Truth about Divine Healing

The Truth about Divine Healing.

*Is God Able to Heal?

Yes, He is Almighty God, He can do anything

*Is God Willing to Heal?

Yes, God is more than just Able, He is Willing, He is the Author and giver of Life Not sickness, a Loving Father. John 10:10

In the Old covenant, God put sickness on people who didnt' keep the law as an curse for their disobedience, under the New Covenant, Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the Law so that we are blessed and healed by faith. Galatians 3:10-14, Deut 28:1-2, 15-24, Hebrews 8:7-13; Roms 6:14; 7:1-6. We are living under the New Covenant now, the Covenant of Grace and a new dispensation. The Old covenant was faulty so God created a new one to relate to us.

Scriptures

Eph 2:8, saved is "Sozo" in the greek, inclusive of healing not just being saved from sin.

Notice the words used in these Scriptures- "All", "Everyone", "Every". 
Matt 4:23; 8:1-3,16-17; 12:15; 14:14,36; Luke 9:11, Acts 10:38, 3John 1:2, Isaiah 53:4-5, 1Peter 2:24, Romans 8:2, Mark 16:17-18, John 10:10, Exodus 23:25-26, 15:26

*Why is it important to know that God is Willing not just Able?

What you believe in your heart, determines how you live.

*Did Jesus ever reject anyone who came to Him for healing?

Luke 18:35-43

There is no record of anyone being rejected, infact, Jesus welcomes all who come to Him

*Then why are some believers are still sick even after prayer?
-they need to build their faith and renew their minds with God's Word, this maybe a process or period of time.
-they don't believe deep down in their hearts, that God wants to heal them. Mark 5:34.. According to their faith, so shall it be.

*Is healing a free Gift, or is it earned?
-Is salvation a free gift, or did you have to earn it? Just as salvation is a free gift not of works, so healing is a free gift. In the society we live in today, is so hard to understand what “free/Gift” means when there is so much strings attatched to every gift people give or do for us.

*Why is it, sometimes it seems its easier for an unbeliever to get healed rather than a believer?
James 4:6. Some believers think they have to earn, be good enough for God to heal them through their self-righteous instead of realising healing is a gift from God. This self-righteous is the very thing that can stop them from receiving from God and getting healed, because God resists the proud, gives grace to the humble. But the unbeliever already knows that they are not good enough to earn anything from God, so that healing has to come as an gift.

*Did Jesus ever made anyone earn their healing?

Jesus healed people simply because He is Adonai Rapha, The Lord is the Healer, simply because of Who He was.
Exodus 15:26....for I, the Lord, am your healer.”

Justification by Faith

Check out this awesome, very clear teaching on Justification by Faith by Ariel Ministries, Highly recommended:

Audios for download:

http://www.arielm.org/dcs/mbs105/dcs_podcast.php

Pdf for reading:

http://www.arielm.org/dcs/pdf/mbs105m.pdf

Q&A:

http://www.arielm.org/qbq/105.html

Please have a listen!!! be blessed!!!

Beyond the Tithe, Chapter by Michael Eaton

(The first part is my comments and title and then Michael’s document follows)

Dear friends, there have been many studies and teachings about tithing whether For or Against…

I believe as the Scriptures say the fact we know that we are free and not under the Mosaic Law. The Law and the Prophets was a shadow, but the Reality is found in Christ.

Col 2:17 these are only ¹ the shadow of the things to come, but the reality ² is Christ! ³

That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t read the Law of Moses i.e. the book of Leviticus or Deuteronomy, but we should read the Old Testament keeping in mind that we cannot fully understand the OT without the New Testament Scriptures and the introduction of Jesus the Messiah.

Most Christians will point out the reasons why we should tithe:

1) According to Mosaic Law

2) According to Abraham and Jacob

The first reason is invalid because we are not under the Mosaic Law, the second reason was completely voluntarily and lead by the Spirit not out of a command- so that means we simple do it whenever God leads us, not legalistically. The law of 10% only stirs up sin.

Some people might be going ‘whippee’ at this point and say, “Cool! I don’t have to give 10%!! I’ll just give 3%!”.  You give what you have decided in your heart, if its 5% this time, or 50% next time, its whatever you’ve decided in your heart to give.

2Cor 9:6-8

My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sowsgenerously  will also reap generously. Each one of you should give  just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly  or undercompulsion,  because God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace overflow  to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work.

What most Christians don’t realise is that we as believers and partakers of the New Covenant, are so much more privileged than those who have gone before us under the Old Covenant.

We have a better sacrifice that is Jesus’ blood, not the blood of bulls and animals…

We have better promises and a better mediator

I believe that people living under Grace will give as they are being lead by the Holy Spirit than those living under the Old Covenant or Abraham’s days.

2 Cor 8:3 For I testify, they gave according to their means and beyond their means. They did so voluntarily,

Grace people on occasions will tithe, give 10% but more likely all the other times will  actually go beyond the tithe…

Grace people are empowered to do more than law people because of a change of heart, they are more priviliged under a better covenant!

Grace people are not bound by rules and laws and that bounds them, but are now free to stretch their wings and take faith risks which makes them actually enables to do more as their heart has been freed by love…

Nevertheless, the Christian is free to give or not to give and whatever amount God puts on their hearts they are not not pressured by man but give out of their hearts.

Please enjoy this document by Michael Eaton on Tithing!

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Chapter 23 Tithing (Malachi 3:7c-8)

As always happened when Malachi was preaching, the people responded with hostility. Most of them were quarrelsome and argumentative. Here it happens again. Malachi says: But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ (3:7c). But as always Malachi refuses to be intimidated. He answers their question! Should a person rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions (3:8).

Why does Malachi mention tithing? It is because it is a highly practical matter. The people have become careless about keeping the Mosaic law. One sin is being committed, it seems, by almost everyone in the nation. They are all withholding the ‘tithe’ – the tenth of their agricultural profit and of their flocks of animals that was to be given to God at the temple. The people were generally careless about the things of God, but this is something which is very sensitive (most people are touchy about wealth!).

What was ‘tithing’? It was the setting aside of a tenth of harvested crops and animals to be given to God (see Leviticus 27:30-33). In Leviticus we are told that it was required animals and crops that were grown in the land should be tithed (27:30). It effectively meant that one’s in come was subject to a ten per cent tax. The crops (but not the animals) could be given a money-value and the tithe paid in cash. If this was done 20% was added to the estimated value (27:31).

