from your sin’. Should we be turning from sin?… of course! YES! But that is not what the word repent is defined as in the Bible and it is so important to understand this! Turning from your sins is a RESULT of repenting; it is not the repenting itself.

You can change any Scripture that says ‘repent’ with ‘change your mind’ and then see the real meaning of the passage based on the context of the passage.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: REPENT ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15 KJV)

is same as….

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: CHANGE YOUR MIND ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15 KJV)

The free gift of Salvation is about BELIEF and not good works for our justification.

“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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV)

Using the word ‘unto’ means AFTER our Salvation good works will flow out of us from within, by the Holy Spirit through us. But it is not something we should boast about! Why? Because it is the work of CHRIST CRUCIFIED that has redeemed us and not our own works in any manner! And certainly not our own self righteous forced works.

Jesus Himself is very clear on our Salvation and how to be saved. The simplicity of the Gospel is mind boggling to some who just cannot believe they do not have to work their way to justification. But believing your works are required is the sin of Pride. Yes, the same sin the devil deceived Adam and Eve with.  The same sin that had Lucifer, closest to God’s throne, turned into Satan, the adversary of God and man.

Jesus is so clear in John 3 that all other Salvation Scriptures need to agree with it to see the proper interpretations.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

(Don: This is referring to the Exodus of Moses’ day. The people had snakes biting and killing them. All they had to do was BELIEVE that looking upon the serpent raised up that the snakes bites would not kill them. This belief saved them. This is Jesus showing us an analogy that Salvation is by belief on His finished work alone and nothing else.)

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 3:14-18 KJV)

Jesus no where in John 3 states that good works not never sinning again is a requirement of our justification and Salvation. Why add it then? This is JESUS talking here!

BELIEVE, BELIEVE, BELIEVE.

Not just believe Christ existed. Believe the Gospel. Believe Jesus is the Christ, God in the flesh, the foretold prophesied Messiah who never sinned and willingly died on the cross as punishment for OUR sins. Whosoever believes this is now ETERNALLY SAVED and SEALED by the Holy Spirit.

“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 (in Greek means ‘guaranteed down payment’) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession (until our bodily resurrection), unto the praise of his glory. ” (Ephesians 1:13-14 bracket comments added by mean for further clarification)

BELIEVE!

“And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, BELIEVE ON the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Act 16:30-31 KJV)

What Does The Bible Mean By Repentance?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Repentance, Q&A: Salvation, Q&A: The Truth About...
What Does The Bible Mean By Repentance?

It is something that every Christian has done. If you have not done this one thing then you may not a Christian but only think you are. Repentance. The Scriptures are clear and Jesus tells us that to be saved one needs to repent.

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17 KJV)

“But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?” (Matthew 9:12-14 KJV)

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:5 KJV)

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)

It is well established that Jesus states very clearly that we must repent from Sin. However, there seems to be much confusion about what the Bible means when it tells us to Repent. Does that mean that we just stop all sins and then we can be saved? Does that mean we must do penance for our sins? Does it mean we need to turn from our sins to retain Salvation? Does it just mean we feel sorry for our sins?

John says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10). And John was addressing believers here, not those who do not believe. So if he told believers with faith in Christ and the atonement for sins He provided on the cross, then we can also conclude that to ‘repent‘ is not to stop sinning. That is not to say we should try to not sin. However, the word ‘repent’ obviously does not mean to ‘not ever sin’ again.

Is ‘repenting‘ something that we must do after we accept faith in Christ? Is repenting something that we must do over and over again after our moment of belief in accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior? That is when we sin, do we have to do something to have the sins after our initial point of Salvation or risk losing our Salvation?

Clearing The Confusion Over Repentance

The confusion over what ‘repentance’ actually means is due to a misunderstanding over the Biblical verse the modern day definition of the English word repent. The modern day dictionaries do not define the word ‘repent’ in the same way that the Bible defines the word. The definition of the word has changed over time and no longer is defined to mean what it meant in the time that Jesus walked on the Earth 2000 years ago.

Dictionary defines the word ‘repent’ as “to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one’s life for the better; be penitent. “ If this were the definition for ‘repent’ in the Bible then the entire Gospel and Salvation in Christ becomes a false Gospel based on works and our human effort.

God repents many times in Scripture (Genesis 6:6, Exodus 32:14, Judges 2:18, 1 Samuel 15:35, Amos 7:3, etc.). I ask you, does God need to ‘turn from His sins’? NO! That makes no sense right? God is Holy and has NO SIN. The Father has NO SIN. Jesus has NO SIN. The Holy Spirit has NO SIN. Therefore, ‘turning from sin’ is not the Biblical definition of the English translated word ‘repent’ in the Bible.

