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| True Repentance Will Lead to Salvation | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 26 2007, 09:36 AM (594 Views) | |
| belinda | Oct 26 2007, 09:36 AM Post #1 |
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True Repentance Will Lead to Salvation A while back I had heard a very disturbing statistic. The statistic was that 50% of all newborn Christians were dropping out of their walks with the Lord within the very first year after they had just been saved. Getting saved and being truly born again by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior has to be the greatest experience any human can have this side of heaven. With the gift of eternal salvation comes forgiveness of all of our sins and entrance into heaven when we die and cross over. We also receive the Holy Spirit, who will come and live and dwell on the inside of us in our human spirits at the moment of our salvation with the Lord. There thus can be no question that with all of these benefits and blessings - that the gift of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ has to be the greatest experience any of us can have down here on this earth. If that is really the case - then how can you logically explain such a disturbing statistic? How can possibly as many as 50% of all newborns be dropping out of this most incredible experience within the first year or two after initially getting saved? Were they ever really saved in the first place? If so, have they just lost their salvation? Obviously only God the Father will know all of these answers to each one of these newborns who have dropped out of their walks with Him in such a quick period of time. But this statistic is telling us that there might be something wrong with some of these salvation experiences. A 50% dropout rate is simply too high of a number for something that is so powerful to be so easily discarded. I believe one of the reasons these salvation experiences may not be sticking is due to something that is occurring in the actual salvation experience itself. The following Scripture verses I will list below are giving us a major clue as to what that something may be. If you look closely at the wording of the Scripture verses I will list below, and then examine some of the ways in which some of these newborns are being saved - you'll quickly discover that there may be a missing ingredient in some of their salvation experiences. As a result of this one missing ingredient, these people are either not getting truly saved in the first place or if they are - they are quickly falling away from it in a very short period of time as a result of missing this one key ingredient. This one key missing ingredient may be the word "repentance." Repentance means that you have a full realization of what a sinner you truly are, that you are willing to accept that Jesus' death on the cross will save you from your sins, and that you will be willing to make every effort to turn from those sins and start living a new life in God and Jesus. I think some of these so called salvation experiences are people getting caught up in the moment at their churches with some of their friends, and they are going up for the altar calls with no idea of what they are really doing. There is no true repentance, sorrow or realization of their sinful states. As a result, they quickly fall out of it after a year or two because they did not have full realization as to why they needed to get saved in the first place. I believe that what really happens in a true conversion experience is that the Holy Spirit will move in on that person and give them full realization and conviction of what sinners they really are, and that only Jesus and His death on the cross will save them from their sins. If you have full realization and full understanding of that when you go up to get saved - then there is no way you can simply throw that experience away a year or two later after the initial excitement of the experience wears off. Now here are some key verses from Scripture that will tell us that a true repentance from the heart is one of the main ingredients that is really needed for a true salvation experience to occur with the Lord. 1. True Repentance Will Lead to Salvation This first verse will hit the nail right on the head. Here it is: "For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation ... (2 Corinthians 7:10) Notice two things. The word "repentance" is linked to the word "salvation" - "repentance to salvation." In other words, you cannot get truly saved unless you are willing to repent. To repent means that you are willing to turn from the sins you have been living in. It means to have a change of heart and a change of mind. However, you cannot be willing to turn from the sins you have been living in unless you have full realization that these are sins in the first place and that you are a sinner in need of a Savior! If you think some of your sins are not really sins - then you will see no need to receive any forgiveness for your sins through Jesus and His death on the cross. This is why the above verse is directly linking the word "repentance" to the word "salvation." Then notice that this verse starts out with the words "For godly sorrow." This godly sorrow will be what actually causes this repentance to occur in the first place. You will start to experience a godly sorrow once the Holy Spirit moves in on you to start the conviction process and illuminate your mind of your sinful state and nature. This is why the word "godly" precedes the word "sorrow." This sorrow will be coming direct from God the Father through the Holy Spirit to you so as to help make you realize that you are truly a sinner in need of a Savior! When that really happens - you will be feeling a sorrow, and for some, a very deep and intense sorrow once you fully realize the depth to which we are all sinners and why we are all in need of God's grace and mercy to save us. When this godly sorrow starts to come in on you - it will eventually lead you to being able to admit that you are a sinner, and that you will need to turn from the sinful life that you have been living in order to be able to receive God's grace and mercy through His Son and His death on the cross. For some, all of this can literally occur in a matter of minutes, and they thus can get saved very quickly in a church service or through another Christian who may be witnessing to them. However, for some, this experience may take a bit longer. Some people will literally wrestle with God for years before they finally break and are willing to get saved. In either case - some kind of repentance has to be experienced for the person to really have a true conversion experience with the Lord. 2. God Commands All to Repent to Be Able to Receive Salvation Through Jesus In these next 4 verses, God and Jesus are literally "commanding" that all repent before they can actually be saved and converted. Here they are: "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. " (Acts 17:30) "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19) "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. " (Luke 13:5) "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. " (Mark 2:17) The first verse is now telling us that God is commanding everyone to repent. The second verse is once more tying in the word "repent" with the word "converted." The third verse is telling us that God is not giving us any other options. Either we be willing to repent - or we will perish. Also notice that the words "repent" or "repentance" is used in every one of the above verses - which is once again implying that this is a condition that must be present when someone is getting saved and converted. 