The tithe was very sacred. ‘All tithes … are the Lord’s; they are holy…’. Later on in the law fuller information was given. Numbers 18 refers to the same tithe. (The idea that there is a tithe of crops and animals and another tithe for Levites and maybe a third tithe for the poor – is surely mistaken). The tithe had to be given to the Levites (Numbers 18:21) – the sections of the tribe of Levi that were not priests. The tithe was to be given them as a salary instead of land (18:24).

Deuteronomy 14:22-29 is a further development of the legislation, forty years after its first mention in the law. It adds to and modifies the original law with a view to what will happen in the future. Deuteronomy 17:14-20 is explicitly looking forward to a future period in Israel’s history, and so looks forward to what will happen when there is a central national place of worship. The tithe was an annual matter. Deuteronomy 14:22 makes it explicit. Moses (i) takes it for granted that the annual tithe will be brought to a central sanctuary. (ii) He also takes it that in two out of three years the visit to the central sanctuary will be a special occasion. Deuteronomy 14:23 says ‘And you shall eat before Yahweh your God’. It does not say ‘You shall eat it’ (which might seem to refer to the whole tithe). In this context ‘eat’ has the idea of ‘celebrate’, ‘join in a religious meal together’. Most of the tithe would have been given to the Levites to use or give out according to the well-known legislation. But the people who have come a long way also ‘eat before Yahweh’ (the identical phrase is found in Deuteronomy 12:7). That is, they enjoy a meal in which they are celebrating together. However if they live a long way from the sanctuary they will not be able to do this easily. So they may turn the tithe into cash at the place where they live (14:24-25a). They they are to carry the cash to the central sanctuary (14:25b) and use it to buy what they are giving as tithe (14:26a). They have a family celebration with a little of the tithe (14:26b), and then give the vast majority of it to the sanctuary (14:27). The Levites will no longer be quite so needy as they were when they first settled in the land, so the bulk of the tithe will be given to the central sanctuary. Yet the Levites must not be forgotten altogether. If they are in need some of the tithe may still (as in the original legislation) be given to them (14:27). (iii) Moses also laid it down for the distant future that every third year the tithe would be used in a different way. Every third year the tithe is to be stored in the towns until it is completely brought together from the rural areas (14:28), and then it will be given to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows (14:29a). This – says Moses – will lead to blessing for the entire nation (14:29b). Any Levite who misused the tithe was liable to be executed (Deuteronomy 18:32b).

2. What was the origin of tithing? It began with Abraham and Jacob. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20; Hebrews 7:6); and Jacob vowed to the Lord and said, ‘Of all that you give me I will surely give a tenth to you’. But it is important to note that this pre-Mosaic tithing was purely a matter of being led by the Holy Spirit. Abraham and Jocab tithed because at a time when they were close to God, and God was working powerfully in their hearts, they felt led to give a tenth of their possessions in this way. They were tithing in the Holy Spirit. Later on the tithe became a matter of law. Israel was under a tithe-legislation.

3. Is the Christian obliged to tithe his income? I answer ‘No’ and ‘Yes’! Strictly speaking the answer is ‘No, the Christian is not under the Mosaic law’. The Christian does not tithe as a matter of legislation. We have ‘died to the law’, and there is nowhere in the New Testament where we are told to tithe. Matthew 23:23 is telling those under the law to keep the law! It cannot be made into a command for post-Pentecost Christians. The New Testament speaks of proportional giving but it is not compelled like the tithe (2 Corinthians 8:8; 9:7). It was ‘according to means’ (8:11). This is not exactly tithing.

Israel was an earthly nation. The tithe was part of its state-law. There was a time when state-churches could demand a tithe of every citizen of a country. In Britain state-enforced tithing was not entirely abolished until 1936! Even today there is at least one country where the tithe can be collected from every citizen as part of its collecting the national taxes. Only those who exempt themselves are released from it. Certainly the Christian is not under the Mosaic law, and state-Christian-religion tends to have a corrupting influence on the purity and sincerity of the churches (to say nothing of its tendency to produce ‘Christians’ who persecute others). Is the Christian under a tithe law? No!

Yet this is not the whole story! The Christian has to give to the work of God. His or her giving is more like the tithing of Abraham and Jacob. They gave a tenth of what they had because that was the leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They were tithing by the Holy Spirit, not tithing by any legislation. Christians are not under the law; they are under the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit inspires giving! Another point is: if someone gave a tenth under the law, the movement from law to grace is a movement forward. A person who gave a tenth under the law would give even more – by the Holy Spirit. Whether this ‘proportional giving’ is called ‘tithing’ or not is unimportant. But there is no escaping the fact that when under the law, the believer was to give a tenth and the Holy Spirit is likely to inspire in the heart of the Christian the giving of even morethan a tenth, in the heart of the Christian. It is a good way to test whether we are walking in the Spirit! Are we under the law? No! But we fulfill the law – and go beyond it – by walking in the Holy Spirit. Christians do not tithe ‘Mosaically’. They surpass the tithe when they are walking in the Holy Spirit.

Healing Scriptures

These are the healing scriptures that I got mostly from Joseph Prince website. I meditate on them almost daily, confess them, personalise them to myself, pray over it in tongues. I encourage you to use it to build faith in you to experience the Healing of power of Jesus in your life.

In word document format to be Downloaded:

HealingScriptures

Health And Healing

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:4–5

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11

Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Isaiah 58:8

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Psalm 107:19–20

I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.
Psalm 118:17

And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.
Deuteronomy 7:15

… Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed.
1 Peter 2:24

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
3 John 1:2

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:2

And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Matthew 14:14

And begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.
Matthew 14:36

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 10:10

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.
Jeremiah 17:14

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Matthew 4:23

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.
Psalm 91:9–10

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.
Proverbs 4:20–22

When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.???
Matthew 8:16–17

But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
Matthew 12:15

… God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Acts 10:38

But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.
Luke 9:11

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.???
Mark 16:17–18

And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.??? Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.??? Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matthew 8:2–3

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases.
Psalm 103:2–3

With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
Psalm 91:16

Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
Jeremiah 33:6

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:21

For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; no one seeks her.???’
Jeremiah 30:17

He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.
Psalm 105:37

So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfil the number of your days.
Exodus 23:25–26

“… I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.???
Exodus 15:26

Matthew 10:1, 7-8

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.

