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Illbehonest.com: Its Not That You Cant Repent, You Just Wont - Tim Conway

Cut Goliaths Head Off

Luke 13:1-3
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

My way on interpreting scripture are through a few steps. Observation, Interpretation, and Application.

Repent means to turn away from sin. What is sin? Sin is what separated To turn away from sin, and to turn to Christ. And by being satisfied in Christ, I don't worry about how I look or how I appear. I don't worry about, "Have I done enough, did I do this or did I do that?" Jesus was hanged up on that cross to die for our sins, as a sacrifice, so that we might have peace through God. It's a free gift!

Here's an example: If I murdered someone and if I went up to a judge and say, "I'm Sorry!" Will he let me go because I've said that? He has to serve justice. And there, Jesus comes in and he paid for what you and I deserve. We in fact, deserve hell. Jesus paid my hell on the cross so I can have peace through God.

Now, first of all, who was Jesus talking to? The Jews. And one thing everyone should know, is that the Jews hated the Gentiles. Gentiles in this text are basically people who just aren't Jews. There is even an example from Jonah which showed that he hated the Gentiles so much that he disobeyed God to preach to them there. Jews at that time, had a lot of pride. They declared themselves superior to the Gentiles when Jesus in this part of scripture says, you're no better off!

When we read verse one, the Jews are basically saying: "Jesus, Pilate has been putting the blood of Gentiles in our sacrifices!" Jesus goes and says, do you think you are better off? And He goes and says, "Unless you repent, you will likewise all perish."

Folks, it's not just believing. James 2:14 says faith without works is dead. Now look, I'm not talking about works salvation here. Works salvation is saying, "Look at what I have done God, I've been free from pornography for 30 days." God's not impressed, and like a friend of mine said, you trade sin for another sin! Acts 4:12 says, there is no there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[a] by which we must be saved.” Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me!" And He says in Matthew 11:28, Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Friends. Was there ever a life where you were radically changed? I'm not talking about small changes in your life. I'm not talking about you just going to church, or you just saying a prayer. I'm asking you, what has God done to your life?

Today is the day of salvation. Don't procrastinate. Every 1-3 seconds someone dies, how do you know it's not you? Repent and turn to Christ before it's too late brethren! It's not time to play games with God and lose your soul. Let go of that sin or perish. What profit a man if he gains that sin, yet forfeits his soul? And once that time comes brethren, the time for bargain will be too late. Don't be like those virgins in Matthew 25. They come up knocking, saying 'Lord, Lord'. And He goes, and says, truly I say to you, I never knew you.

Romans 3:9-18
9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Matthew 5:30
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but what? but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

James 4:14
yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

If anyone wants to email me, my email is Borgarath@yahoo.com. I don't go on here as much because of trolls, but if you need answers. If you need help, then contact me. I check every day or every few days, I'm here to serve. Take care, and God bless.

Indeed I've read briefly through what you've read, but again, faith without works is dead. I agree with all that has been said in that tract, but it's missing some important details. I have low bloodsugar right now, but I'll try to type this up.
"Love so amazing and so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all." - When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.

Zechariah 13:9 says:
And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

Jesus says, he who endures to the end will be saved. Enduring to the end is evidence that I am saved. But saying, I'm a Christian my whole life doesn't mean I've endured to the end. And if repenting from my sin glorifies God, will I not do it? Romans 2:4-5 says Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

Should I stay in sin just because I believe in Christ? Paul says in reply, how can you who died to sin, still live in it? (Romans 6)

If we truly are saved, we should evidence that we are saved. But showing works does not mean you are saved.

For example, here is a family of 3. The mother died giving birth to the youngest child. Now the youngest child acts all nice around the dad, but the oldest child sees the hypocrisy. The dad does not. Behind dad's back, the oldest child sees the youngest doing things he should not. Is that child a good child or not? (I'm speaking in worldly terms). It's the inside I'm talking about, for out of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Oh dear Mr. Chick, I do believe you've done it again.

REPENTANCE AND GRACE
by Cornelius R. Stam
Printer Friendly Version
When the sinner is convicted by the Holy Spirit of the seriousness of sin and of judgment to come, and cries to the Lord to save him, he has, of course, repented, or changed his mind, as the Greek word signifies. Many of God's servants, however, considering only the fact that sinners need such a change of mind, conclude that the way to produce the greatest results in their ministry is to stress repentance.