3. The Goodness of God Will Lead to Repentance The very first verse mentioned above tells us that a "godly sorrow" will help produce the actual repentance that is needed to lead us into being able to get saved with the Lord. This next verse then goes one step further and tells us that the "goodness of God" will actually lead to this repentance. Here it is: "... the goodness of God leads you to repentance." (Romans 2:4) On one end, God is causing a godly sorrow to set in on us so we can see what sinners we really are. However, at the same time that He is producing this sorrow to help show us what sinners we really are, He is also showing us His goodness. He is showing us that there is a way of escape out of our sinful states and natures - and that way of escape is through the Blood that His Son Jesus has personally shed on the cross for each one of us. Once a person really realizes how good, loving and merciful God and Jesus really are in making a way for him to be able to be rescued out of this predicament - they are now more than willing to accept Jesus and what His death on the cross means for them. That is why this verse specifically states that it is the "goodness of God" that will lead one to actually want to repent and then accept Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. Again, when you combine the godly sorrow that God will produce to help start the conviction and repentance process to occur within each individual, and then top it off with the revelation that it is the goodness of God that will save them - there is simply no way one can walk away from such a powerful encounter with the Lord within the first year or two after they had initially been saved. This fact is telling me that some of these people may not be going through a proper repentance and conviction process with the Holy Spirit, and thus their salvation experiences may be a bit suspect. All of the above Scripture verses are tying in the word "repentance" with getting saved and converted. I believe God is giving us a major clue in the way that He has all of these Scripture verses worded in that a repentant heart is really needed before one can really get saved through the Blood of His Son. I really have to wonder if this lack of a repentant heart may be one of the missing ingredients in some of these people's salvation experiences - and this is why they are so easily able to walk away from it after the first year or two after initially getting saved. http://www.bible-knowledge.com/True-Repentance.html |
| John 3:16 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....... Amen, Come Lord Jesus! | |
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| Golfhound | Jul 12 2008, 09:25 PM Post #2 |
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Hi Belinda, I enjoyed your topic and input. Allow me to send you something off the web written by a pastor where he finds 80-90% of people who convert fall away. His and your input are very insightful. Respectfully, Golfhound http://spiritlessons.com/Documents/Hells_Best_Kept_Secret/Hells_Best_Kept_Secret.htm |
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| kgreen20 | Jul 12 2008, 09:27 PM Post #3 |
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I'll paraphrase for you something my former pastor told us in church one Sunday. He learned it from Chuck Swindoll. The repentance that leads to salvation goes as follows: you recognize that you're a sinner. You realize that you need salvation. You also realize that Jesus died for you, and that He offers you salvation. And then you ask him to forgive you and to save you. Once you've done all that, you're saved. The fruit of repentance is turning away from sin and toward Jesus. |
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| kamcco | Jul 12 2008, 10:26 PM Post #4 |
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Maybe I can shed a little light on this subject. When I got saved, I truly repented, was so sorry for all of my sins, realized I was lost and had no hope or future without the Lord Jesus Christ dying for me personally on the cross. I accepted His gift of dying for me and my sins, I asked Him to come live in my heart, I totally believed (and still do) that He is the Way the Truth and the Life. I wanted everything He had for me. I cried and cried, and was so thankful for my brand new life, the second chance He had given me. Then, as time went on, I stopped being obedient in little ways, then in bigger ways, and the old tapes in my head and heart would start playing "You are a loser!", "You are bad!", If you were a real Christian you wouldn't mess up the way you do!", etc. ... and I would end up believing the lies because of my terrible self esteem. I would feel so sad, and so bad, that I would run and hide myself from God (or so I thought). In time I would always return to the Lord, and repent (which was a miracle if you ask me), and allow Him to change my character and fill me with his forgiving love. Bottom line: I think that because I had such a traumatic childhood and pretty much zero love, that for me, I almost needed to get re-saved (if there was such a thing) everyday in order for it to stick. I wish I could see myself the way the Lord sees me. I hate that I am eaten up with fear that maybe someday I'll mess up bad enough that He won't be able to take me back. I think that maybe there are others like me that have a hard time being a confident Christian, and when they fall, they run away like I used to do. I'm sure you can tell by my sharing that I am no expert. I just thought that maybe I could help you understand why maybe some fall away. |
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| kgreen20 | Jul 12 2008, 10:31 PM Post #5 |
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God has kept His hand on you. He won't let you fall out of His grace. You can take comfort in that. |
