You did exactly what I thought you would... If you read the initial question posed by the young ruler of Luke 18 and compare it to Zachaeus' willingness to do anything just to see Jesus, one can easily see the massive difference between the two, especially if you take into account the rules and customs of the day. My own belief is that Zachaeus was regenerated prior to his relstlessness that caused heim to climb that tree. His repentence came later in the portion of the text you quoted.
Blessings
Repentance needed for Salvation?
Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by gekko, Jul 28, 2006.
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The important thing is that the rich ruler turned his back on Christ because he wasn't willing to pay the price necessary to become a follower of His. Zacchaeus was willing to take Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Salvation is not an easy thing to obtain. You have to submit yourself to Christ as Lord. (Some people here call that the heresy of Lordship salvation. Obviously they haven't thought about these two passages of scripture.) -
Repentance AND Faith
G'day all!
I'm new to BB and all this, but here it goes...
Point #1: Repentance is the result of a work...and that work is a work of God called godly sorrow: "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death" 2 Cor 7:10.
Repentance is defined as a reversal, or a change of mind, heart and direction...this can only happen through the work of godly sorrow - Ps 19:7, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting (i.e. - turning around) the soul".
How is godly sorrow brought on? It is God's Word -- God's Law -- that brings on conviction and a contrite heart...It "converts" our way of thinking on our sin...by the Law, we see our sin as wicked and an offense against a Holy & Righteous God...that's the intended use of the Law (Gal 3:24).
But repentance IS NOT salvation. I believe whole-heartedly that there must be repentance in a person's life if he will ever get saved...just like I believe a person must be broken over sin and see themselves as lost so that they know why they need the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation..."For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of..."
Point #2: Salvation is of the LORD. For a soul to gain eternal life, that one must believe on Christ for who He is - He's God the Son, and on what He says He can do - His Blood will wash away their sin. To be saved is to believe/trust on Jesus: John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
Well...how does someone get to that point...to needing to and believing on Christ? "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of..."
So...is repentance a work? No...it's a result of a work...God's work...godly sorrow. Is faith a work? Some would say..."Well, trusting in Jesus is a work"...No...the Bible always distinguishes between "faith and works".
Lord bless -
amen fellow laborer.
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haha. - what i meant by what i said "battleship parked at the gates of hell"
is that we're in a spiritual warfare - not fighting from a pleasure cruiser - but stationed in a battleship fighting - "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places"
sounds like we're at the gates of hell fighting this battle... in my opinion.
fighting in open waters is never a smart thing... both sides are going to be hurt that way - we're cornering the enemy.
that's how i see it anyways.... -
But I don't see it as offensive, but defensive. When, for example, people go out to give the gospel, the enemy will attack this through various ways (including temptation to sin, which I think is the main way, along with false teachings). So then we are on the defensive with that.
We can't "corner" the enemy because only Jesus will be able to vanquish him. However, we can ward off his attacks, help prepare for them, and deflect them with God's word and prayer by the power of the HS. -
Let me just say this, what was the first thing Jesus preached after His baptism and after the temptation? Just to refresh the memory:
"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. 4:17 -
Ed -
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go ahead and tell people, J.Jump, that they dont need to repent to be saved. in fact. that'd be the same as saying they dont have to repent at all.
fancy that... -
I think the sillyness of repentless salvation is obvious. Could you imagine someone's testimony
Sinner: I got saved last night.
Friend: That's great. What finally brought you to repentance?
Sinner: Who said anything about repenting? Why should I do that? Nobody's going to tell me how to live, especially now that I'm saved.
Think it's far-fetched? I was the "Friend" in this scenario in August of 1984 while returning from a Jack Hyles service in Columbia SC.
Every attempt to educate the "sinner" in regards to repentance was rejected as "legalism". He quickly disappeared into the world from which he never departed.
BTW this has NOTHING to do with Jack Hyles. -
Revmitchell Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
He who has the power gets the credit!:thumbs: -
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Grace is a gift to anyone that will receive, but discipleship has a price tag attached to it and unfortunately not all Christians are willing to pay the price :( -
grace IS a gift - we agree on that.
but do we agree that we can't do anything to earn God's forgiveness? -
And our Salvation is pure Grace.
...and this we will do if God permits... -
Grace is a gift from God and must be received through faith/believe.
We can do NOTHING to earn grace. -
Praise God for His Grace.
Also pray and tell others about the Grace we have received. -
if i come into the room and punch my friend in the guts - and later want to be reconciled to my friend - so i go and ask forgiveness - and my friend forgives me - and our friendship is back.
did i deserve my friends forgiveness?
(i wont be back until sunday - going to a wedding this weekend. God bless)
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