Luke 9:1

And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.

Mark 6:7,13

Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

What is the New Covenant?

New Covenant

• What is Righteousness? 2 Corinthians 5:21
  • How do we get it?
    • Under Old Covenant Righteousness by the Law (Deut 6:25; Php 3:7-9))
      • Also called “Self-righteousness” (Romans 9:30-10:4)
      • The ability to attain Righteousness by Self
      • Our Righteous Acts are like Filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)
      • External keeping of the commandments produced external holiness
    • Under New Covenant, Rightousness by Faith
      • God’s Gift of Righteousness, a Righteous that is From God not from Man (Romans 1:17)The Righteous that is by Faith Apart from Works (Romans 4:6-8; Galatians 2:15-21)Jesus showed that Self-righteousness was impossible by expounding the Law internally (Matt 5:21-30)

        Messiah is the End of the Law, End to Self-Righteousness- (Romans 10:4)

        How did Jesus become Sin? Did He Sin? No!! He was tempted in All ways, yet without sin. (Heb 4:16)

        Jesus received our Sin as a Gift, so we received His Righteousness as a Gift not because of any righteous acts we’ve done.

  • God only sees One Righteousness-that is His Righteousness
  • Let’s Boast in God’s Righteousness not our own righteousness (1 Cor 1:22-23; 29-31; Jer 9:23-24)

  Is it the job of the Holy Spirit to make me feel guilty and point out my faults all the time? John 16:8-11

  • He will Convict the world wrong concerning Sin- because THEY/WORLD/UNBELIEVERS don’t believe in Me
    • Sin is in the Singular, the Sin of Unbelief. John 3:18,36; 8:24. Mark 16:16The Holy Spirit only makes unbelievers convinced, not the Church.How can the Holy Spirit convict you of your sin if God Remembers them No MOre? a double negative? is God confused? Hebrews 10:17-18

      Heb 10:2 “For the worshippers would have been cleansed Once and For All, and would No Longer have Felt Guilty for their Sins.”

    Concerning Righteousness, because I AM GOING TO THE FATHER

    • God will judge the world one day to see if they’ve received His Gift of Righteousness. Acts 17:31.Jesus was crucified to take the punishment of my sin, and He was raised to make me Right with God (Righteousness/Justification) Romans 4:23-25. 6:11. Jesus included my sinful nature in His death, when He rose from the dead He included me in His Resurrection, I was was raised with Him in Resurrection life and now I share in His Life, share His Righteousness- Right standing with God.The Holy Spirit will only Convict/Convince that you are God’s Righteousness. He will never point out your fault.

    Concerning Judgement, because the ruler of this world has been Condemned.

    • The only person that the Holy Spirit ‘makes’ feel guilty, or point out faults to is the devil.

    The devil is the one who makes you feel guilty and points out your faults all the time- he is the prosecutor at law. Revelations 12:10-11

    Do not mistake the devil to be the Holy Spirit

     

  What is the Law? 2Cor 3:6-11

  • The ten commandments, engraved by the finger of God
  • The ministry of death
  • The ministry of condemnation
  • made ineffective with fading glory
  • It has been cancelled (Col 2:14-15)
  • We died to the law (Romans 7:6)

  What was the purpose of the Law? Romans 7:6-11

  • brings sin to life. V.7
  • gives sin opportunity to take control.
  • no Law, no sin
  • produces in me all kinds of evil desires

Why did Jesus have to die on the Cross?

Why was Jesus Christ (Prince of peace) killed on the cross?

(this teaching is by no means perfect or 100%, but we are trying to allow ourselves to look at this truth from a different perspective and disover that truth might be multi-faceted and deeper than our 1 way of looking at it.)

Was it because God was crazily in love with us, or He just wanted to be ‘satisfied’ and be ‘content’ with us?
This new series will help you get a more clear revelation of the Father heart of God and overcome your struggles with receiving His love. So many Christians sub-consciously believe that Jesus loves them more than the Father loves them, because Jesus rescued them from the Father’s wrath.

To help us understand, let’s have a look at 2 illustrations of an traffic offense:

1. Today, you drove 150km/hr through an big area set aside for an blind children’s conference. There were 10 signs along the way that said “20 km/hr only”. What you did was extremely dangerous for the children. The police caught you and gave you a big fine $50,000 fine. You can’t afford to pay, you will have to goto jail. Later, someone you don’t even know, came and pay the fine for you so you can go free! The judge didn’t really forgive you, but was satiasfied because the fine was paid. There was no love on the judges part, it was a judicial transaction.

2. Today, you drove 150km/hr through an big area set aside for an blind children’s conference. There were 10 signs along the way that said “20 km/hr only”. What you did was extremely dangerous for the children. The police caught you and gave you a big fine $50,000 fine. You can’t afford to pay, you will have to goto jail. Later, the judge said ‘Forgiven!, I love you, your fine has been weaved, there is no more need to pay for it! you are debt free and forgiven with no conditions!! now don’t do this again.” This is great news!! It shows love on part of Judge that he took the initiate to clear your debt because of His mercy.

Views on the atonement

The so called “traditional view??? that most people have been taught in the church, is that Jesus came to pay the debt we owe to God for breaking His laws (similiar to illustration 1. Also known as Penal Substitution). In order for us to be forgiven, Jesus had to take the punishment for our sins from God who is an angry judge. Is like that God has anger problem, and He needs payment in order for His anger to be appeased and satisfied. Is that really the case?

I mean, if God IS love as mentioned in

1John 4:8 The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Love is defined as keeping no record of wrongs,

NIV 1 Cor 13:5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

NASB© 13:5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,

NRSV© 13:5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful

Love has no ‘unforgiveness’, hence does He require payment or punishment in order to forgive us? Why can’t he just forgive us unconditionally without any payment? In fact, He already has before time began in eternity past, because Love is forgiveness. An merciful judge can weave the debt because He is love. If an friend wrongs you, you can just love and forgive them, without them ‘paying’ for it by suffering in anyway.

Love doesn’t require any payment, it is unconditional forgiveness.

God is Pure Love, it keeps no record of wrongs, no unforgiveness, God IS forgiveness. There is no need to do anything for forgiveness because we are already all forgiven because forgiveness is Who He Is.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His One and only Son…

Traditionally we’ve taught that the reason God sent Jesus was so that He could forgive us, but the reason why He sent Jesus to rescue us is because He already forgave us!! because HE IS LOVE!!