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| SpiritIsWilling | Jul 12 2008, 10:46 PM Post #6 |
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This is a subject that I've seen come up in other threads. I try to keep from adding my  but I've noticed alot of doctrine (primarily false) mixed with truth. This watered down doctrine of OSAS contradicts the scriptures when the Lord says that without holiness NO ONE will see the Lord. Repentance is not just recognizing that you are a sinner, but TURNING AWAY from the sin that kept you bound in the first place, and turning to the Lord for forgiveness of sins.Many people are turning away from the truth because the church has turned away from God and so twisted the scriptures that the cross of Christ has lost it's effect!! How could the road be narrow when it is just that easy to say a little prayer then your in the "Christian Club of I'm Ok Your Ok let's go to the Cafe and have a Latte" I THINK NOT! Jesus said that anyone who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy of the kingdom. I don't care what kind of prayer that a person says, if there is no fruit on the tree, it will be cut down  No person who claims to have Jesus in their life should be living in known and/or willfull sin "I'm not excluding myself either" but the wages of sin is death. If we follow our fleshly nature, we will reap destruction. If we live by the Spirit, then we have life. Romans 8:6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 1Cor 5:5 ...hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. Galations 6:8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. |
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Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 
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| SpiritIsWilling | Jul 12 2008, 10:51 PM Post #7 |
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Bless you Kamco  This struggle between the Spirit and the flesh we will never be free from. Praise the Lord that you found your way back to God. One way to know that you are in the truth is that you hate the sin that was trying to take hold of you. You didn't embrace it and say that you are always saved and stay in your sin. It is just like the devil to try and condemn you and keep you from God. Praise the Lord that His grace is suffient!!!
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Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
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| kgreen20 | Jul 12 2008, 10:53 PM Post #8 |
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The gate is narrow and so is the road because salvation can only be obtained through Jesus. No one can come to the Father but through Him, you see. The wide road consists of good works, Islam, Buddhism, New Age, atheism, etc., etc. Fortunately for the believer, walking the narrow road does not consist of trying to balance on a railroad track and praying that you won't fall off! =) |
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| SpiritIsWilling | Jul 12 2008, 11:04 PM Post #9 |
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Yes that's true, but the wide road also consist of those who thought that they were "christians" but came to find out that there fate was not what they've expected. They lived a life of sin, all while claiming to be for Christ: Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. |
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Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
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| kgreen20 | Jul 12 2008, 11:08 PM Post #10 |
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That's the key phrase--"I never knew you." They trusted in their own righteousness to save them, not in Christ's finished work. Big stumbling block! If they had recognized that they can't save themselves, and if they had recognized and accepted the free gift Jesus offered them, He would have known them. Edited by kgreen20, Jul 12 2008, 11:08 PM.
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| kamcco | Jul 12 2008, 11:08 PM Post #11 |
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What a blessing you all are. I know that me being able to communicate with you all is a gift from the Lord to help me stay the course. I am feeling a real sense of urgency to pray more, read the Bible more, and a strong excitement that God would have something special for me to do (for Him) in these last days. I don't know how to say thank you enough... for accepting me as a sister in the Lord, and allowing me to share without the fear of being rejected or ridiculed because I don't know as much as you. Thank you very much for your Christian friendship! :) Cathy |
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| kgreen20 | Jul 12 2008, 11:10 PM Post #12 |
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| MoreofHim | Jul 12 2008, 11:18 PM Post #13 |
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I agree 100% with your heart on this matter. I think what is lacking is the preaching of SIN. How can there be repentance if the church doesn't even know what is evil and what is good. Some sins are obvious... fornication and murder for example. But what about the sins hidden in the heart... like covetousness, wantonness, idolatry, pride, envy, greed, jealousy, murmuring, gossip? Additionally, fornication is not just a sin acted out in the flesh, it can also be spiritual. Israel was falling into this sin throughout its history. Murder is another one that is not limited to killing the body of another. You can also kill someone's spirit and assassinate their character through gossip. Some of these sins are so deceptive that you would need a column to expose them for what they are. Amen? |
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| belinda | Jul 12 2008, 11:22 PM Post #14 |
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Cathy - we are so glad you are part of this forum. This life is hard, living in this world is tough, temptation is everywhere. But our Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13) is our reward if we place our faith and trust in Him. Please stay close to Jesus, read your bible and if the Holy Spirit is tugging at your heart whenever you stray, ask forgiveness and walk in the Light of our Savior..... stay on the vine. Brethren - it is truly a blessing that we can all come together and support one another, put any differences aside pray and lift each other up. Thanks everyone for your contributions to this post and this forum that Wil started. How blessed we are to have a cyberspace family....I can't wait to see you all in paradise! Edited by belinda, Jul 12 2008, 11:23 PM.
