Yes, I agree. Repent is to turn around, to think again. Walking next to Jesus is a journey. Repentance is turning in his direction, like following a compass course.
"Walking next to Jesus is a journey." Could not have said it better. And I love your choice of phrasing, "like following a compass." In many ways that is exactly what it is like. We follow the compass of Jesus and his teachings as we grow closer to him. This helps us navigate when the course is not clear. What a wonderful comment. Thank you for sharing.
Repent is a change of mind. God changed His mind! (This is why the same work is used when translating from Hebrew and Greek.) When one trusts in Christ, that is a change in mind from a false god to the God of Creation. That is a salvific repentance. It is important to not lump repentance of sins into salvation. Why? Because of grace! Repentance of sins is something we do after receiving the grace of God. It is obedience.
Very well stated. Repentance is not the same as salvation. We are told it must come first; it leads to salvation through the grace of God. But it is not the same thing. Nicely stated. Thank you for taking the time to share. (adding what comes next as an edit to the original response) In re-reading your comment. I wonder if I misunderstood what you were saying. Were you being critical of something I said? If so, let me know so we can talk about it. Thank you.
So, in thinking more about what you've said, I have a couple of questions for you. Are you saying it's possible to turn to Jesus, to have a "change in mind from a false god to the God of Creation" and not be turning away from sin? Can we turn to God and yet not turn from sin? And are you saying that the ability to turn from a false god to Jesus is not because of his grace? Anyway, just a couple of questions. I'd love to hear from you. Have a great day.
@@SimpleNotShallow I will meditate on these questions and reply! Thanks for the engagement. I have some quick responses but want to be clear rather than hasty.
Your welcome. I love having honest discussions. Thank you for taking the time to be clear rather than hasty. The best discussions happen that way. I look forward to hearing what you come up with. Have a great day.
@@SimpleNotShallow Apologies ahead of time, this is a lengthy response. No pressure to read this or respond if you do not have time. I do not think turning to Jesus is turning from sin. Turning to Jesus is the acknowledgement of sin and the trust in Him to redeem us. Turning to Jesus is believing in Him, and that is the will of the Father. This is why the gospel is such good news! This is how we can love Him, because He first loved us. Believing in Him means we are saved, and that is a moment in time finished and complete work upon faith. Turning from sin is how we obey God, how we are a disciple of Jesus. Not turning from sin is death. Not turning from sin will bring punishment from God. Not turning from sin will hurt other people and make is ineffective. There are clear warning and fellowship passages that tell us about consequences before God and men regarding sin. I see in scripture a distinction made between salvation and service. Turning to Jesus does not require turning from sin for salvation. We can have peace and hope because salvation is not dependent upon our works, but on the work of God. One can believe in the gospel and be saved. There is a clear call in scripture to stop sinning, but do we? Does any one person turn from their sin? Is there a level of sin that one needs to turn from for salvation? Who turns from all of their sin, who is righteous, who here seeks God, who is just? Where is that distinction made in scripture? There are clear calls for holiness. There are clear call outs for maturity and there are notifications of immaturity. Then there is unbelief, which is condemning, which causes a vine to be cut off. I cringe when many change the definitions of the word belief, or the word faith. If we believe on Jesus that changes everything! Of course faith will lead us towards Him, but we are not justified by obedience to law or works of righteousness. One can be saved and not repent of sins. This is not to say they do not repent of sins. Let’s say two people authentically believe in Jesus, one is a smoker, the other drives recklessly. If we break one commandment of God’s, we have broken the whole law. I do not think the Bible teaches that there is an amount of sin we need to stop doing to be saved, It is clear that only God’s righteousness can only be accomplished by what Jesus did. Jesus told the women caught in adultery that she was forgiven and He does not condemn her, but then to go and sin no more. We need to face this uncomfortable fact that we still do sin, but the command remains to not sin. Jesus said to be perfect like the Father in heaven is perfect, but are we? We are only through faith. That is the only way we can have peace with God. How do we handle that command vs the reality of 1 John 1:8? This is why I think it is harmful to point people to their obedience for assurance of salvation. Point people to God’s word, God’s promises, God’s work, and that it is the truth. Now, if someone remains in sin, God will chasten those who He loves. We know, it is perfectly clear we should not sin from scripture, but