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From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mt 4:17Those were the first ministry words of Jesus. Repent. From that time on, the bible says, Jesus preached, and He always preached the same thing: the Kingdom of God and the repentance required to enter it. After Jesus was gone, the message remained the same. "What must we do"? they asked Peter. And Peter answered as Jesus had taught him, "Repent." The message is very simple: we are sinners, born that way. We must repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, forgiver of our sins. Then we can enter Paradise.
What is repentance? It means to turn away from your sins, confess them, and looking to Jesus, ask Him to forgive them. A 180 degree turn. Not a sinner you say? You are a pretty good person? Have you ever lied? Sure. Stolen? Likely. Lusted? Of course. Sinner.
Anyone who sins cannot enter the kingdom of God. God is Holy and as such, cannot be near to sin. So we have a sin problem. However, God in His mercy made a way. Jesus died on the cross and took on our sins. All sin, past, present, and future Yours and mine, being the offering to God as the sinless lamb. Now all we need to do is accept His sacrifice and believe in His cross as the bridge to get over the gap that exists between sin and God.
Two very famous, iconic photos illustrate what repentance is, and what repentance can do. In 2004 on Boxing Day there was an earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The 9.1 mega earthquake was the strongest ever recorded by seismographs. The entire earth vibrated 1cm. The energy released from the quake was stronger than all the explosions in WWII, including the two atomic bombs. The energy release sparked a tsunami which affected 15 countries, killing or injuring over 2 million people. The following is a still taken from a video shot from a second story restaurant overlooking the beach at Khao Lak, Thailand. A man is seen standing alone on the beach, with his back to the massive wave that is about to engulf him. He never turned around, so he never knew what was to hit him. He is swept away and died instantly.
Look away from Jesus and any old wave will sweep you to your destruction. If that Tsunami Man had just turned around, he would have seen the destruction coming at him. Please, turn from sin, look to Jesus for forgiveness. He will strengthen and help you. You will even be able to look full in the face of evil, and it will stop in its tracks. You will be an overcomer.
Will you make that 180 degree turn? Will you repent, turning AWAY from the destructive wave of sin engulfing your life, and turn TO Jesus, through Whom you can do all things? Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
erm, i don't think the bible defines SIN as what you have been taught(that version or definition of SIN comes from clergy or religious rulers who reside/dominate/rule over you)
ReplyDeleteSIN is actually idolatry or submitting to a wrong authority. this authority comes by someone who rules over you. he could be political or a religiou sleader. he is someone who exploits you or rather the people's gullibility and humanity or weaknesses for personal gain and power.
jesus came to set those who are captives to these people or SIN,free.
therefore if you believe and follow jesus, you are not controlled by SIN and SIN( hypocrites such as pharisees and the caesars etc) has no dominion over you.
I learn about biblical concepts from the bible, not clergy. The bible says we are born with sin, Psalm 51:5. Sin is internal, not 'something someone does" to you. We are born in a sinful state.
ReplyDeleteIf we look at the two sets of commandments and work backward we can see what sin is. The Ten Commandments we are all familiar with (Exodus 2:-17). Actually the very first sin mentioned IS idolatry. Then Jesus said to the disciples that He fulfills the Law (Commandments) but still coalesced the ten into two:Mt 22:35-40, "Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and also love your neighbor as yourself." Sin is violating these two commandments. Sin is not someone exploiting you. That is THEIR sin, but you still are a sinner. We all are, born that way and we still are, even after we are saved.
If we follow Jesus we are forgiven of sin but it still haunts us though we are not in bondage to it. That is why we still need to confess them to Jesus even after we are saved. If we leave unconfessed sin alone, it grows and soon we become like David, lusting, adulterating, and murdering. (2 Samuel 11:1-12:23) Since sin haunts even a saved person, that is why He gave us armor to wear to prevent the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6). Told us to resist the devil and he will flee from you(James 4:7). It is why He told us to stay in the Word, to stay away from angry people...etc. So many warnings! Sin is powerful. He knows how vulnerable we are to sin's temptation even after being forgiven of past sins and saved by His grace. You can go here to read bible passages on the subject of sin
http://www.biblebb.com/files/tniv/SIN.TXT
Anyway, it is important for an unsaved person to repent (turn away from sin) in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. At that point we are still sinners but He sends the Holy Spirit to help us! How much we draw on His help is up to us. But the first task is to "Believe in the one Whom God has sent" John 6:69. And repent.
so your call or jesus calls to repentance is simply turning away from the kingdom of these men( political and religiious) to jesus's political kingdom or kingdom of god
ReplyDeleteif you care to observe that throughout the history of men, it is the MAN in the HOUSE OF POWER( thus bind the strong man and you shall spoil his goods or treasuries) who exact his rights or powers over those whom he dominates or rules - often with cruelty and exploitation of the poor/helpless souls
it is therefore clear that when the rulers/leaders are wicked or corrupt(some lack wisdom), the people suffers or lives in BONDAGES - corruption,poverty,wars,injustices,exploitation of the masses, deaths etc( bible has warned that that would happen)
but if you put SIN in its place( bible says without the shedding of blood, there shall be no remission/cancellation of SIN) or, in today's plain and un-cryptic language....shed the blood or life(since life is in the blood) of the GOD MAN(BEAST) over the people and restore the rights(educate them - bread of life) to the people, then a new world or kingdom of god(new authority) shall dawn on mankind.
in the 21st century, we are beginning to see it happen more and more as the power begins to shift in our TECHNOLOGICALLY propelled world!