A read through the book of Galatians shows that the word repent is not defined in the Bible as ‘turn from sin‘.

“Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:3-8 KJV)

A review of the Gospel of Christ that Paul taught shows clearly that Salvation is not of human works or effort but that Salvation is a free gift from God. Salvation is not something we work towards receiving. It is a gift that we receive. If someone gives you a gift, do they expect you to work or they will take back the gift? If so, it is not a gift right?

Apparently there were some Jews who wanted to add works of the law as a requirement to be saved. (We see this happening today as well!) This is opposite to the Gospel of Christ. In fact, it is like telling Christ that His sacrifice in blood for remission of our sins was not enough and not sufficient. God forbid a person act like that toward such a loving God! It is such a seriously wrong belief that Paul says,

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8 KJV)

The True Biblical Meaning of Repentance

The word ‘repent’ in the Bible has a completely different meaning than today’s modern dictionary. Once you see the true Biblical meaning of ‘repentance’ you can see how good the good news of the Gospel of Christ really is!

The New Testament was originally written in the Greek. This is important information for interpreting the Scriptures to find the true meaning of passages used in context.

The Greek word for the English word ‘repent’ is ‘metanoia’ and is defined as “…a change of mind, change in the inner man”.

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. 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, God in the flesh, 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. Even many ‘Christian organized religions’ are teaching falsely and misusing the word ‘repent’ and they add works as a requirement of Salvation. But that is NOT Biblical teaching. We need to change our thinking about how we are saved to the true way of Salvation. It is 100% the Grace Of God, through faith in Jesus Christ and the atonement He provided by His shed blood. By believing this we have repented and turned towards God while He is already reaching out to us!

You see this world system/world view is not God’s view and He wants us to turn from the world’s way of dealing with sin and instead accept His way of dealing with our sin. To repent is the first step to Salvation in Christ. Repentance does not save a person, but it leads to Salvation as you change your mind about God and your sin debt against Him.

“ Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.” (2 Corinthians 7:9 KJV)

There are Scriptures where it may seem like it is saying that to Repent is to turn away from and stop sinning but those are talking about the process of our sanctification and fellowship with God. It is not about turning from sin as a requirement of our justification in Salvation. However, the Bible is very clear that Salvation is not of works or human effort. Salvation comes by believing the Gospel, not by not sinning. And if you really think about it; if you change your mind (repent) about God and how to have your sins forgiven, you may very well change and stop a particular sin you practiced in your life before Salvation.

But the 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 Salvation Proves 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’ and start using the Bible definition.

Using The Biblical Definition

Understanding the Bible definition of the word REPENT as simply ‘change your mind’ we can replace the word with ‘change your mind‘ and then reread the passage and the context becomes more clear.

Example: Acts 3:

“19 REPENT ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19 KJV)

 

“19 CHANGE YOUR MIND ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19 KJV)

Acts 3 is about a Change of mind about how to eradicate sin. Not by the Law of Moses, but through Christ in faith.

What About Turning From Our Sin Then?

To be clear…I AM NOT SAYING BELIEVERS SHOULD NOT TURN FROM SIN. If someone has repented… they have basically turned to God in belief and confess that they are a sinful person with a sin nature. In remorse, they ask Christ to forgive them and have mercy on them because they realize that they cannot stop sinning perfectly. They see the Ten Commandments and realize they have broken many if not most of them. They TURN TO GOD for mercy.

Turning from sin alone does not save anyone. Turning to God in belief on Christ Crucified for the payment of our sins does.

Now, after Salvation, our mind begins to renew by the Word Of God (our sanctification – see John 17) and we start to change. We fight sinning. It is a REAL struggle! (Romans 7)

We turn from sinning because that is what our New Spirit wants. I believe strongly in turning from our sins to the best of our ability. But I recognise that with this sin nature still in us… I will fail and sin as well. When I do, guilt hits from the Holy Spirit and I tell God I am sorry and ask God to help me do better.

The point is turning from sin is not a requirement of our justification but we try not to sin after Salvation knowing that when we blow it… Jesus already paid for the sins committed. We still have consequences for the acts of sin – but loss of Salvation is not a consequence because Salvation is eternal and God keeps us saved by His grace.

World’s way of dealing with sin…

(a) There is no God.

(b) If I do good deeds it will make up for my sins and I will be in right standing with God. Or, I am full of sin and so I will run away from anything to do with God so my sin will not be revealed.

(c) I will make myself look like I am good on the outside and go to church everyday. I will assist in the church committees, I will be outstanding in religious things and these good deeds will make me walk in right standing with God.