I think it is evident someone can believe in Jesus and not turn away from sin. We should not think that our sin is less egregious than our neighbor’s sin. I like the name of your RUclips channel because it describes what the gospel is. It is simple. It is the pure genius of our God, our Savior. When someone believes the gospel they are saved. That is the simple message. That does not mean it is shallow. We can dig deeper. What does believing the gospel entail? I think the most succinct definition of the gospel is found in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4. Believing that is what saves. It is historical reality. Also believing that means you placed faith in the one and true God. Also believing that means you acknowledge something called sin. Also believing that means you recognize God’s perfect holiness. Also believing that means you acknowledge you have sinned and need the Savior. Also believing that means God paid the price for your sin. Also believing that means that God’s own precious only begotten Son had to pay the price for that sin. Also believing that means that you know that doing those sins is wrong and we should stop. All of that is “baked” into the gospel, so to speak. How are we saved? Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, rose again and is alive and reigns. He created this world, He sets up the rules. He is perfectly holy, just and merciful. Holy, He never sins or ever will, Jesus fulfilled the law, every bit of it. He is just, evil will be punished, He knows and sees all. Merciful, He truly desires for us to be reconciled to Him, and this is accomplished through the Son. The law came from Moses, grace and truth through Jesus Christ. It is interesting how in the Bible, there are many times God is said to have repented. He changed His mind. I must confess my little three pound brain cannot wrap my mind around our eternal God who is greater than time space and matter. It is not as if when He repented that He did not know and anticipate all things. He does indeed interact with mankind. Hezekiah cried out to God and God gave him more life. Mankind’s hearts were evil and God expressed regret in creating man. Some stories in the Bible come to mind, chiefly being the parable Jesus told of the publican and the Pharisee. One was his knees with the knowledge of his sin, and the other was expressing his pride in keeping the law. Do any of us ever keep the law to the perfection God requires? The way Jesus raised the bar on the 10 commandments tells us how far we fall. We are commanded to not commit adultery and Jesus tells us that looking at a woman inappropriately is adultery in our heart. We are told not to hate our brother for whoever does that is a murderer. Wow do we fall short. There are some mornings that I wake up and I have to ask God for forgiveness for the first thought in my head. I think to myself, not another day of work. The only hope I have is the grace of Jesus Christ. Indeed this is the truest motivator of all as well. To love and live like He did. To provide hope to others like He provided hope to me. Another story comes to mind of the rich young ruler and Jesus. The rich young ruler asks what must I “DO” to be saved. I do not know if the rich young ruler was thinking that he could ever accomplish a list of tasks for salvation, or if it was just a simple question to Jesus. Jesus gives him law. The rich young ruler actually tells Jesus that he had been obeying all of those laws listed from his youth. WOW! This rich young ruler is perfect! He has never broken those commandments and is on his way…. yeah right. Of course he was a sinner just like every other human. Jesus tells him to sell everything and give to the poor. There is no way we can DO all the necessary things possible to gain justification before God. With God, however, all things are possible. Jesus Christ then accomplishes His perfect work, and Paul is able to reveal to the Philippian jailer the good news. What must be done for salvation? No work required. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! We need to be clear that we point people to Jesus, and not to their own selves for salvation. I hear many people proclaim “repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!” Why is repenting of sins before Jesus? Did John the Baptist point us to ourselves or was He making the way straight for Jesus? What does scripture state repeatedly with the message of salvation? Is it a simple message? Was the message not faithfully communicated in scripture? Is it a trick? NO of course it is not a trick. We can take comfort it is true because it is God’s word! There is a distinction made between salvation and service in scripture. The first is a free gift, the second requires much work. One is accepted via faith, the other requires taking up our cross daily. One is the grace of God to us, the other is our service to God. There is also a difference between justification before God and justification before men. There is also difference in salvation, for example salvation from physical judgment vs eternal salvation. “And are you saying that the ability to turn from a false god to Jesus is not because of his grace?” I do not quite understand this question. The only way we can turn to Jesus is because of His grace.
