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The Amish Voice 15
themselves – having a form of godliness,
but denying its power. Folks, there is
much evidence of this all around us.
Forgiveness Without Repentance
The primary reason we turn to Jesus is to
receive forgiveness of our sins. The
Bible plainly tells us that we have ALL
sinned and fallen short of God's
expectations (Romans 3:23). You may
think that the sins you have committed
are not really that bad compared to
others – but sin is sin. Sin separates us
from God, no matter how big or how
small.
Separation from God is not where we
want to be. It will eventually lead to
eternal damnation. There is something
within each and every one of us that
longs to be reunited or reconciled to
God. The only way we can be made
right with God is to be acquitted of our
sins and wrong doings. We need to
have our sins forgiven. Jesus provides
the only way for us to be reconciled to
God. When He died on the cross, He
paid the price (debt) for our sins. He
took
our
punishment
upon
Himself. Jesus became the atoning
sacrifice, not only for our sins, but for
the sins of whole world (1 John 2:2).
After the apostle Peter preached the very
first message about Jesus and the
forgiveness that was available through
him, several in the audience realized that
they were in dire need of a
Savior. They asked, "What shall we do
to be saved?" The following is Peter's
reply to them:
Repent, and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. (
Acts 2:38).
Those
who
accepted
Peter's
message were baptized, and about three
thousand people became saved on that
very day. WOW—what a glorious day
that must have been!
So, is it possible to have forgiveness
without repentance? What is repentance?
The word “repent“ comes from a military
term that means “about face.”
Repentance is to have a change of mind
or attitude. It is an internal
change. People repent when they realize
they are wrong and they want to change.
They literally change their ways. They
no longer desire to do the sins they used
to do. They desire to do things that are
pleasing to God.
Baptism without repentance is about the
same as taking a bath. You go in a dry
sinner and come out a wet
sinner. Nothing has really changed.
We live in a world where everyone
wants salvation. Everyone wants his
sins forgiven. Everyone wants to go to
heaven. However, many don't really
want to change their lifestyle. They
don't want to give up their pet
sins. They are looking for religious
leaders and organizations that tell them
that they can have their cake and eat it,
too. That sounds good, doesn't it? But
can it be true? What does God's word
say?
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).
For godly sorrow worketh repentance
to salvation not to be repented of: but
the sorrow of the world worketh
death
(2 Corinthians 7:10).
Salvation through Jesus Christ is a FREE
gift from God. We cannot buy it and we
cannot earn it. It does, however, require
a change of heart and a change of
attitude. We must repent before we can
be reconciled to God. We must repent
to receive forgiveness of our sins.
To repent means that we will no longer
willfully sin or desire to sin. We strive
to live a sinless life. Does this mean
that we will never sin again? No, for as
long as we live in this imperfect, fleshly
body we will continue to sin. We can't
help it. When we do sin, we can confess
our sins to God and he will forgive us
and purify us once again (1 John 1:9).
Don’t just GO to church;
BE the church
In the next issues, we will be looking at
the rest of these chief dangers. In the
meantime, let us look at ourselves and
cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of
the flesh (2 Cor. 7:1).
Dangers—Continued
END
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