Repentance is Essential for Salvation
It is impossible to turn to the Lord Jesus for salvation by grace through faith without first turning away from sin and the deceptions of the world, the flesh, and the devil. (Luke 13:5) That decision to turn away is repentance. It is actually a part of exercising faith. It is deciding not to trust in ourselves and our ways, which are sinful, but instead to fully trust in the Lord and His ways. Therefore, without true repentance there can be no salvation.
Think of the Israelites in the Old Testament. What did they want to do with the false gods that were around them in Egypt and in Caanan? They wanted to simply add those gods to their worship of the One True God. Did that please God? No; He destroyed them because of their lack of repentance and faith in Him alone. The same is true for us today. We can't go on sinning and living life our own way, and then ask Jesus to save us from our sins. He will not listen to that faith. That is not faith at all. Faith is a trust in the Lord. It is exclusive trust. Therefore, we turn from our sins and trust Him, once and for all.
This does not mean that we will never sin again, or that we will not need to confess our sins when we fail. (I John 1:9) It does mean that we make a decision of our will to change the direction of our life. Once we have made that level of commitment, the Lord gives us the power to live it out, but He will not force us to change against our will.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Luke 15-17.
Think of the Israelites in the Old Testament. What did they want to do with the false gods that were around them in Egypt and in Caanan? They wanted to simply add those gods to their worship of the One True God. Did that please God? No; He destroyed them because of their lack of repentance and faith in Him alone. The same is true for us today. We can't go on sinning and living life our own way, and then ask Jesus to save us from our sins. He will not listen to that faith. That is not faith at all. Faith is a trust in the Lord. It is exclusive trust. Therefore, we turn from our sins and trust Him, once and for all.
This does not mean that we will never sin again, or that we will not need to confess our sins when we fail. (I John 1:9) It does mean that we make a decision of our will to change the direction of our life. Once we have made that level of commitment, the Lord gives us the power to live it out, but He will not force us to change against our will.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Luke 15-17.