Repentance Vs Salvation ~ Aren't they the same thing?

The simple answer is no!

Some people believe that if you do certain things, you are guaranteed a place in heaven. That is not true.

Galatians 1: 6-9 (NIV) ~ "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!"

Without salvation, man kind would be lost forever!

Let us not be confused with what repentance is NOT:

1. Repentance is NOT BEING SORRY for what you have done. People who are truly sorry for their past mistakes, but they are not believers in Jesus. When you mention belief in Jesus as part of true repentance, they want no part of it. People can be truly sorry for messing up in their lives, but not be believers in Jesus.

2. Repentance is NOT FEELING GUILTY for what you have done. Just because you're feeling guilty in your conscience and may sense a burden of shame, that guilty feeling can be masked by external things. So how are you dealing with guilt? (drugs, alcohol, denial, staying busy). Unless you are confessing your wrong doings to Jesus, you are just a person who feels guilt for something you have done.

3. Repentance is NOT REGRETTING that things have turned out poorly. This is what a criminal or a lawbreaker feels whenever they get caught doing something they knew was wrong to do.Even Judas was remorseful.

Matthew 27: 3-4 (NIV) ~" When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and elders. "I have sinned," he said., "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."

Dr. Charles Ryrie points out that "there are many criminals who are very sorry about their criminality and the damage they have caused, but they are not willing to come to Christ and have their sins forgiven. This is not a biblical repentance - this is a carnal remorse, this is guilt, this is sorrow, but this kind of grief does not lead to salvation. It is imperative that you search your heart to determine if you are willing to not only face your sin, but to pick it up and run with it straight to Jesus and give it to Him. That act of doing so is biblical repentance."

 True repentance NEVER had conditions.

Mark 1:14b - 15 (NIV) ~ "  Jesus went into Gailee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Jesus doesn't fix mistakes, he died so you could have your sins forgiven. We need to change our minds and opinions about Jesus.

God doesn't listen to the prayers of non-believers unless it is a prayer asking for salvation. You can't come under the authority of Jesus, with your prayers, unless you confess Jesus is your Savior. You don't confess your sins to anyone but Jesus.

God is simply waiting for the non believer to change your opinion (repent) of who Jesus is before He will hear you and you will be saved. You have to have a complete 180 degree change of heart before you can be saved. The believers in Jesus have hope in this scripture. Our sins when we confess them and ask Jesus into our lives are removed. We have been forgiven.

Psalm 103:12-14 (NIV) ~ "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust."

2 Corinthians 6: 1-2 (NIV) ~ " As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now it the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."

When you hear the truth of God's Word, the truth of what it takes to be saved through Jesus Christ, and you do nothing, God may not speak to you again. You need to stop accepting the biblical world view of Jesus and accept the Bibles view of who He is and what He did for all of us.

We have to remember as believers in Jesus, that when we sin, we don't change our beliefs of Jesus, we simply need to confess our sins. This is the mistake most Christians make when they sin, they believe they need to start the "sinner's prayer" all over again including accepting Jesus into our lives again, and that is NOT what needs to happen when we confess our sins.

So many Christian think that just because they have sinned, they have to go back to the beginning like restarting a game, and go back to the start again. That is where we make mistakes when it comes to confession of sin. Just confess the sin part and move on. We need to see when we give our lives to God, with a change of true repentance, a change of opinion of who Jesus is and who what He did for us, when we slip up, our salvation is NOT LOST. We just disrupted the fellowship between ourselves and God.

Just like the old Verizon commercial, "Can you hear me now?" When we have unconfessed sin our in our life, God won't talk to you until you confess or remove that barrier that is preventing God from hearing you. We need to clear the air between us and God. When we sin, if we don't confess it, God momentarily stops listening to our prayers, our fellowship with Him has been temporarily severed, but our salvation is still intact.

1 John 2:1 (NIV) ~ "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." 

1 John 1:6-7, 9 (NIV) ~ "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

The bold text is emphasis on the words fellowship, not salvation. Notice the difference! We need to confess sin to restore the fellowship with Jesus, not go back to the beginning and keep repeating the sinner's prayer for salvation.

We need to make sure however, when we do sin, we confess it on the spot, don't wait!

Mark 11:25 -26 (NIV) ~ " And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in Heaven may forgive you your sins."

