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Jesus is coming soon to judge sin, and to establish His Kingdom. (Daniel 2:44). It is going to last 1000 years and it is known as the Millennial Kingdom. (Isaiah 2:4, 42:1). He is also preparing a place called New Jerusalem for His church Age believers to dwell in. It will be established after the Tribulation and before eternity. It is a real kingdom, with real people, lands, and a ruler, namely Jesus and it will be on earth. (Luke 1:32-33). Jesus will have put satan in jail already for the entire duration, so there will be no devil tempting the un-glorified people re-populating the earth who live in the Kingdom. If you ever prayed The Lord's Prayer, you have prayed for His kingdom to come:
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:9-10).
GotQuestions explains, "The purpose of the 1000-year reign is to fulfill promises God made to the world that cannot be fulfilled while Satan is free and humans have political authority. Some of these promises, called covenants, were given specifically to Israel. Others were given to Jesus, the nations of the world, and creation. All of these will be fulfilled during Jesus' 1000-year reign."
However, it is an exclusive kingdom. Not all people will be allowed into it. Any person can claim citizenship, but if citizenship is rejected, they will be denied entry to this wonderful kingdom! Jesus will only allow people who have been cleansed from sin to enter, people who have repented of their sins and asked Jesus to forgive them. Refusing to repent is in fact rejecting of your citizenship into this kingdom of perfect peace and love.
He is preparing us to understand that the time is nigh. He said He would send signs of the end of the age, and those signs are getting stronger with each passing day. The hatred and rejection of Jesus is one of those signs (2 Peter 3:3-4), as well as the love of one another growing cold (2 Timothy 3:2-4) and the falling away of Christians from solid doctrine. (1 Timothy 4:1). There are many other signs.
God said He will open up end time prophecy for all to understand and interpret so we can prepare for His Second Coming. (Daniel 12:9-10). That is why you have been hearing so MUCH lately about the end times, and the rapture and it is why there are so many Christians are saying "repent, the end is nigh". He is opening up prophecy and opening the hearts of Christians to understand prophecy because the time IS nigh. It is the Holy Spirit opening up the hidden things because it is now the time to know them.
Now, the rapture is not the Second Coming, they are two different events. The rapture happens at the beginning of the final 7 years of Tribulation, and the Second Coming happens at the very end of that final 7 years. Then Jesus sets up His kingdom to fulfill the promises He has made throughout the bible, as mentioned above.
He wants one and all to enter His kingdom and His city but He cannot allow the wicked unrepentant to come in. He even sets angels at the gates of New Jerusalem so that nothing impure will ever enter. (Rev 21:12, Rev 21:27). Please consider your lives carefully, and understand that this decision for Jesus or against Jesus (which is the same as saying you decide for your own sin or reject your own sin) is a permanent one. Jesus loves each and every single person on this earth from the beginning to now. He knows the name of each person who is living, all 7 billion of us, and He knows the names of each person who has already lived and died. He wants all of us in His kingdom, either on earth or in New Jerusalem, but if you have rejected Him then you will not be allowed to dwell in glory with Him.
Do you really have so much pride that you refuse to ever say, 'I do wrong and that wrong is against a Holy God'? All the wrongs done in your mind or on your tongue or by your hands are deeds that are crimes against Jesus, and He will judge those sins. However, He died on the cross and shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice for your sins and thereby has pardoned them. That is how you claim your citizenship- by accepting His blood as a covering for your sins and accepting Him as your Lord.
I hope to see you there. He is coming soon. We who have already repented are eagerly awaiting the Blessed Hope. You who have not repented are running out of time to make that decision.
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"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:9-10).
GotQuestions explains, "The purpose of the 1000-year reign is to fulfill promises God made to the world that cannot be fulfilled while Satan is free and humans have political authority. Some of these promises, called covenants, were given specifically to Israel. Others were given to Jesus, the nations of the world, and creation. All of these will be fulfilled during Jesus' 1000-year reign."
However, it is an exclusive kingdom. Not all people will be allowed into it. Any person can claim citizenship, but if citizenship is rejected, they will be denied entry to this wonderful kingdom! Jesus will only allow people who have been cleansed from sin to enter, people who have repented of their sins and asked Jesus to forgive them. Refusing to repent is in fact rejecting of your citizenship into this kingdom of perfect peace and love.
