Thread: Repentance
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Old 04-10-2008, 03:08 AM
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Luke Luke is offline
 
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This is a topic dear to my heart, and I have spent many hours in anguish over whether or not I am saved.

Granted, I had reason to doubt my salvation. I was involved in some pretty awful habitual sin, but always felt guilty about it. I wasn't sure if I had ever repented, and so on, and so I began to read tracts again, continually "praying" a sinners prayer, crying out to out in honest sincerity, desiring for the guilt to leave, and the joy of God's salvation to be restored to me.

I am still quite shaken up. My habitual sin is defeated (I am by no means sinless).

I still doubt my salvation, and in many ways, it comes down to the sin I have committed as a professing Christian, and yet, there is nothing more that I can do to be saved.

This, I believe, is a crucial issue.

Are we saved by:

1) God's grace and mercy, by His coming to earth, living a perfect life, dying in shame on a cross for our sins (mine and yours personally), being buried, raised from the dead, and repenting from trusting in our dead works (Isaiah 64:6) and placing our trust in the Gospel.

OR

Are we saved by:

2) Repenting from our sins, making a commitment to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, and serve Him for the rest of our lives, and believing that He died, was buried and rose from the dead.

One of these is a false gospel that adds works to grace. In both cases, repentance should result in a changed life, but one of the changes is man made, in an effort to be saved, while the other is as a result of being saved. One puts the cart before the horse, while the other has the horse drag the cart.


As an aside: I am not a calvinist, so when I say "Free Grace", I probably don't mean the same thing some calvinists do. But I am not arminian either, and I don't believe one can lose their salvation.


One of these is the Gospel that Paul Washer, John MacArthur, Ray Comfort, A.W. Tozer, A.W. Pink and many others preach.

The Other is the Gospel that C.H. Spurgeon, D.L Moody, Jack Hyles, and many others preach.

Spurgeon, a Calvinist, called sinners to simply "LOOK AND LIVE", "RUN TO THE CITY OF REFUGE", and deal with the change of life AFTER. Moody did the same. Hyles did the same. Paul Washer, MacArthur and Comfort on the other hand, have a convincing message, that sounds good, addresses a very real problem in western christianity, but ultimately, corrupts the simplicity that is in Christ.

Washer, says, in his most famous sermon "Within a hundred years, a great majority of people in this building will possibly be in hell. And many who even profess Jesus Christ as Lord will spend an eternity in hell." There were 5000 teenagers in that hall. What does he tell them to do to make sure they don't go to hell?

What you need to know is that salvation is by faith and faith alone in Jesus Christ. And faith alone in Jesus Christ is preceded and followed by repentance . . . a turning away from sin, a hatred for the things that God hates and a love for the things that God loves, a growing in holiness and a desire not to be like Britney Spears, not to be like the world,

There are elements of truth to that, however, his terminology is confusing. We understand repentance as turning to God. He says repentance is turning from sin, and continuing to do so. That is sanctification. And according to Paul Washer, you must be sanctified before you can be saved.

Paul Washer stoops as low as rewriting the Bible with words that aren't even in his precious greek to prove His point.


You say, "Brother Paul, I got saved by praying and asking Jesus Christ into my heart." And I'm sure you did, but you weren't saved by a magic formula or some words you repeated after someone else. You were saved because you repented of your sins and you believed, and not only did you do that in the past, you continued to do it even until now, because when Jesus . . . a proper translation of that verse He gave is this: The Kingdom of God is come. The time is fulfilled. Now, spend the rest of your lives repenting of your sins and believing in Me.

Conversion is not like a flu shot. "Oh, I did that. I repented. I believed." The question is my friend––are you continuing to repent of sin? Are you continuing to believe? Because He who began a good work in you will finish it. He will finish it.


He then implies there is no such thing as a carnal Christian

You say, "Now, wait a minute, Brother Paul. First Corinthians chapter 3, Are ye not carnal. Paul said that."

No, that's what Paul said. You need to read the whole book to find out what he meant


Of course, he never actually does tell us what Paul really meant.

He even pulls this cliche out

"Because, folks, it's more than just telling someone you're saved because you acknowledged that Jesus is Lord. Satan acknowledges that Jesus is Lord."

Satan cannot get saved, no matter how much he believes. Why do preachers always pull this one out? Like they think Satan could get saved if he "Believed on the Lord Jesus Christ".

Mr Washer makes a LOT of GOOD POINTS in his popular message. Unfortunately, it is based on a faulty premise (using a Kingdom Gospel verse to apply to the Church).

Last edited by Luke; 04-10-2008 at 03:12 AM.