Forgiveness is not an event, it’s a Person.

The life of God is in His Blood

Leviticus 17:11 for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life.

Jesus didn’t die to pay the payment for our debt to get us forgiveness from God, but He died to pour out His blood so we can drink of it, which is love/life/forgiveness/healing personified. In order for us to be joined to Him, He has to pour out His blood.. Jesus allowed Himself to be killed by wicked man so that we can drink of His blood and His blood would become our blood.

Jesus’ death on the cross was not so that God could forgive us, but to open up God’s forgiveness to us which was always there in eternity so we could take and drink of it; human beings thought that God had unforgiveness and was against us, but this is the lie that caused us to turn away from God Who is Love and Forgiveness.

Hebrews 9:22 Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins; we think that in order for our sins to be forgiven, someone has to pay by dying; but that’s not what it’s saying here, its the blood that is/brings forgiveness, not the death.

We have already been forgiven from all eternity because Forgiveness is found in God Himself, His character, Who He is. So If you want to receive experience His forgiveness, you need to be joined to Him by drinking His blood, His life, Himself.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Jesus gave His life because he has already considered you as his friend because he already forgave you.

Jesus could forgive sins even before He died on the cross-

Mark 2:10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,??? – he said to the paralytic

Jesus died to destroy our sinful nature, the power of sin and deliver us from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light.

Jesus rose from the dead, to make us new creations in union/oneness with God our Father, giving us New life and His Perfect record, making us children of God by reconciling us to Him in this wonderful relationship

In summary,

God forgave us before time began (because God IS LOVE- love keeps no record of wrongs; Jesus is ‘the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world’), but that forgiveness was made available when the blood was poured out 2000 years ago (life, love, healing, forgiveness is in the blood

We will dig deeper into the coming weeks…

Do Christians have to confess sins to God?

Please check out All Scriptures listed here to see what is said is been true. If any query, free to ask at the bottom of the posts!! Thankyou,

Do Christians have to confess their sins to God in order to be Forgiven?

Finally the Lord is giving some mighty revelations into this truth, Thankyou Jesus!!!

2000 years ago, Jesus has Already forgiven you of All your sins!!! and you partake of that, you received that Full forgiveness in One Perfect installment at salvation, Eternal Life, the moment you gave your life to Christ.

1 Peter 1:3-5

I can talk to God about my sins and ask Grace to Overcome, but its not the same as Confessing it because All my sins have Already been Forgiven and He promises in the New Covenant that He makes with us, that our sins He “Remembers them No More” Hebrews 8:12;10:17-18.

Unbelievers need to confess their sins to God to get saved; but Christians do not need to, because they are Already saved.

1John 1:9 was written to refute the teaching that Gnostic false teachers had infiltrated the church to dilute the Gospel Message to the world. The Gnostics claimed that ‘there was no such thing as Sin or Sinning’, and that our bodies are already evil anyway.

So what John the Apostle was essential saying was, “If any unbelievers confess their sins, they can be cleansed of All their sins and get saved.” refer 1 John 1:9

If an unbeliever doesn’t believe that ‘sin or sinning’ exists (or the doctrine of original Sin) due to the Gnostics teaching that was trying to infiltrate the believers, then the unbeliever won’t acknowledge that he is a sinner to God and hence be saved.

Read Ezekiel 36:25-26, Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 2:13 as an foundation to 1John1:9 and Hebrews 10:19-22 which is referring to unbelievers getting saved.

Ezek 36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water and you will be CLEAN from ALL your impurities. I will PURIFY youfrom ALL your idols. 36:26 I will give you a NEW heart, and I will put A NEW spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. 36:27 I will put MY SPIRIT within you;

Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people–free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. [Abundantly] free! (MSG translation)

Colossians 2:13

And even though you were dead in your  transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions.

When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive–right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven,

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ²¹ since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 10:20 by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us ²² through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ²³10:21 and since we have a great priest ²⁴ over the house of God, 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, ²⁵ because we have had our hearts sprinkled CLEAN from an evil conscience ²⁶ and our bodies WASHED in pure water.

This Scripture in Hebrews was written to Hebrews/Jews, some of which was tempted to go back under the Law or some of which won’t even saved, possibly to encourage them to come out of Old Covenant of Moses, into the New Covenant. It is a SCripture written to encourage these Jews to get saved!!! by having their hearts cleansed by the Blood of Jesus!! It’s not a SCripture refering to believers but Unbelievers who already know the Law!!

1John 1:9 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and CLEANSING ²⁴ us from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.

Reading this SCripture in the light of Ezekiel and other Old Testament SCriptures prophesying of the New Covenant, we can see once again that this Scripture 1 John 1:9 is in line and it’s talking about unbelievers entering into the New Covenant so all their sins can be forgiven. Look at the Word ‘Cleansing‘ in Ezekiel and 1 John and you’ll see the parallel.

“The best commentary for the bible, is The Bible!! “said Ian Mckellar

Think about this:

How can God tell believers to confess their sins if He promises “I will Remember their sins No More…”

Read Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12; 10:17,18; Psalms 103:3,12; Micah 7:19

Everything in the Old Testament must be interpreted the New Testament.

What the Old Conceals, the New Reveals; everything before the Cross, must be interpreted after the Cross.

Matt 6:14-15 was written before the Cross (read the context), it must interpreted through what happend After the Cross in which God Changed the Way He Related to us, Colossians 3:13

The Bible, is meant to be read as One Book, written by One Author, with One Theme flowing through the Old and the New.

It’s not meant to contradict each other, but what the Old Conceals, the New Reveals.

What the Old Prophesies, the New Fulfills.

Jesus is the The Fulfillement of the Old Covenant to bring the New Covenant, He IS literally the New Covenant!!

Isaiah 42:6; Luke 24:27; Colossians 1:27

When some of the Corinthians were sleeping with the temple prostitutes, Paul never tells them even once to ‘Confess their sins’. If confessing sins was such a common practice among New Convenant believers, why was it never mentioned once in all of Paul’s letters?

1Cor 5:1-2; 6:9-11

Paul says to those who were sinning, “those who commit sexuall immorality will not inherit the Kingdom of God…”

but Then He says, “that is what some of you WERE… you were WASHED, SANCTIFIED!!!”