He is preparing us to understand that the time is nigh. He said He would send signs of the end of the age, and those signs are getting stronger with each passing day. The hatred and rejection of Jesus is one of those signs (2 Peter 3:3-4), as well as the love of one another growing cold (2 Timothy 3:2-4) and the falling away of Christians from solid doctrine. (1 Timothy 4:1). There are many other signs.
God said He will open up end time prophecy for all to understand and interpret so we can prepare for His Second Coming. (Daniel 12:9-10). That is why you have been hearing so MUCH lately about the end times, and the rapture and it is why there are so many Christians are saying "repent, the end is nigh". He is opening up prophecy and opening the hearts of Christians to understand prophecy because the time IS nigh. It is the Holy Spirit opening up the hidden things because it is now the time to know them.
Now, the rapture is not the Second Coming, they are two different events. The rapture happens at the beginning of the final 7 years of Tribulation, and the Second Coming happens at the very end of that final 7 years. Then Jesus sets up His kingdom to fulfill the promises He has made throughout the bible, as mentioned above.
He wants one and all to enter His kingdom and His city but He cannot allow the wicked unrepentant to come in. He even sets angels at the gates of New Jerusalem so that nothing impure will ever enter. (Rev 21:12, Rev 21:27). Please consider your lives carefully, and understand that this decision for Jesus or against Jesus (which is the same as saying you decide for your own sin or reject your own sin) is a permanent one. Jesus loves each and every single person on this earth from the beginning to now. He knows the name of each person who is living, all 7 billion of us, and He knows the names of each person who has already lived and died. He wants all of us in His kingdom, either on earth or in New Jerusalem, but if you have rejected Him then you will not be allowed to dwell in glory with Him.
Do you really have so much pride that you refuse to ever say, 'I do wrong and that wrong is against a Holy God'? All the wrongs done in your mind or on your tongue or by your hands are deeds that are crimes against Jesus, and He will judge those sins. However, He died on the cross and shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice for your sins and thereby has pardoned them. That is how you claim your citizenship- by accepting His blood as a covering for your sins and accepting Him as your Lord.
I hope to see you there. He is coming soon. We who have already repented are eagerly awaiting the Blessed Hope. You who have not repented are running out of time to make that decision.
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AMEN! Wow! Truly, The Holy Spirit is urgently ministering through you...TIME IS SHORT!
ReplyDeleteLord I pray that your perfect will be done and that every eye that reads this will be convicted by your Holy Spirit and will be led to you...in Jesus' name..AMEN!!!!
I recently discovered your site, and I have been enjoying the articles you write. However, in this article, you refer to repenting from sins in order to be saved. Where does the Bible say anything like this? Repentance means to have a changed mind, which is to accept Christ's free gift of salvation. When you tell people they must turn from sin, which is not what repenting means, then you are adding works to salvation. A saved person should indeed strive to live a cleaner life, but that is not required for salvation, as that is by simple belief in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross.
ReplyDeleteHello Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your really good question. You're right when you say that repentance means changing one's mind. It means "to go away from." To go away from what? To go away from sin. To have a changed mind about it. Mark 1:15 says "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" and the Greek word for repent in that verse is
metanoeite
which means "to change one's mind or purpose".
Where in the bible does it say that we must repent of our sins to inherit salvation? Again, a good question. I'm glad that people check these things to see if they are true. It says it in the Mark verse I just shared, and also the cumulative verses below which address sin, culminating in John's declaration that sin must be repented of, at the bottom.
It says it here:
Sin should be confessed:
Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Sin should be mourned over:
Psalms 38:18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
Sin should be departed from:
2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Sin should be avoided even in appearance.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
We should pray to God to search out sin in our hearts:
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
We should pray to God to make us know our sins:
Job 13:23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.
We should pray to God to forgive our sins:
Exodus 34:9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
Luke 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
We should pray to God to keep us from sins:
Psalms 19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
We should pray to God to deliver us from sins:
Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
We should pray to God to cleanse us from sin:
Psalms 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
I think it is obvious that repentance means that we ask Jesus to forgive our sins, to ask Him to change our hearts and our minds about sins, which are keeping us from the kingdom, and Him, so that we may inherit salvation. It is not works. It is the foundation of our faith. Here is the final scripture from 1 John 1:9-10 which should cinch it for you-
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."
Thank you for taking the time to respond. Just recently, I've been talking through emails with someone who is a supporter of Ray Comfort. Ray Comfort teaches a false gospel message where he demands people turn from sin. I apologize if this seems lazy, but instead of addressing you directly, I would like to copy and paste my last email to this man from Ray Comfort's website. This will explain my stance more clearly. First is the man's most recent message to me, and then my response to him:
ReplyDeleteDan: It’s been a while- sorry this note is late in coming.