Repent of trusting in your turning from your sinful desires to save you and believe that His sacrifice covers all your sins, past present and future. Turning from sin and obeying His commandments is something we do in the power of the holy Spirit and it's out of a heart of gratitude that we are already forgiven. If you make "turning from sin" a nessecary condition in receiving salvation, you have perverted the gospel. Infact, that's why we need to trust in Him, because as hard as we try we will never be perfect. If you still are relying on yourself even 10%, you don't have the true rebirth.
David, Thank you for taking the time to comment. I must admit I am slightly confused by it. I did not say that it was our turning, repenting, that saved us. Nor did I say that we can do that on our own. I did say it is our part of the equation. We have to respond to God’s call; we have to say yes to God, or nothing happens. I did say it’s not how we earn anything. I did say that Jesus is the one who gets us turned back around and on the right track. I did say it is the choice to accept all he has done for us. It is saying no to ourselves, and yes to all he has done and offered. Acts 3:19 states, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out…” I do not see how what I have said is contradictory to this passage. Nor do I see how it is different from 2 Corinthians 7:10, where, while talking about how his first letter produced sorrow and repentance, he said, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation.” God brings the sorrow, the conviction, and the ability to turn back to him, but that choice to do this is ours; we can say no. Again, help me understand what I got wrong. I do apologize if I was not sufficiently clear in the video. Thank you again for taking the time to comment. I hope this helps to clarify things.
Yes, I agree. Repent is to turn around, to think again. Walking next to Jesus is a journey. Repentance is turning in his direction, like following a compass course.
"Walking next to Jesus is a journey." Could not have said it better. And I love your choice of phrasing, "like following a compass." In many ways that is exactly what it is like. We follow the compass of Jesus and his teachings as we grow closer to him. This helps us navigate when the course is not clear. What a wonderful comment. Thank you for sharing.
I agree 109%
Thank you for taking the time to let me know. Thank you.
Repent is a change of mind. God changed His mind! (This is why the same work is used when translating from Hebrew and Greek.) When one trusts in Christ, that is a change in mind from a false god to the God of Creation. That is a salvific repentance. It is important to not lump repentance of sins into salvation. Why? Because of grace! Repentance of sins is something we do after receiving the grace of God. It is obedience.
Very well stated. Repentance is not the same as salvation. We are told it must come first; it leads to salvation through the grace of God. But it is not the same thing. Nicely stated. Thank you for taking the time to share. (adding what comes next as an edit to the original response) In re-reading your comment. I wonder if I misunderstood what you were saying. Were you being critical of something I said? If so, let me know so we can talk about it. Thank you.
So, in thinking more about what you've said, I have a couple of questions for you. Are you saying it's possible to turn to Jesus, to have a "change in mind from a false god to the God of Creation" and not be turning away from sin? Can we turn to God and yet not turn from sin? And are you saying that the ability to turn from a false god to Jesus is not because of his grace? Anyway, just a couple of questions. I'd love to hear from you. Have a great day.
@@SimpleNotShallow I will meditate on these questions and reply! Thanks for the engagement. I have some quick responses but want to be clear rather than hasty.
Your welcome. I love having honest discussions. Thank you for taking the time to be clear rather than hasty. The best discussions happen that way. I look forward to hearing what you come up with. Have a great day.
@@SimpleNotShallow Apologies ahead of time, this is a lengthy response. No pressure to read this or respond if you do not have time.
