There is a major problem that has come to the surface concerning the Christian Faith. For several years, people have been preaching/teaching that Grace covers all of our sins and thus there is no need to practice repentance. I'm sure you've heard it at least once in passing: "once saved, always saved"! This is one of the biggest lies Satan has perpetrated to divide the Body of CHRIST JESUS. To repent is to not only ask for forgiveness of your sins, but to also turn away from that sin. You are professing to GOD that you won't do it again (at the very least you want His help to not do it again). There are a slew of Christians that think because JESUS did it all on The Cross, the sins that they haven't committed are already forgiven; giving them a free pass to do whatever their flesh pleases. We NEED to read our Bibles! These are just a couple of verses that come to my mind when I think of this disturbing issue that plagues Christianity:
Matthew 7, NJKV
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Revelation 3, KJV
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
We who believe in JESUS and by Faith accept Him as our sacrifice are covered by His blood. We have the hope and promise of Eternal Life with Him and GOD our Father. But we are still required to practice repentance. Sometimes we don't always walk according to The Spirit of GOD (i.e. HOLY SPIRIT). Things happen and our patience gets tested. Repentance keeps you humbled before GOD. Even if you were a perfect little angel today, repent, because scripture says that there are things that we do that we're not aware of at times.
Psalm 19:12, KJV
Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
The other side of this topic is when a brother or sister in CHRIST JESUS brings correction to another who has fallen (for this lie). It's as if we can't correct each other when it is clearly outlined in scripture how one is to go about correcting a fellow member of The Body (Matthew 18:15-17). You will always hear the cliched response: "You're not acting out of love" or "That isn't loving" or "That's not the love of GOD". GOD chastises those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). He moves through others to deliver a message to another. If you aren't being disciplined by GOD then you can rest assured that you're not His child. We are called to live our lives according to GOD'S Word as revealed through HOLY SPIRIT; not only publicly but in private as well (Philippians 1:27-30, MSG)!
GOD loves us, but He disciplines us to make us more like His Son, our Savior. JESUS was disciplined when He walked the Earth. What makes us think that we won't be disciplined nor go through our own process. Repentance keeps you in right-standing with GOD, with JESUS, and with HOLY SPIRIT. You don't have HOLY SPIRIT if you haven't repented since you got "saved" since He is the one Who helps keep you in-check; personally administering the discipline. He convicts you of your wrongdoing and sin; leading you to repentance.
This is just scraping the surface, but I hope it has opened your eyes if you yourself fell for this deceptive lie. Repent and dig deeper into The Word of GOD. Pray that HOLY SPIRIT will lead you and guide you; keeping you away from false teachers that are teaching people to believe this nonsense. Grace has set us free from the sins of our past and gives us the ability to stand firm in the face of temptation. Grace is not a free pass to live it up and sin it up! The choice is yours. Will you live for GOD as you said you would (when you first believed) or will you live for yourself?
Sante
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