"I learn about biblical concepts from the bible, not clergy. The bible says we are born with sin, Psalm 51:5. Sin is internal, not 'something someone does" to you. We are born in a sinful state."
ReplyDeletei understand where you are coming from because, i am very familiar with your take on SIN. i was similarly indoctrinated for years and this is understandable because...
1) the foundation to interpretating the scriptures has mostly been laid upon us by biblical scholars in the past.
2) most have a literal interpretation of the scriptures.
3) the message(gospel) propounded by fundamentalists are usually haphazard or piecing the message from various parts of the bible to substantiate their theories or beliefs or, suits their agendas
as we know, the outcome(we judge by the FRUITS of their interpretation) has been disastrous.
so many conflicts and denominations have evolved since the inception of christianity not to mention, countless bloody wars too.
the fundamentalist's gospel not only alienated and divided the people, but in doing so, WORKED IN THE INTERESTS OF SIN.
you see, if you get the SIN problem wrong - you turned WITHIN to solve your problems, when actually god does not condemn you as a person FOR BEING HUMAN - you miss dealing with the real issues WITHOUT(political in nature)
in other words, when you get your SIN wrong,which is man playing the role of GOD(idolatry - regardless of religious or otherwise) over the people, you let SIN dominates and the people continues to suffer(poverty,injustices,corruption spread in society and the poor's problems will never be resolved)
it is politics that solves our world's problems( from the green movements to addressing the poor in many nations). NOT THE FUNDAMENTALIST DOCTRINE or RELIGION!
telling people their HUMANITY is condemned to hell will not SAVE THE WORLD - it will bring on hatred and will detract from the REAL ISSUES in life.
we have been fooled by delusional religious leaders FOR TOO LONG!
time to wake up gf.
Indoctrination? Naw, it is in the bible that we are sinners, born that way. Either you believe the bible’s Word or you don’t.
ReplyDeletePsalm 51:5, Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
ROM 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
Your attempts to remove the stain of sin from your self and lay its cause to indoctrination is incorrect and leads to eternal damnation. Not one likes to be told they are a sinner and they will be judged. But you are and you will be.
The fundamentalist’s bible caused division?? No again. LOL, Jesus has you beat: Luke 12:51, "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division;" simply because He knew there would be people who would refuse to repent of their sins or even believe in the concept of sin correctly.
Sinners must repent. Repent means turn away from your sin and ask forgiveness of them.
PS: homosexuality is a sin as well. Unless gays repent, they will go to hell along with all other sinners who refused to accept the free gift of grace and repent of their sins. For a list of sins, see… THE BIBLE.
To Anonymous: "so your call or jesus calls to repentance is simply turning away from the kingdom of these men( political and religiious) to jesus's political kingdom or kingdom of god"
ReplyDeleteNO. That is a straw man question because you base the rest of your answer on your incorrect recapitulation of the point. Repent is not to turn away from the kingdom of men. Repent is to turn away from the sin that is inside the self. YOURself.
you are a rare few(christian) who would put up a fair comment( though the view may oppose to yours) from anonymous unlike most of your brethren.
ReplyDeletei say let the truth prevail and the truth shall prevail. if you think you are speaking the truth, the light in the truth will dispel the darkness in the untruths.
that said, let me address your quotes.
Psalm 51:5, Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
ROM 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
let me tell you where our differences are.
you have been taught to view the bible from a single dimension. for instance, you do not see genders in the light of RULERS and the RULED.
the bible says that the head of the household is the man which also represents the head of state or GOVERNMENT. whereas the woman, who is submitted to the man( the curse of the woman in the book of genesis), represents the people/followers etc led by their leaders/rulers or head.(there are plenty of biblical references that depict/hint at this relationship on a national or kingdom level rather than on a personal level - not about your petty little problems or weaknesses,therefore sinful etc). this can be seen from the body of christ.
you need to study or have your eyes opened to this mysterious and HIDDEN message in the bible that illustrates the people's relationship with their rulers or government in the body of the first Adam and Second Adam.
how did SIN entered the world? SIN, the original SIN has been depicted in the Eden's story which many failed to see or understand, is when adam, the one man or head/ruler, submitted to the wishes or desires of the woman(people) for a KING/anointed(serpent) over them, we all became SINFUL. the serpent or KING of wisdom slithered into the woman's life( the people's lives) through a three pronged attack on her/people humanity( lust of the eye, lust of the flesh and the pride of life - all related to the market/mammon forces)
to cut the long story short, adam being the head of government brought SIN into the world(all nations) when he, the one man or HEAD, ruled the woman or people from the MODEL of GOVERNANCE depicted in the midst of the garden(man made cities/nations).
coming back to romans 5. can you see a different picture of how ALL men sinned when they submit to that ONE MAN who is the HEAD of the woman or people?