He is saying, “that is Not you!!! the unbelievers won’t inherit the Kingdom!! that is Not you, you have Already been WASHED!!!”

“You don’t need to confess your sins, you’ve ALREADY BEEN WASHED, bEEN FORGIVEN!!!”

WASHED = FORGIVEN, FORGIVEN= WASHED. It’s the Same thing, it’s both past tense.

Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:

though your sins are like SCARLET, they shall be as WHITE as SNOW;

though they are RED like CRIMSON, they shall become like WOOL. Isaiah 1:18

If you already have been forgiven, what is left to confess? You only need to do it ONCE!!

For by a SINGLE/ONE Offering He has PERFECTED for ALL TIME those who are being SANCTIFIED(set apart unto God by that One offering, we are set apart FOREVER!). Hebrews 10:14

WASHED = FORGIVEN = SANCTIFIED = JUSTIFIED = 1Cor 6:11; Romans 8:30 = COMPELTE = FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS = “It is finished!!!” John 19:30

God’s Work is Complete from Beginning to End, for He declares the End from the Beginning. Isa 46:10; Rev 1:8

He is the ‘Beginning/Alpha and the End/Omega’, so if you are in Him, you are Already Complete.

Paul is trying to ‘change the way they think’ – Repentance, to tell them “this is not you… you are not sexuall immoral anymore, you are New Creations in Christ… therefore start acting like one…you don’t have a sinful nature anymore, but you have a God nature and you have been justified (declared Righteous before God).

“As man thinketh in his heart, so is he” proverbs.

If you believe you are sinner, then you’ll sin by faith. If you believe you are a ‘Idiot’, then you’ll act like a Idiot. The whole bible is all about transforming your mind, there is nothing you have ‘To Do’, it has already ‘Been Done!’, just Repent (change your mind) and Believe the Truth so you can be Set Free!!! John 8:32, Live by the Spirit, Not by the Law, Galatians 5:18

We are not longer ‘Sinners saved by grace’, we WERE sinners, but Now We are Saints.

The moment you discover Who you really are, then you’ll start to live like it.

Paul didn’t tell them to confess their sins but he told them Who they are. There is no need to confess your sins if you don’t have a sinful nature anymore!!!

Believers no longer have to be ‘sin conscious’, but they can be “Gift of Righteousnes conscious” and “Christ conscious” rather than “self-conscious”. Romans 8:1

Woohoo!! thankyou Jesus, Heavenly for this wonderful Gospel Grace that truely changes people from the Inside out, not Outside In!!

So what happens when we sin?

Instead of asking Him to forgive us and feeling condemned, we just thank Him that He has already forgiven us and there is Now No Condemnation.

More to come about “Do Christians have a sinful nature?” studies based in Romans 6-7.

Thankyou and feel free to spread this blog!!!

Have a read of this as well:

* When did Jesus forgave us all our sins?

http://gracerevolution.tv/grace/gracerevolution/2008/09/25/when-did-jesus-forgive-us-all-our-sins-part-1/

http://gracerevolution.tv/grace/gracerevolution/2008/10/06/when-did-jesus-forgive-us-all-our-sins-part-2/

The understanding of this took me a couple of years to grasp it.

Confessing your sins and forgiving others in order for God to forgive you was an Old Covenant practice (Matthew 6:12, 14-15); but in the New Covenant we forgive others Because God has already forgiven us (Colossians 3:13). Jesus was still living under the Old Covenant when He said this, the New Covenant didn’t begin until Jesus died on the Cross and it was completed on Acts Chapter 2, the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out.

Its important to RIGHTLY DIVIDE THE COVENANTS when you read the bible otherwise you’ll mis-interpret it. There are 7 major covenants in the Bible. Right now we are living under the Dispensation of the New Covenant, so when we read Old Covenant Scriptures we’ve got to filter it through New Covenant Lenses.

E.g. If you read most parts of the Old Testament, you will find that God commands us to kill our enemies. Do we do that today? of course Not, that was Old Covenant Law of Moses. Also when Jesus came, He said He was only sent to the Lost sheep of Israel, Not to the Gentiles (Matthew 15:24), and He also told his disciples only preach to the Jews (Mathew 10:6)  that was Old Covenant. But when He rose from the dead, the Covenant changed and He told everyone to go into the World and preach the Good News to all ethnic groups, all people, not just Jews!!!

Jesus preached law/Old Covenant to its original standard, where once people had watered the law down to be “keepable”, he preached this to the Self-Righteous and Proud in heart to expose their sins by bringing the law which is  mirror, and Jesus preached New Covenant Grace Prophetically and renewing the Abrahamic Covenant of Faith to those were humble and ready to receive.

What is New Covenant Repentance?

Newly updated: 16th July, 2011.

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Hello there, I’ve done alot of thinking about this since Glory & Grace in Sydney in March 2008 and trying to work it out in my own life. Here is what I’ve come to a conclusion with regard to Repentance and I welcome your comments. I believe one cannnot understand what Repentance is if they cannot understand God’s Grace and the New Covenant that you and I live under today. We are no longer living under the dispensation of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant stopped when Jesus shed His Blood, the New Covenant was initiated at the Last Supper and begun when Jesus shed His Blood as the Establishment of the Covenant, and it was Completed on the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit was given.

Is New covenant repentance different from New covenant repentance?

Yes, of course, because its a different Covenant. Everything must be interpreted within the Covenants. There is so much confusion of covenants and mixture of law of and grace preached in the body of Christ.

There is 8 different covenants in the bible, and all Scriptures must be interpreted within the Covenants to get the correct meaning.

The Application of repentance under the Old and New Covenant are different.

Here are some examples of “God repenting”, King James Version:

Amos 7:6
The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD.

1 Chronicles 21:15
And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repentedhim of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Jonah 3:10
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

What does God need to Repent of?

Does God need to repent of Sin? No!! of course not- God does not Sin, that is blasphemy to say that of God.

Repentance means a ‘Change of mind’, God simply “changed His mind” that he would not destroy the people because of the evil they had done. Under Old Covenant, people’s sins were covered temporary, but when Jesus came, all our sins past present and future were punished Once and for All on Jesus our Substitutionary Lamb of God, who takes “away The Sins of the World”. God could not be angry with the world again (Isa 54:9;10), because He already punished All our sins on Jesus and Now He is Not counting the world’s sins against them!! (2Cor 5:19)  Woohoo!!!