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| John 3:16 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....... Amen, Come Lord Jesus! | |
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| MoreofHim | Jul 12 2008, 11:28 PM Post #15 |
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KG, From everything that you understand about God's word you always have a best-selling book to quote your Christian theology. I recall a scene of the foolish virgins where they had no oil for themselves, so they had to go out and buy from those who sell. |
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| Faithful and Truth | Aug 11 2008, 03:38 PM Post #16 |
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I have tried to help save my own family who believes that all they need to do to gain salvation is to belong to a big religious organization to be saved. They have made this into their idol, they have made it their ark. They have been deceived. With this particular organization, upon baptism to become members to it, you have to give an oath to it. There are two oaths you must say yes to, by standing up before the entire assembly . The second oath disturbs me, because we are to be no part of the world, and yet these people are deceived into giving an oath to a manmade kingdom of this world. Here is the second oath you must say or else you cannot be accepted into this religion. We are to be baptised in the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit. But noticed how they have taken the place of the Holy Spirit.. (2) Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's (spirit-directed organization?) here it is all too clear, that they are taking the place of the Holy Spirit, by claiming that thier Kingdom of this worldly man made organization "IS THE HOLY SPIRT"and that only through them can we gain salvation. I have tried to get them to see this, including my own husband, mother and father, sister, but they won't even talk to me . It is like a wall comes up, and they refuse to even listen. They treat their religion as their idol, and refuse to listen to the true good news about Jesus. I tried to reason with them these things.... The saying... “Let no man take thy Crown” is a simple and clear warning and refers to the fact that you must never let any human being or organization take away the crown of your personal, direct, inner contact with God. Since you were created in the image and likeness of God, you have the capacity of consciousness to commune directly with God inside your own heart. When the Father said: “You shall have no other Gods before me,” what do you think he truly meant? He meant that you should not worship and outer idol. Why not worship an outer idol? Because if you identify an outer form as God himself, then you will never get to know the true God who is beyond all form. The devil hopes you stay ignorant to this simple fact. He tries to get our hearts away from the Father by taking out our hearts. Our heart is the well spring of life, and the tree of life, (the Holy Spirit) cannot enter into your heart till you repent from all the idols and other sins that stain our hearts and keep us slaves to this system that is going down. The Holy Spirit cannot enter a stained heart , but needs a pure clean heart to enter in order to lead you to the well springs of life, and to be able to hear the Father's voice. God is beyond all form and all concepts created by human beings. His thoughts are so much higher. We simply cannot experience God with your physical senses, and we cannot fathom God from the state of consciousness that we call the carnal mind. However, you can experience God directly by opening your heart to a mystical (mystery) experience through which God can reveal his being, his essence, to you, but we need a fully repented heart, a whitened, cleansed" new heart". This ability to commune directly with God is the most precious gift that any human being has ever received. That gift is also your supreme personal responsibility to keep seeking. You must never allow anything or anyone in this world to take that gift away from you. You must never allow anything in this world to stand between you and your direct inner communion with God. “He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he shall do also.” So many people think that following in his footsteps alone and attaining a higher state of consciousness, yes a state of Christ consciousness, is blasphemy. Those who have been sealed have already died to their sins, and are now Christ's true faithful followers, and will never have any idols or allow sins to enter their hearts or be a slave to sins of the flesh any longer. They will block it out, not even think of it. They will oppose the devil continually, and he will leave from your heart, thus making the heart a changed new heart, ready to attain the Holy Spirit within it. The Holy Spirit is the tree of life to those finding her. When we abandon the devil, and draw close to the Father, He draws close to us, and makes his abode with us, and we can live in His kindom now in our hearts, on His Holy Mountain. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the due time for my releasing is imminent. 7 I have fought the fine fight, I have run the course to the finish, I have observed the faith. 8 From this time on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me as a reward in that day, yet not only to me, but also to all those who have loved his manifestation.- 2Timothy 4:6-8 May we all keep running well and let no man hinder us from keeping on obeying the truth."I tell you," Jesus says , "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain, but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest." Until a grain of wheat flows with the created spirit of the universe and turns its will and life over to a power much greater than itself…until then it remains only a single grain of wheat. In Rev. 17: 14 the ones who do battle alongside the Lamb are referred to as "those called and chosen and faithful" - three distinct aspects of their personalities. First they are called as all the sheep are (John 6: 44), then they are chosen (Matt. 22: 14) and finally they are faithful, which is the whole point of their deaths. With much Love, In Christ, Faithful and Truth |
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