Such should take note of the response to the three great calls to repentance by which the dispensation of the Law was brought to a close: John the Baptist called Israel to repentance but was beheaded as a result (Matt.3:1-12; 14:3-10). The Lord Jesus took up the cry where John had left off (4:17), but was crucified for it. After the resurrection He sent His disciples to preach "repentance and remission of sin...in His name" (Luke 24:47) but Jerusalem refused to repent and it was not long before blood again flowed, as Stephen was stoned to death and a great persecution followed (Acts 8:3).

The guilt of Israel's impenitence increased too, as the call to repentance was intensified, for while John's murder was permitted by the people, Christ's was demanded by them, and Stephen's was actually committed by them. Thus the so-called "Great Commission" was bogged down at the very start, for if Jerusalem and the covenant people refused to repent, what hope was there that the "nations" (Luke 24:47) would do so?

"But where sin abounded, GRACE did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might GRACE reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom.5:20,21).

After calls to repentance had failed, the ascended Lord stooped down to save Saul, the chief of sinners, on the road to Damascus, in anything but a repentant mood. Not by threatening or dealing with him in judgment, but by speaking to him in the tenderest tones He showed him the glory of His grace. This "trophy of grace" was then sent forth to proclaim "the gospel of grace", and the merits of his crucified, glorified Lord.

This is why repentance was emphasized, indeed was the theme of God's message, from John until Paul, while grace, proclaimed through the cross and received by faith, gradually displaced it as the theme of God's message for "this present evil age" (Acts 20:24).

That is what it says rather you like it or not. Please read through the text carefully before just posting a tract. I find it rather offensive that it says such a thing. It says that just because the missionaries didn't bring anyone to Christ themselves in 50 years that they aren't truly saved.
About the topic James clearly states faith without works is dead. Works can't save us but we are still called to do them. Christianity is an action verb for we are not called to sit on the sidelines. This is what the orginal post is about.

You have to admit, there's a fair amount of weight to what our copy pasta preacher is saying.
The man in the tract is a preacher, right? What message do we have that is more precious than God's love and salvation? Not a single one. The very last thing Jesus commanded to do was go and make disciples, which is something that in an icredible 50 years they had not done a single time. We all know we can't earn our way into Heaven with works. That's well established. We absolutely must have works, though, as they are proof of us being a new creation. It makes you wonder about these two "missionaries" who never actually preached the single most important thing ever given to mankind in our entire history. Why would a child of God fail to obey his Father? Unless they aren't a child of God. It does seem that this couple was trying very hard to buy their way into Heaven.
Comparing these missionaries to the Bible, there is zero evidence that they got the one thing that's truly important right. Love, which leads to obedience. If they loved God, they would have obeyed him. They would have taught his death, burial, resurrection. Physical needs are entirely secondary to that, right? Which would you rather have? A warm place to sleep (often denied to Jesus) or eternal salvation?




Also, please, pretty please, stop with the Chick tracks. They're offensive on a level so deep that it's hard to not want to flip a table. Nothing is worse than "pray this prayer." You're better than this copy pasta stuff.

But everyoneloves Chick tracts! It says so at the top of the page! lol

Gah, I'm getting online via a friend's mobile, and I had a nice reply all typed out and pretty, and right before I could hit send, the ENTIRE MOBILE COMPLETELY FREEZES AND GOES BLACK. I had to take the battery out, plug it in, call it from my mobile I guess to remind it that it's not supposed to freeze and go black. And eat my reply.

ANYWAY. Take two.

I think it's safe to say that while one is not saved through good works alone, good works tend to go hand-in-hand with good faith.

Anybody can just say "I'm a Christian." Just about anybody can make it to church every Sunday, too. And saying "I'm a Christian" and going to church every Sunday ultimately means very little. You can do those things and still be very un-Christian. But truly accepting Christ into your heart is probably going to move you to show your faith through your actions. True Christians generally have something to show for their faith. Is it their good deeds that will save them? Well, technically no, it's their faith that saves them, but their good deeds are the product of their faith, so as I see it, good deeds born from good faith makes the actions and the faith behind it sort of one in the same.

And just as an add-on: nobody can know where anyone else will ultimately go after death. That's His judgment call, not ours.

Also, VK Fox gets a gold star for coining the term "copy pasta preacher." Because that's hilarious.