I do not think turning to Jesus is turning from sin. Turning to Jesus is the acknowledgement of sin and the trust in Him to redeem us. Turning to Jesus is believing in Him, and that is the will of the Father. This is why the gospel is such good news! This is how we can love Him, because He first loved us. Believing in Him means we are saved, and that is a moment in time finished and complete work upon faith. Turning from sin is how we obey God, how we are a disciple of Jesus. Not turning from sin is death. Not turning from sin will bring punishment from God. Not turning from sin will hurt other people and make is ineffective. There are clear warning and fellowship passages that tell us about consequences before God and men regarding sin. I see in scripture a distinction made between salvation and service.
Turning to Jesus does not require turning from sin for salvation. We can have peace and hope because salvation is not dependent upon our works, but on the work of God. One can believe in the gospel and be saved. There is a clear call in scripture to stop sinning, but do we? Does any one person turn from their sin? Is there a level of sin that one needs to turn from for salvation? Who turns from all of their sin, who is righteous, who here seeks God, who is just? Where is that distinction made in scripture? There are clear calls for holiness. There are clear call outs for maturity and there are notifications of immaturity. Then there is unbelief, which is condemning, which causes a vine to be cut off. I cringe when many change the definitions of the word belief, or the word faith. If we believe on Jesus that changes everything! Of course faith will lead us towards Him, but we are not justified by obedience to law or works of righteousness.
One can be saved and not repent of sins. This is not to say they do not repent of sins. Let’s say two people authentically believe in Jesus, one is a smoker, the other drives recklessly. If we break one commandment of God’s, we have broken the whole law. I do not think the Bible teaches that there is an amount of sin we need to stop doing to be saved, It is clear that only God’s righteousness can only be accomplished by what Jesus did. Jesus told the women caught in adultery that she was forgiven and He does not condemn her, but then to go and sin no more. We need to face this uncomfortable fact that we still do sin, but the command remains to not sin. Jesus said to be perfect like the Father in heaven is perfect, but are we? We are only through faith. That is the only way we can have peace with God. How do we handle that command vs the reality of 1 John 1:8? This is why I think it is harmful to point people to their obedience for assurance of salvation. Point people to God’s word, God’s promises, God’s work, and that it is the truth. Now, if someone remains in sin, God will chasten those who He loves. We know, it is perfectly clear we should not sin from scripture, but I think it is evident someone can believe in Jesus and not turn away from sin. We should not think that our sin is less egregious than our neighbor’s sin.
I like the name of your RUclips channel because it describes what the gospel is. It is simple. It is the pure genius of our God, our Savior. When someone believes the gospel they are saved. That is the simple message. That does not mean it is shallow. We can dig deeper. What does believing the gospel entail? I think the most succinct definition of the gospel is found in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4. Believing that is what saves. It is historical reality. Also believing that means you placed faith in the one and true God. Also believing that means you acknowledge something called sin. Also believing that means you recognize God’s perfect holiness. Also believing that means you acknowledge you have sinned and need the Savior. Also believing that means God paid the price for your sin. Also believing that means that God’s own precious only begotten Son had to pay the price for that sin. Also believing that means that you know that doing those sins is wrong and we should stop. All of that is “baked” into the gospel, so to speak.
How are we saved? Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, rose again and is alive and reigns. He created this world, He sets up the rules. He is perfectly holy, just and merciful. Holy, He never sins or ever will, Jesus fulfilled the law, every bit of it. He is just, evil will be punished, He knows and sees all. Merciful, He truly desires for us to be reconciled to Him, and this is accomplished through the Son. The law came from Moses, grace and truth through Jesus Christ.
It is interesting how in the Bible, there are many times God is said to have repented. He changed His mind. I must confess my little three pound brain cannot wrap my mind around our eternal God who is greater than time space and matter. It is not as if when He repented that He did not know and anticipate all things. He does indeed interact with mankind. Hezekiah cried out to God and God gave him more life. Mankind’s hearts were evil and God expressed regret in creating man.
