by David Brenneman
In Luke chapter 5 Jesus makes mention of something to the Pharisees were grumbling about. Jesus tells them that He didn't come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
He goes on to explain something in a way that they likely understood. The reasons for not sewing a new patch into something old. You can't keep doing the same old things and expect change to cover it.
We live in a world that's proliferated and inundated with ways to be placing our hearts and minds everywhere but with Jesus. Looking for humanly ways to cover over sins by calling them "choices" or "mistakes". Redefining Biblical truths in order to salve a conscious mind.
It's not something new.
Paul wrote of it and warned people to avoid such people...who would be within the Church.
Just like in his day, people tried influencing the Church from within. He instructed them to beware of false teachers.
Many many so-called churches today do not teach repentance. Do not teach the truth of God with impartiality. They mislead and deceive people into believing that they don't need to turn from sin. They don't even allow their followers to call what people do as being sin.
Such places will be full of people after the Rapture of the Church happens and they only then learn of how they were deceived.
When we come to Christ for salvation turning away from sin is a must.
When we come to Christ for salvation agreeing with Jesus as to what sin IS is a must.
The point of salvation in Christ Jesus is to admit, confess, that we are sinners in need of a Savior who is Christ the Lord. If we confess this need and yet insist on continuing in a life of sin, then we weren't saved to begin with. We need to follow the Biblical example and confess, repent that is to turn away from, and rejoin Jesus in the righteous life that He desires for us.
In 2 Timothy 3 we read the descriptions of how impostors in the church would be like. People who want to put on a show of Godliness on a Sunday yet live for themselves before they ever leave the building.
You cannot serve God and your own sinful appetites and there not be consequences.
People who are saved are to long for the return of Jesus Christ. To be on the alert. To be excited at the prospect of stepping into eternity to forever be with Jesus.
These false teachers are avoiding the topic of this as well as repentance.
Sin is dirty, sin is ugly, it's wrapped up in glitz and glamorous packaging.
Sin is why Jesus came as the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty of it for all mankind, for all who would believe in Him who died in their place. Having arisen from the dead to conquer sin, death and the grave.
We are all to be shining examples of Christ Jesus in us. Pointing people towards that same free gift of salvation that we ourselves received. We are to grow in Christ, that is the workmanship that He's doing in us. We aren't to remain in our sins. We aren't to continue in what Paul referred to as practiced sin. A willful sin that we refuse to surrender to God to deal with.
My Dear Reader, everything Jesus did, everything He said, is truth. Turning away from sin is only truly possible with the power of the Holy Spirit. Living life the way that the Spirit directs us. Not the way that the world entices us. We will be enticed to cave in and go the easy way. We will be enticed to dismiss the thought that God's way is right and true. We will be shown, just as Jesus was, of how we unnecessarily burden ourselves with the things that come with serving God. That we did enough for Jesus, that now we can take it easy. That the pressures of serving are too much that we need to step away or step into something easier. Deceptions of the enemy of God always start small. With little choices that turn people away from the righteous life that God desires.
Repentance is a necessity. Repentance is something that we often wrestle with.
We're going to face opposition, but Jesus said to be of good cheer, He's overcome the world.
Is the character of Christ Jesus growing in you? If not, what's in the way? Are you seeking your own interests or the interests of God? Are you holding onto what He's defined as sin but you don't call it that?
You either get your theology corrected here or you do when you stand before Jesus.
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