I think this conversation would be a lot clearer if we shifted from talking about what to share with a non-believer, to discussing what happens to a person on the back side of getting saved, after he/she is saved.
Here’s my question for you: ONCE a person is saved, can they live in a willful pattern of practicing sin? Or, to put another angle on it, since I don’t want to argue over definitions of words, and want to be crystal clear what I’m saying, when a person is saved, are they no longer under the bondage and slavery of sin, even while they still do commit sins, but the chains of patterns of willful, knowing, continuous sins are broken? Are they now slaves of righteousness, with a new owner, Jesus Christ, who has saved them from the power of sin? To make sure I’m perfectly clear, I’m going to give some examples. A fornicator or homosexual or drunkard or thief gets saved (1 Cor 6:9-10). After getting saved, can he continue the practice of continuing to shack up with his girlfriend every week, all the while knowing it is wrong, and be saved? Can he continue getting drunk every week? Can he continue week after week telling lies to all his customers at the used car lot as a used car salesman, so that he can get the sales? Do the scriptures talk about these issues?
You quote Matt 7:22 and have an interesting interpretation. Is it consistent with Matt 7:21 and Matt 7:23? What do these verses say about those who profess to be saved and continue to practice sin? Didn’t Jesus warn that those who practice lawlessness will burn in hell in these verses? Didn’t he warn of those who would say ‘Lord, Lord’ (profession of faith, easy believism) but won’t enter the kingdom? Why won’t they enter the kingdom according to this passage?
Dan: you profess now to be saved- have you turned from sin? If not, I’ll say it plainly- this is what the scriptures warn those who profess faith in Christ who won’t turn from willful patterns of sin:
“They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work” (Titus 1:16)
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for …the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, THAT He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people.” (Titus 2:11ff)
“Whoever has been born of God does not practice sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot practice sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God” (1 John 3:9-10).
Is the gospel a mere intellectual belief, or is it also obedience? Many passages speak of the saving gospel as obedience, “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith” (Rom 1:5) “”In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thess 1:8)
Sincerely and prayerfully,
Mike
Mike,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to write me back again.
I’m not understanding what it is in Matthew 7:21-23 that you’re interpreting to be a referral to one who continues to practice sin.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Jesus says that some who claim to know Him are not saved. Their claim to salvation is the works they have done. They leave out simple belief. They are trusting in their works instead of Christ. You say that these verses are referring to people who continue to sin after they are saved, but I don’t see any mention of those people. Now even if that was indeed the group of people being referred to, notice that Jesus says “I never knew you.” If these were people who had gotten saved, and then continued to sin and lost salvation, then Jesus would say something like, “I knew you once, but then you were lost again.” To say He never knew them indicates they were never saved to begin with, because they never trusted in Him alone.
Jesus said that only “he that doeth the will of my Father” will enter into Heaven. John 6:40 finds Jesus explaining what that will is. “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” There is no mention of turning from sin. I’m not saying Christians are permitted to sin. They will be punished here on earth, and they give up blessings in Heaven. But salvation is not lost. To be saved is called being born again. Once something is born, how can it be unborn? Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Now look at Jonah 3:10: “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” These people turned from their evil way. In other words, they stopped living sinful lives. Turning from sins is referred to as works here. If the wording of Ephesians 2:9 is changed to reflect this, you would get “Not of turning from your evil way, lest any man should boast.”
You list verses that call for Christians to live clean lives, and there’s no doubt they should. But that is something we attend to after salvation, and the two are separate issues. Romans 6:1-2: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Paul admonishes us to live clean lives, but note that even if we don’t, grace will abound.
Jesus is upset with people who try to play a part in their own salvation, because they are not trusting in Him solely. A person cannot muster up their own righteousness. Romans 3:10-12: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Surely there were people in this time who were living clean lives, and yet the Bible says not one person was righteous. It says none sought after God. So instead, God sent His Son to seek out man. Also note Romans 10:3-4: “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
You listed Titus 2:11: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for …the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people.” This verse says the grace of God brings salvation. So it is grace, and not something we earn. The verse then says we should live clean lives, but it doesn’t say this is part of salvation. The verse goes on to say Christ gave Himself for us, “that He might redeem us from every lawless deed.” These weren’t just sinful deeds we performed before being saved, but EVERY lawless deed, which means those committed AFTER salvation as well. Romans 4:5-8 has some interesting things to say. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Those who believe on Jesus receive righteousness because of their faith. Also, God does not impute sin to those who believe on His Son. If someone gets saved, and they continue to sin, they will be doing a disservice to themselves and God, but God is faithful and won’t count those sins against that person. If a saved person is not seen as a sinner in God’s eyes, then verses dealing with God’s wrath on sinners are not meant for believers.