It's not about losing our salvation when we forgive others, it is about restoring the fellowship we had with God through the confession of our sins. And we remember just how many times, we are called to forgive, according to the Bible is it 70 times 7, which is 490 times, a number in Jewish culture that means an infinite number of times. That should be such a verse that frees believers to the simple difference between our salvation and the confession of our sins! It doesn't say the Father will forgive you and restore your salvation, NO it says forgive you of your sins!'

You can't tap out the limits of God's grace as a believer in Jesus Christ.

The Darkest Day in History!

I sometimes wonder just what that Saturday felt like following the crucifixion felt like to those that witnessed it first hand.

I can only imagine the grief that Jesus' mother endured not only having to bring this wonderful child into the world but to stand at the foot of the cross and watch all this happening to a son she knew perfectly well was not guilty. I would have to say she spent the night with close family members and friends.

The disciples must have gathered together after having been spread about the city because the Bible states in all the gospel accounts that none were there but then how did gospels capture the story. Did they flee the city hoping to avoid capture after the garden? I feel that they did. They reunited some how and endured this day remembering those times that they walked with Him and the lessons they learned, miracles they saw Him perform. I even expect an occasional laugh came through too about some funny thing that remembered Jesus doing.

I wonder how Peter felt the day after his denial of Jesus. I wonder just how many "what if's" he played out in his mind. I personally feel that Peter felt the worst. He was now living the life of regrets. A life he probably felt he could take back and wished he could. I see Peter sitting among the rest of the disciplines in the Upper Room but isolated from the others in tears.

So they all united together with one another grieving over the loss of what they must have questioned was the true Messiah. I guess He wasn't really the one we had hoped for? It can't have ended this way? Surely we have missed something? What will happen now?

These are all questions I am sure ran through the mind of the believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

Yet this particular day was still a day of lost hope. I can't imagine anyone somewhere thinking, Hey wait remember what Jesus said, He always spoke in parables, didn't He say something about rebuilding the temple in 3 days, do you think it means Him? If so, won't He be coming back again?

I seriously doubt it because the Bible does not record this day. I can only imagine it was the longest day any of them had ever experienced in their life. Life without hope can do that to you. Rob you of time, of joy, of life even if you let it.

Heaven must have fallen silent at that very moment Christ died as well. I can only imagine the grief that God experienced after having to punish his son, who did no wrong with all the sins of man, past, present and future as those He personally had committed them all. God grief must have been greater than we would ever know. I am sure the angels were weeping. Heaven for a brief moment must have fallen silent.

In the world I am sure that Satan and his enemies were having a great old laugh at God's expense too! Fists being thrown in the air at God, mocking him that even his only perfect son, could not bear the power of death. That they had won!

Yet as we know not even the power of death could hold back our Savior. For at that moment he was in the pit of hell taking back the keys of death from Satan and his minions because in a few short hours, the world would know for certain that Christ will rise from the dead. We all know that Jesus was still on the throne, still in power and still working in the details. Wait til tomorrow!

Little however did the disciples now the majesty of what would await them in the morning. But for now, I am choosing to reflect and remember just what Jesus has done in my life today and how if it weren't for Him, I would be hopeless and lost.

Solemn Saturday

Today I woke up and realized in my weekend reflection that today would have represented the day after Jesus' death. I spent the morning wondering what life was like for the disciples that day. I would have guessed that for some, they wondered if Jesus was really dead, "Did it really happen?". Some probably still in denial that our Savior was dead and the loneliness that day must have been overwhelming.

You spent so many years with this person witnessing all His miracles and the many blessings that followed. To just have had the opportunity to walk with Jesus and talk with Him, to hear what really interested Him during all His travels. Then to have that all taken away in a day.

I wonder how Peter felt the day after his denial of Jesus. I wonder just how many "what if's" he played out in his mind. I personally feel that Peter felt the worst. He was now living the life of regrets. A life he probably felt he could take back and wished he could. I see Peter sitting among the rest of the disciplines in the Upper Room but isolated from the others in tears.

I am certain they spent the day wondering how they could have possibly changed the events that happened the night before, wondering if they could have saved Jesus. I am also sure that at some point in the day, they spent time sharing all the stories of what they remembered most about Jesus. I would guess at times, there would be a great memory shared that would bring about a smile and laughter, only to have it suddenly removed, when they realized those moments were no more.

I can imagine how somber and sullen that day would have been. A day of reflection and remembrance of Jesus' life on Earth and the impact he made in so many lives.

Little however did the disciples now the majesty of what would await them in the morning. But for now, I am choosing to reflect and remember just what Jesus has done in my life today and how if it weren't for Him, I would be hopeless and lost.