God’s way of dealing with sin…

(a) God is Holy and He must punish someone that sins. The punishment for sinning is ETERNAL DEATH. (Romans 6:23)

(b) Everyone has sinned, regardless of how good they think they are and no good deeds can every make up for past sins committed.

(c) Jesus, the only Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary (not born into sin as we are), lived a sinless life and freely gave His life on the cross to take the punishment for the sins that we commit and takes our place in punishment so we can be free from the punishment of sin.

(d) As a sinner you and I acknowledge that we have sinned against God. And we ask Jesus to forgive us all our sins (past,present and future) and accept the free gift of salvation from our debt of sin against God. You see the world’s way to God is through works. But the real way to God is by God’s grace through faith:

“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 KJV)

This is what true repentance is. We turn from working away our sin debt, or out right ignoring it, (the World’s way) to accepting His love and forgiveness (God’s way). Jesus, the only son of God who existed before the universe was even created, of His own free will died on the cross and took our place and punishment for sin’s we have committed. On that cross He freed us from our sin debt and gave us God’s very righteousness, in Christ. Once you accept this gift from God through Jesus’ atonement on the cross you are now what the Bible calls “Righteous”. Not because of our works nor our sinless life, but because Christ bore the punishment for all of our sins. It is God who first loved us and reached out to us. Christ will return and set up His eternal Kingdom on Earth in the future. This is the Gospel message.

God is love and waits for you to return to a relationship with Him. This is the “Good News” of the Gospel. So when Jesus tells us that we need to repent it means we need to believe the Gospel message and to believe in God’s world view in how to deal with he sin debt we all have against a Perfectly Holy and Just God.

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 KJV)

“Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14: 5-6 KJV)

Jesus did not tell Thomas that no one comes to the Father except he stops sinning. Jesus said “except through ME”. When a person asks for the forgiveness provided through Christ. When a person invites Jesus to take control of their life. When a person asks Jesus for forgiveness and invites God through the forgiveness provided, then that person become a new creature in the spirit. A new created being. They have repented by doing so. They believed on Christ for Salvation. In fact, God lives within every believer as Jesus said,

“Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (John 14:19-20 KJV)

I can attest to this truth from my own personal experience in life. He makes it so clear to me in every circumstance in ways that I will know that it must be Him, within me and with me. And He does work through me as well, probably more than I know!

And after many years now I know, that I know, that Christ is with me through the Holy Spirit. It is a mystery – no doubt about it! But it is simply the truth. God gave us the free gift of Eternal life through Jesus, the Christ. And all we have to do is believe, feel sorry about our sin and ask for His forgiveness and He will forgive us, justify us and set us free. After the moment of a person’s Salvation in Christ the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within a believer. And over time the Holy Spirit will make Himself known to you and will teach you all things.

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26 KJV)

The Parable of the Lost Son – Are You One?

“ And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.” (Luke 15:11-24 KJV)

If you have never had a change of mind about the truth that God exists…

…that the Bible is true with proof no other religious writing have,
…that He is perfect in every way,
…that He is Perfectly Holy and Perfectly Just,
…that He never changes,
…that He must punish sin (eternal death)
…and that the only way back to God is to admit you are a sinner
…and that the ONLY way back to the one true God of the universe is through the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ, the Son Of God, for the remission of your sin,

THEN I SAY TO YOU… Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand!

Today can be the day of your Salvation. Your Salvation is NOT of works. It is a pardon gift for your sins (past/present/future) TODAY. Come as you are – full of sin and regrets and hangups, guilty before God. God is waiting for you to accept His free GIFT OF SALVATION. It is a HOLY PARDON that is free to you but that Christ paid a heavy price in His blood to obtain for you eternal life with God through your Salvation. He longs to forgive you COMPLETELY for ALL the sins in your life.

Do Born Again Christians Sin?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living, Q&A: Repentance, Q&A: The Truth About...
Do Born Again Christians Sin?

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10 KJV)

There are some who use this verse and say it is talking about believers in Christ and those that are redeemed by the atonement of our sin through Christ on the cross. That if you became saved through faith in Jesus and still commit sin that you are not saved and will not end up in heaven. But is this really the truth?

It is interesting that the people professing this leave out the very next verse  is,

“And such were some of you: but ye are WASHED, but ye are SANCTIFIED, but ye are JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11 KJV)

So you see the focus of this Scripture is talking about the unredeemed of Christ. Unbelievers. Those who basically not only sin but those that enjoy it and profess it openly. It is speaking about those who willingly refuse to accept Jesus as their justification and salvation through faith.