Psalm 51:5
all nations are birthed that way. that's our beginning. the people(mother,woman,female gender,submission etc) and their rulers have all modeled after the SERPENTINE GOVERNMENT - at the time of christ, it was CAESAR'S EMPIRE/religious jews he was up against.
so your SIN is not about your "lusts" though LUST is involved.
this LUST is a different LUST from your humanity which is NATURAL(nothing sinful about that) though have been exploited!
and it is when you lived by these EXPLOITATION OF LUSTs under the HEAD of the SERPENTINE GOVERNMENT, you became SINFUL and the nations/cities DIE as a result!
It is easier for some people to remain in their comfort zones and assume that the truths of the bible have been adulterated by man... or instead of the plain message, search for hidden messages that are created out of their sinful minds that ease their discomfort with the truth or twist the world to more closely mirror their own wants and desires.
ReplyDeleteThere is no "hidden message" in the bible. God is not the author of confusion. The bible is clear...uncomfortably so...
People don't want to hear their sins denounced, they don't want to listen to demands that change their behavior. But the truth is, we are all sinners. Unless we repent and ask forgiveness, we go to a hellish eternity apart from God. Ask for forgiveness, and live.
your gospel which you have inherited has resulted in countless number of wars - and the wars are still on going today -- these consequences are the CLEAR FRUITS against your gospel
ReplyDeleteand you know why?
because it is a senseless gospel(many atheists have argued intelligently against Christianity) which condemns your HUMANITY(there is nothing wrong with being human!).
how do you cleanse this "sins" your gospel(the christian gospel) placed on the shoulder's of men?(which i have shown to be nonsense)
you get your sins washed in the MYSTERIOUS BLOOD OF AN INNOCENT MAN(basically lawless salvation) and you think it makes sense?
no wonder 3/4 of the world is against you. the rest of you(most) are PASSIVE BELIEVERS( they don't even know their bible other than what their preachers tell them).
your gospel is the cause of bloodshed and division and IS NOT the gospel of jesus christ.
however, if you see from the political perspective or KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE, it makes sense and therefore ALL MEN are saved if their CORRECT THEIR POLITICS!
"People don't want to hear their sins denounced, they don't want to listen to demands that change their behavior. But the truth is, we are all sinners. Unless we repent and ask forgiveness, we go to a hellish eternity apart from God. Ask for forgiveness, and live."
ReplyDeletei agree that there are behaviors that are not expedient or wise to indulge depending on the social context you are born in. these behaviors are not "sin" in the biblical context HOWEVER, it CAN BE SIN to you if you accept the AUTHORITY(religious) OVER YOU who tells you so(you are what you believe).
for "unwise" behavior, which stems from your humanity, you just need some discipline/counsel or good old loving to change - just like every normal human being, regardless of religion, race or language etc.
no need some kind of "mystical blood" to wash away your "sins" so you can go heaven or avoid hell nonsense(the christianity absurd version of salvation).
let me reiterate. the SIN in the bible is referring to STRUCTURAL DEFIANT or an ILLICIT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RULERS AND THE RULED.
the bible has employed all kinds of SEXUAL INFERENCES or DEFIANCE to address this political structure that went awry.
why do nations have so many suffering poor, beseted by corruption and justice becomes forlorn for the common man?( they die when they submit to the SERPENTINE KING)
the reason IS NOT because they didn't have the "blood of christ" applied in their lives or the kind of christian grace as purported by christianity etc etc.
the obvious reason is POLITICS! wicked rulers who RULED WICKEDLY and the PEOPLE SUFFERS OR DIE as a result of their rule!
and what has religion done for the world? zilch except more wars and divisions or divisiveness and HATE/intolerance etc.
your religion is awaiting for "jesus" to appear in a cloud to save the world when jesus had said the kingdom of god is already here.
whilst you wait in your false gospel(christians are looking towards the invisible to resolve ALL their problems), the nations perish!
no my friend, the nations are saved only if we understand the TRUE GOSPEL OF CHRIST - not the christian version salvation and their version of grace.
Thank you for your comments and sharing all your thoughts. My last word on this will be what Jesus said at His first ministry moment: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mt 4:17.
ReplyDeleteI am praying for you, Anonymous. Paul, too, was an unbeliever, who viciously pursued those who believed in the redemptive act of Jesus Christ; and when he met Christ on the road one day, his life was changed so dramatically that he became one of God's main tools in spreading the Good News. I pray that today will be the day of your edification because whether you believe it or not, some day you WILL bow your knee to him and it will be too late then.
ReplyDeleteKim
Sin is transgression of the law- 1 John, knowing to do right and not doing it - James,, most of all it is not keeping Jesus words and the law and prophets they are built upon.
ReplyDeleteMatthew 7-
Repentance means to 'change-mind' in the Greek with a godly sorrow and actions that attempt change...