Except on one issue: the Change of mind about the Law of Moses- which was a unit, the complete set of 613 commandments God handwritten on the tablets of stone. (For more info: please read my document “What is the purpose of the law???? http://gracerevolution.tv/grace/gracerevolution/2008/04/29/what-was-the-purpose-of-the-law/)

Repentance is not ‘good works’, ‘trying to do something or turn from sin’ as most preacher’s will tell you, put on you external behavioural modification principles to try to change man from the outside but have no ability to change the inner man.

I believe there is alot of confusion about what Repentance is. It has resulted from a mixture of Law and Grace preached in the Church worldwide- that’s why we think repentance is tryin to do something, but Grace is a free gift, so repentance and faith seems to contradict one another???

Repentance is NOT good works; otherwise we are no longer saved by Grace. Grace is a free gift.

So, what is repentance then?

Under the Old Covenant system means that people have to keep a complete set of rules, laws, regulations Perfectly to work to please God and earn the blessings.

The New Covenant means that God is pleased with us and gives us the blessings when we believe/faith in the gift of His Son Jesus, His Righteousness Nature and Perfect Record- the free gift of right standing with God apart from works. Grace is what God does for us completely independant of our actions. Faith is simply a positive response to what God has Already done on the Cross 2000 years ago through Jesus, He forgave us All our Sins even before we were even born and had committed any transgressions!! All you have to do believe and Receive!! For more, listen to Andrew Wommack’s teaching on “The balance of Grace and Faith”,

Under the context of the two different major covenants in the bible, Repentance will be interpreted under those covenants:

Old covenant (Law of Moses keeping) repentance was to try turn from your wrong doing and come under the law of Moses again to keep the commandments and  in order to be righteous, to earn a right standing before God (Deuteronomy 6:25), to be self-righteous- it’s all about what you do for God. The Law brings condemnation and wrath and you actually can’t live Holy truly from the inward parts; i.e. the Pharisees were able to avoid committing adultery physically, but they could look with lusts and its still the same as adultery in God’s eyes because the law simply stirred up sin in their lives.

Example of Old Covenant repentance.

Isaiah 55:7  The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle 

and sinful people their plans. 

They should return  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. 

New covenant(Jesus Crucified for you Type) repentance is about turning away from the law as a means to attain righteousness, turning away from self-righteousness, and turn to turn to the Grace of God and Receive His Gift of Righteousness Perfect Record as a Gift through Faith- it’s all about what God has Already done for you!! The result of this change of mind will manifest in Holy and Righteous living through receiving His Grace which is gives you power, knowing that He loves you as his own child, it changes you from the inside – out,  grace give you power to partner with God in relationship to live your lives in devotion to Him and say no to ungodliness (Titus 2:11-14)

Acts  16:30 Then he brought them outside  and asked, “Sirs, what must  I do to be saved???? 16:31 They replied, “Believe  in the Lord Jesus  and you will be saved, you and your household.??? 16:32 Then  they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all those who were in his house.

Paul didn’t tell them to repent, but he told them ‘to believe’. Repentance and faith is synominously in the new testament.

Repentance in the New Covenant is Simply to believe in the Truth about something.

In the New Testament, the word for Repentance is ‘to change one’s mind.’

Repentance in the New Testament

Gk metanoeo 3340 Strongs Concordance

To think differently, or afterwards, i.e. reconsider.

Is about changing your mind, change your attitude and the way you think; come to your senses. It is all about the mind, not about doing anything. Change your mind and believe that Jesus did the Perfect good works on your behalf. In the New Covenant, God’s Children no longer have a sinful nature but becomes reborn, have a new creation. Your Spirit becomes recreated, perfectly Righteous (Ephesians 4:25; 2Cor 5:21), its just that your soul/mind/emotions isn’t fully renewed yet; your body is neutral, its neither good nor evil, both your soul and body has been purchased by the blood of Jesus but not fully redeemed yet. When your soul agrees with your Spirit, the Spirit man is able to take over the whole body and manifest its holy power in your body. More on that teaching by Andrew Wommack: Spirit, soul and body. http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1027

And you will know and desires things of God naturally- you will automatically know what to do (Hebrews 8:10-12) from the Spirit of God that is within you, but you will NOT do them to EARN the blessings because you have ALREADY been BLESSED through Jesus. It’s easy to know and want to do God’s will because we’re a new creation in Christ.

Repentance is an inward change of mind that will eventually change the outward behaviour of a person.

To Summarise :

Repentance in the Old Covenant is ‘to turn from your sin’, because you are under the law- an performance based mentality to earn Righteousness-an right standing with God (Deut 6:25). Repentance in the New Covenant is ‘to believe in Jesus’ (Romans 3:20-24; 5:1-2, Galatians 2:15-21;3:1-14, Ephesians 2:8-9), because Jesus repented on your behalf when He went through the baptism of repentance at Jordan river,. Jesus never sinned, and He removed your record of sins and destroyed/crucified your sinful nature on the cross, so you are now Perfect, Not Guilty and Evil-Free!! So that if you believe in Him, you will become a new Creation and All your sins are Removed. That is the best way to ‘turn from your sin’, by trusting in the One Who Removed your sinful nature and imperfect record. This is how you ‘turn from sin’ in the New Covenant: is to believe and receive His Perfect Record!! Because you could never achieve a Perfect record under the law by your own works, or turning from your own sin. But Jesus achieved it for you, the sinless immaculate Son of God repented on your behalf by being perfectly obedient to the Law.

So if you believe/trust in Him, YOU HAVE ALREADY REPENTED!!

“Old Covenant repentance is turn from your sin, and obtain self-righteousness by law keeping (set of rules and laws); New Covenant repentance is to turn away from self-righteousness by the law, and receive God’s Gift of Righteousness by faith!! “

Isaiah 53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;

each of us had strayed off on his own path,

but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him

When we are telling unbelievers ‘To Repent’, we are not telling them ‘To turn from sin’, but we are telling them to change of mind which RESULTS in the change of direction of their lives- turning to God. Simply tell someone, “Stop sinning!! turn from Sin!!” does not give them the power to overcome sin.

We are telling them that Jesus died for All their sins, He was punished for their every sin, so the Only sin Jesus couldn’t die for was the sin of Unbelief. We are telling them to change their minds and believe and they will be saved.