“And such were some of you”

Isn’t that a key pivotal point to this Scripture? Yes indeed! WE ALL HAVE SINNED! We all have such evil thoughts and intentions. Just a quick read of the Ten Commandments should be a mirror into your sinfulness. Jesus said that even looking at a woman in lust, we have broken a commandment. Not the act of having sex with her.. just lust looking at her. That goes for basically ever type of sin then. It is our sinful nature that is the object and why we need salvation through Christ.

Yes, we all have varying degrees of sin, some greater than others. But it is the sin nature within and even one sin is enough to disqualify a person from heaven. That is, outside of accepting the pardon for our sin through Jesus Christ’s act of atonement, whereby He became our sinful selves and took upon Himself the punishment for the sins of the world, we are lost and pat of the group the Bible calls the UNREDEEMED.

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalm 53-1-3 KJV)

This is the state of every human being born from the age of accountability UNTIL a person accepts the atonement of Jesus Christ, the ONLY way back to a right relationship with God.

John tells us like this,

“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)

Jesus said it as clearly as possible when He said,

“…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME.” (John 14:6 KJV)

Do we sin after accepting Christ? Is it possible to never sin again from that point on? If you sin after salvation, are you no longer saved?

John tells us very clearly and simply,

” If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10 KJV)

So do not listen to anyone that tells you, you have to be perfectly sinless after salvation to keep your salvation. No, that is totally incorrect.

Should we avoid sinning? Yes! However, know that Salvation is the work of God. It is not something we can EARN by good works. Look at these Scriptures on this topic and that is VERY evident!

 

“For by grace you have been saved THROUGH FAITH, and that NOT of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8 KJV)

 

“Now to the one who works, his wage is NOT reckoned on the basis of grace, but as WHAT IS DUE. But to the one who DOES NOT WORK, BUT BELIEVES IN HIM (Jesus) WHO JUSTIFIES the ungodly, his faith is reckoned AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Romans 4:4-5 KJV)

 

“So they asked Him, `What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do ? Jesus answered, `What God wants you to do is to BELIEVE in the one He sent.” (John 6:28-29 KJV)

Even Paul, the writer of 2/3 of the New Testament, the once Christian persecutor, who accepted Christ on the road to Damascus. Paul, the person that gave us the road map of salvation through faith and not works. Paul, who rebuked even Peter for allowing works into the salvation equation. Paul, Known as one of the greatest of the Apostles. What does the Apostle Paul have to say about this?

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15 KJV)

Notice Paul did not say “of whom I ONCE was chief”. NO! “of whom I AM CHIEF”.

We are not to boast about how good we are as believers. We are not to look down upon the unredeemed as if you did something to be saved and you are better than they are as a person. NO! NO! NO!

The redeemed are SINNERS with a savior, Jesus the Christ. We were REDEEMED at a great cost to God! Jesus died for us, as us. He became our sins and took upon Himself the sins of the world and paid the price for our sins. Just as in court a debtor must pay his debts, we as sinners must pay our debt of sin which is eternal death in hell. But thanks be to our God that He sent His only Son, Jesus The Christ to pay our debt HIMSELF to redeem us. The sinless God-man, the perfect Sacrafice, Jesus, paid that debt on the cross. And whosoever believes this, receives a full pardon and now that the debt has been fully paid, we cannot be convicted of that debt ever again!

That is why Jesus cried out with a loud voice on the cross, “It is finished!” which in the Greek literally means PAID IN FULL.

Remember context when reading Scriptures. We are here discussing 1 Corinthians 6. But go to 2 Corinthians 5 and see that is reads,

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, NOT IMPUTING THEIR TRESPASSES UNTO THEM; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 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 5:17-21)

Am I Saying To Keep On Sinning? God forbid!

Absolutely not! As the Holy Spirit guides you into the truth, after your salvation, and as the Holy Spirit sanctifies you and renews your mind through the word of God, your world view will start changing. Your belief will change. Your very heart will change.

Good works will follow (but they are not what saves you… keep a humble attitude). Yes, try not to sin. But when you do fall into a sin or a sinful practice, the Holy Spirit will, not in conviction, show you your sinful way and help you correct it. Turn to God and ask for help and forgiveness. Boast to God about your weaknesses and boast in Christ instead.

 

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10 KJV)

 

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 2:1-3 KJV)

 

“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU; GO AND SIN NO MORE.” (John 8:1-11 KJV)

Our attitude as believers is to “Go and sin no more.” KNOWING that Christ no longer condemns you – you have been purchased and redeemed. Not that we will not still sin. It is an ongoing struggle to do what is right out of an attitude of gratitude for what Christ went through to redeem us with His blood.

Now, “go and sin no more” knowing that when we fail and sin, Christ is right there ready to catch us and help us overcome our failures. Look to Jesus for everything. He is EVERYTHING!