ReplyDeleteYou listed 2nd Thessalonians 2:8: “In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Those who do not know God are those who have not obeyed the gospel of Christ. Romans 10:16: “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?” They did not obey because they did not believe. This doesn’t concern obeying Jesus when He says we should not sin. That is something we should strive for, but it is unnecessary for salvation. The gospel is synonymous with the words faith, believe, and repentance, which all mean the same thing. If the gospel is indeed a “free gift,” then it is something that must merely be accepted, and that is done by faith. The thief on the cross never turned from sin or even said he was sorry. He simply acknowledged Jesus as Lord. Luke 18:9-14 tells a great story. “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” The Pharisee is the kind of person mentioned in Matthew 7:22. He brags about his “righteousness” to Jesus as though this should impress Jesus and get him into Heaven. This parable never says that the publican turned from his sins, or even experienced sorrow for them. He simply acknowledged the fact that he was a sinner to God, and he asked God for mercy. Acts 8:35-38: “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” This man simply believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. This mirrors what Jesus said in John 6:47: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” He did not list any condition other than belief. If salvation was contingent upon living a holy life, this verse would have to be changed to say something like this: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me and does not sin hath everlasting life.” If salvation included more than simple faith, then Jesus lied here, which is impossible according to Titus 1:2.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, no, I have not turned from sin, and I doubt anyone can. I don’t consider myself a terrible person when compared with others. That is, of course, my opinion of myself, the human perspective. On the spiritual side, I know I’m a sinner, and that I deserve to go to hell. I have acknowledged this to God. I don’t believe getting saved requires turning FROM SOMETHING, but instead, turning TO SOMEONE. I turned to Jesus, because He is the only way, and His way requires childlike belief. Mark 10:15: “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” 2nd Corinthians 11:3: “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” A child will believe in a character like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny because he is told so by adults. A Christian believes in Christ because he is told so by the Holy Spirit. A child will never see Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny, but he still believes they exist. In this lifetime, a Christian will never see Jesus in the flesh, but if that Christian truly believes that Jesus is real, and that He is the Son of God, then that person has received Jesus with childlike faith. John 20:29: “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” The second portion of Luke 18:8 reads: “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” When Jesus returns, there will be many who claim to know Him. But what is Jesus looking for? A sinless people? Those who do works in His name? He is looking for faith
ReplyDeleteOne thing I wanted to add is that as far as Mark 1:15 goes, I don't see any mention of repenting of sins. "And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Jesus tells people to repent, or have a changed mind, and believe the gospel. I don't like the fact that repentance is misunderstood and taught incorrectly, because I believe it scares people off from getting saved. They are fearful that they cannot live the good life and will not qualify for Heaven. No one can ever stop sinning, because we are all human. In sharp contrast, the Bible teaches that faith in Jesus Christ seals our eternity in Heaven. The gospel isn't a call to reformation, though that will hopefully follow. The gospel is the best news in the world, given freely to those who believe it and claim it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you're spending a lot of time and a lot of ink trying to convince yourself that we do not need to repent of sins and seek Jesus forgiveness of them. You're plain wrong. God bless you, but sin is the problem and we need to repent of it and be saved, as Mark verse says. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to convince myself. At one time I was confused, because people like you say we must stop sinning to be saved, and others said salvation was by faith. After praying and looking into the matter for months, I learned that the Bible clearly teaches salvation is by simple faith. Our sins are forgiven when we place our trust in Jesus Christ. Repentance is never meant as turning from sin in the Bible. I have not seen it, and no one can show me one verse where it could be construed as such. I am not going about trying to create my own righteousness by saying I have stopped sinning. Jesus Christ saved me because I trusted and still do trust in HIS works, not my own. You don't "repent" of sin to be saved. You confess it to Jesus. Show me one person who has stopped sinning. If they have, then Jesus Christ's death on the cross was in vain, just like Paul said in Galatians 2:21.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous- I did not say you have to stop sinning to be saved.
ReplyDeleteI said you have to repent from sin to be saved. I explained what repent means. I shared the verses.
Get with it.