John the baptist was giving a baptism of repentance (Luke 3:3), and when Jesus was baptised He was repenting on your behalf. He repented for your sins by keeping the Law perfecting, not sinning once. Then all you have to do is believe and receive His Perfect Record!

Repentance for an unbeliever and a believer is different.

Repentance for an unbeliever is for receiving salvation, repentance for an believer is simply for him to realise who he/she is in Christ and then the actions will follow.

Repentance is different for an unbeliever because he is sin conscious in his unsaved state. When he repents and receives Christ, he becomes Righteous conscious, realising that Jesus is his Righteousness (Right standing with God), he cannot earn a right standing with God by his works of law.

Repentance for an believer is different to an unbeliever, because he is or ought to be Righteous conscious, and when he repents (changes his mind), he is simply realising or becoming more righteous conscious then he already is. A believer is no longer ‘under condemnation, never not possible, in Christ’ Romans 8:1. Repentance cannot mean to become ‘sin conscious’, because he is ‘righteousness conscious’.

All repentance is for a believer is to become “Righteous conscious”, realising and reminding yourself that “I’m the Righteousness, the Perfect record of God in Christ Jesus!” and then the change in lifestyle follows.

Repentance doesn’t always include regret or godly sorrow, it depends on the situation. When God repented, He did not feel sorrowful. Unbelievers when they receive salvation, they should sorrowful and grateful at the same time. When a believer realises that he is the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and that he right with God by faith, he can feel joyful! Its a just a change of mind.

Proverbs 23:7

⁷for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.

What do we need to change our mind about?

There are 3 areas that people change their mind about, the first and the third one applies more to an unbeliever while the second constantly needs to be reminded for the believer:

1) About Sin. Once we thought ’sin’ wasn’t that bad, and then someone shares the Good News with us. We saw the Law of God and couldn’t believe how far we have fallen from his standards. We saw that ’sin’ isn’t just pleasure, but it was a crime before God, its actually bad for your body and soul and it hurts people involved and breeds bad consequences. We then realised that sin is bad, it leads to physical death- Romans 6:23, and ‘liars and sexually immoral will have their part in the lake of fire which is the second death’ Rev 21:8 – Eternal separation from the Loving God in utter darkness and torment. We realised that just as criminals deserve to be punished in a court of law, so we realised that we deserve nothing but death and hell for what we’ve done to God and other people.

But then we realised how much God loved us, that He would send His Only Begotten Son Jesus to take the punishment for all our lying, stealing, adultery – even while we were still sinners He expressed His love for us. That makes me feel sad about my wrong doing. I realised that my sins hurt God and sent him to the Cross. I don’t want to do those things anymore that hurt him. Jesus identified with my Sin, He clothed HImself with my Sin, and gave me His Cloak of Right standing with God. It’s the Grace of God that ‘teaches us to say no to ungodliness…’.

Titus 2: 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 16 2:12 It trains us 17 to reject godless ways 18 and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

Remember 2 Cor 7:10 says that ‘it’s Godly sorrow that leads us to repentance’. When you hear the Gospel preached, that the Creator of the Universe died a substitutionary death for you sins and you understand that the wages of sin is death, then a Godly sorrow will come upon you, and you will have a change of mind and a change of heart. This is repentance.

2) About the Law. Once I thought I could please God and earn my way to heaven with my own good works, now I realised how sinful I really was inwardly and that my good works are nothing but filthy rags Isaiah 64:6 (menstrual cloths) in God’s eyes, and they are like dung in the sight of a Perfectly Good God (Phlippians 3:1-9). I realise how sinful I’m and that I have a sinful nature and no matter how hard I try to please Him, it would just be the same as an apple tree trying to produce an banana- impossible! so how can someone that is wicked on the inside do anything that is purely good? Outwardly I could be perfect by the law, but inwardly I’m just as evil as anyone else. If I looked with sexual fantasies towards someone, its the same as commiting adultery which I deserve to be stoned to death; if i been angry with someone and thought about killing them, that’s just as bad as the act of doing it, which is also a death sentence. No one can keep the Law of Moses perfectly, which is what Jesus came to show us, that unless your righteousness exceeds the pharisees (which is self-righteousness by the law keeping), you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven; the only way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, is by Receiving the Gift of God’s Righteousness, His Perfect Record through Jesus’ sinless life.

3) About Jesus and God. At once I didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God and therefore the Saviour of the world, now I realised that He was the Lamb that was slain, died a substitionary death for my crimes and is the ONLY way to God. Before I came to God, I thought that God never cared about me. He was just a judge wanting to punish and judge people, far away in the sky and I could never reached Him. But now that I’m saved by His Sacrifice, I realised that He is my Father. He loves me, He does care about me and wants to have a personally relationship/friendship with me.

For an unbeliever,

Repentance is to Change the way you think, your soul/mind/emotions, its a process that will eventually open up the door for you Spirit which is already Perfect forever, to be unlocked and let out, and manifest in your body, resulting in an outward expression, so that what you think will come out of you on the outside.

At the point of Receiving Christ, Repentance is more than just a mental agreement with the Good News, it is a change of mind that opens the door for the grace of God to come into your life and to make you a New Creation that is in Christ Jesus. A change of mind really is talking about a change of heart, if there was no change of heart then the mind has never really changed.

‘As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’ Proverbs

It’s wrong to tell a unbeliever to ‘turn from sin’ since their heart hasn’t been changed yet; since ‘repentance’ is, a change of heart. Our job as evangelist is not to ‘change people’s behaviour’, but to ‘change people’s hearts’.

Illustration of Repentance:
Put yourself in a situation of a criminal who committed a series of bank robbery of over 100 Million dollars and assaulted an elderly man and is caught. He stands before the judge, and all the evidence is presented- he has no where to run and a 10 years sentence is about to be served.

How does he feel?

1) I feel sorry for what I’ve done. What I used to love doing now I hate it.

2) I realise I cannot save myself; no matter how many good things I do now, it will not take away the bad things I’ve done. In other, I realise that I cannot save myself by keeping the law.

And as the judge is about to pass the sentence, all of a sudden, Jesus bursts into the courtroom and says to the judge, ‘Judge, put his criminal record on me and I will give him my perfect record.’

Now, you have a Choice: whether to believe in Jesus and accept His Perfect Record, and exchange your imperfect record for His. Or Reject His Gift.