Some stories in the Bible come to mind, chiefly being the parable Jesus told of the publican and the Pharisee. One was his knees with the knowledge of his sin, and the other was expressing his pride in keeping the law. Do any of us ever keep the law to the perfection God requires? The way Jesus raised the bar on the 10 commandments tells us how far we fall. We are commanded to not commit adultery and Jesus tells us that looking at a woman inappropriately is adultery in our heart. We are told not to hate our brother for whoever does that is a murderer. Wow do we fall short. There are some mornings that I wake up and I have to ask God for forgiveness for the first thought in my head. I think to myself, not another day of work. The only hope I have is the grace of Jesus Christ. Indeed this is the truest motivator of all as well. To love and live like He did. To provide hope to others like He provided hope to me.
Another story comes to mind of the rich young ruler and Jesus. The rich young ruler asks what must I “DO” to be saved. I do not know if the rich young ruler was thinking that he could ever accomplish a list of tasks for salvation, or if it was just a simple question to Jesus. Jesus gives him law. The rich young ruler actually tells Jesus that he had been obeying all of those laws listed from his youth. WOW! This rich young ruler is perfect! He has never broken those commandments and is on his way…. yeah right. Of course he was a sinner just like every other human. Jesus tells him to sell everything and give to the poor. There is no way we can DO all the necessary things possible to gain justification before God. With God, however, all things are possible. Jesus Christ then accomplishes His perfect work, and Paul is able to reveal to the Philippian jailer the good news. What must be done for salvation? No work required. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved!
We need to be clear that we point people to Jesus, and not to their own selves for salvation. I hear many people proclaim “repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!” Why is repenting of sins before Jesus? Did John the Baptist point us to ourselves or was He making the way straight for Jesus? What does scripture state repeatedly with the message of salvation? Is it a simple message? Was the message not faithfully communicated in scripture? Is it a trick? NO of course it is not a trick. We can take comfort it is true because it is God’s word!
There is a distinction made between salvation and service in scripture. The first is a free gift, the second requires much work. One is accepted via faith, the other requires taking up our cross daily. One is the grace of God to us, the other is our service to God. There is also a difference between justification before God and justification before men. There is also difference in salvation, for example salvation from physical judgment vs eternal salvation.
“And are you saying that the ability to turn from a false god to Jesus is not because of his grace?” I do not quite understand this question. The only way we can turn to Jesus is because of His grace.
Repent of trusting in your turning from your sinful desires to save you and believe that His sacrifice covers all your sins, past present and future. Turning from sin and obeying His commandments is something we do in the power of the holy Spirit and it's out of a heart of gratitude that we are already forgiven. If you make "turning from sin" a nessecary condition in receiving salvation, you have perverted the gospel. Infact, that's why we need to trust in Him, because as hard as we try we will never be perfect. If you still are relying on yourself even 10%, you don't have the true rebirth.
David,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. I must admit I am slightly confused by it. I did not say that it was our turning, repenting, that saved us. Nor did I say that we can do that on our own. I did say it is our part of the equation. We have to respond to God’s call; we have to say yes to God, or nothing happens. I did say it’s not how we earn anything. I did say that Jesus is the one who gets us turned back around and on the right track. I did say it is the choice to accept all he has done for us. It is saying no to ourselves, and yes to all he has done and offered. Acts 3:19 states, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out…” I do not see how what I have said is contradictory to this passage. Nor do I see how it is different from 2 Corinthians 7:10, where, while talking about how his first letter produced sorrow and repentance, he said, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation.” God brings the sorrow, the conviction, and the ability to turn back to him, but that choice to do this is ours; we can say no. Again, help me understand what I got wrong. I do apologize if I was not sufficiently clear in the video. Thank you again for taking the time to comment. I hope this helps to clarify things.