So you say to Jesus, “I believe in You Jesus and I accept Your Perfect Record for my imperfect record.???

Then the judge says to you, “Not Guilty! you are declared innocent, an upright and perfect law-abiding citizen! You are free to go! You have Never ever done anything wrong in your whole life! You’ve always kept the Law perfectly!???

That is exactly what Jesus already done 2000 years ago. All you have to do is believe in Him and accept His sacrifice, burial and resurrection.

Look at Paul’s mission statement in life that he mentioned to the Ephesian elders,

Acts 20:20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that would be helpful, and from teaching you publicly and from house to house, testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.

Look at Jesus opening words for ministry,

Mark 1:15 He said, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!???

Acts 20:21 testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

In the context of Hebrews, the author is wrtiing to Jews who are knowledgeable of the Old Covenant and are still living under the law and tring to do ‘good works’ to earn the blessings. This is considered as ‘dead works’.

Good works of under the law are DEAD because they do not bring LIFE. Self-righteousnes will never earn eternal LIFE.

To summarise the process of repentance is based upon Acts 20:21 and Hebrews 6:1,

Repentance towards God from dead works

You change your mind and believe, and then God changes you!!!

Another illustration of repentance:

YOu are talking to an unsaved friend of yours. You start to tell him about Jesus, sin, forgiveness etc… as you are telling him the great news, all of a sudden repentance is taking place in his mind- this is all happening simultaneously as he is listening, he is changeing his views about sin, self-righteousness. And then you share with him that how he can be saved is by calling on the Name of the Lord, and all of a sudden faith is taking place in his heart to believe on Jesus and that faith gives him the ability to call on Jesus and be saved. He now obeys God out of thankfullness to the sacrifice of Jesus rather than external rules and laws that has no ability to empower the new nature within.

Faith comes from hearing, please read:

Check Romans 10:8-17

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart??? 9 (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 10:9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. 10:11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.??? 10:12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 10:14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them ? 10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely is the arrival 17 of those who proclaim the good news.??? 18 10:16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report???? 19 10:17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word

Repentance is a change of mind, that is your mind now is being exposed the Grace of God, and your mind is beginning to understand God’s Grace and it’s changing your heart and everything about you.

The terminology ‘turning from sin’ has to be rid off because that terminology makes people feel like they are still living under the law. I did a universal search in the net.bible.org the phrase ‘turn from sin’, no search results turned up.

Repentance is not ‘turning from sin’, but living a life set apart for God is a result of Repentance which comes from hearing and understanding the Grace of God. But we cannot understand the Grace of God until we understand how sinful we once were. Understanding the theology of the Law will help us to appreciate the Grace message.

When someone has truly grasped the revelation of Grace- repentance a change of mind regarding who he/she is has changed, then it will work out into their lives.

Paul preached that ‘they should prove their repentance by the things they do

Mat 3:8 + Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance,

Act 26:20 – but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance.

In other performing deeds consistent with the Grace message.

Remember Jesus said about Mary, ‘he who has been forgiven much loves much, he who has been forgiven little, loves little.’ Repentance is realising that we have been forgiven much. There is a possibility when sharing the Good News to some unbelievers not all, the message of Grace could become ‘cheap’ to them when we don’t show people how ‘expensive’ the blood of Jesus was to redeem us from the curse of the law due to the rebellion of Adam and mankind.

God does the work upon the unbelievers heart, it’s not up to us to save people, but for us to stay true to the message of Grace and forgiveness and God will do His work in the right time.

The bible says that “Godly sorrow leads to repentance” 2Cor 7:10.

Acts 2 is an example of how Godly sorrow leading to Repentance for unbelievers.

It is the day of Pentecost and many devout Jews from all over were there to do their religious duties. The Holy Spirit just fell and this is the beginnign of the New Covenant of Grace and Peter stands up in boldness having being waiting for the Holy Spirit for a while.

Acts 2:23 “this man, who was handed over by the pre-determined plan and foreknowledge of God, YOU EXECUTED BY NAILING HIM TO A CROSS AT THE HANDS OF GENTILES,”

Imagine you are standing right there with the devout Jews. Imagine how they would have felt when Peter said this. What Peter was basically saying was this…

“You Executed the One Who Gave You LIfe! You killed Elohim! You killed the your Creator, the God of your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. the One Who made an covenant with you to bless you, You Killed God Who said, “I carry you in my bossom and nurture you, you are the apple of my eyes, even though when you walk through the waters you will not drown and when you walk through the fire you will not burn, I’m the river of living water and I love you with an everlasting love.” You killed the Messianic King! You killed God’s Son! Who was supposed to come and Save you from oppression of your enemies and give you the land that God Promised to you!”

Silence. Everyone stopped. Their faces looked down. You could almost feel people wanted to start crying. They couldn’t believe what they’ve just done. They have just killed their Saviour the Author of Life. They have done worse than the people did in Moses day when the Old Covenantn was given; They have done worse than killing a calf, they have just killed the Innocent Son of God.GODLY SORROW HAS TAKEN PLACE.

Peter personalised their sin to them by saying, ‘You’. And they realised they have broken the Torah, the commandments God gave. They broke the first and second commandment to ‘Have no other God’s before Him’- the traditions of the elders and pharisees became their god, they broke the third commandment by blasphemy the name of Jesus by calling Him ‘beelzebub the prince of demons!’, they broke the fifth commandment which was to honor your father and mother by dishonoring the the covenant God made their ancestors, they broke the sixth commandment ‘thou shall not murder’ by plotting the murder of the Son of God, they broke the 9th commandment by giving false testimony about the Son of God.

They have just killed the One Who loved them with an everlasting love and came to save them. How could they have done such a thing? they realised how wicked they really were.

NOW GODLY SORROW HAS DONE ITS JOB LEADING THEM TO REPENTANCE.

Acts 2:37 Now then they heard this, they were ACUTELY distressed and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, “What should we do, brothers?

Acts 3 is another example of how Godly sorrow leading to Repentance.

A miracle has just taken place outside the temple grounds. The blind beggar is now walking. Everyone is amazed at Peter and John. Peter stands up and declares to them ‘You rejected the Holy and Righteous One… You Killed the Originator of life…!”

Then we see in Acts 4:4 ‘many believed in the message and the number of men came to about 5000.’