Suppose I gave you a car fully loaded with all the modern features: keyless entry, Collision and lane detection, state of the art back up camera, wheels that alert you when they are low on air, seats that heat during the winter, and it’s like the perfect car. I hand you the title to it and say “it’s your gift.” You’d be really happy. Suppose then you reach for your wallet and hand me five dollars. It’s no longer a gift and then it would be a paltry payment for the car.
The doctrine of works righteousness is a lie from the enemy. There is no cosmic scale balancing out our good from the bad. We’re bad overwhelmingly. That’s why we need forgiveness in the first place. Some religions add works that are required for continued forgiveness. Catholicism does that. Mass attendance and taking the Eucharist is a requirement of the Catholic devotees. Confession to a man and the saying of vain repetitions (the rosary) is also a requirement. the Bible says true, heart felt faith is the only requirement. Seventh Day Adventist devotees add dietary restrictions and sabbath observance. Both of these cults say they are the only true church and no one outside of them will be saved.
I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Galatians 2:21
Friends, you can be sincere about something and be really wrong. As you progress in your walk with the Lord, He reveals more and more spiritual truths to you, more fruit is displayed in your life and often spiritual gifts increase. Religion passes away and freedom in Christ rules. Does that mean you can live any way you want? By no means. One of the common themes in the preaching of John the Baptist, Jesus and the apostles was repentance. Does your church talk about the necessity of repentance as a condition for salvation? Is that biblical? Faith is the only condition biblically. Does that mean repentance isn’t necessary? The answer is no. If Jesus said it over and over again, it is important.
I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance
Jesus in Luke 5:32
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 1:4
And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;
Luke 3:3
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus In Matthew 4:17
So preaching that includes the importance of repentance is reflecting the teaching of Christ! Yet this isn’t popular. Some don’t want to submit all to Christ. They want part in, they’ll study the Bible and go to church and pray but they want to hold onto some things. That’s the lie we believe. Nothing is worth holding onto it.
Got pride? Repent. Got greed? Repent. Got gossip? Repent. Repent means turn away from sin. Jesus told the people He healed “sin no more.” He meant it. He wants us to repent. When Jesus tells us to do something it’s usually for our good. When we are in an attitude of immediate repentance, we are more likely to be on the receiving end of His presence. When the Holy Spirit is first in a person’s life, there is a fountain of joy even in the times of turbulence.
Repentance is necessary for your spiritual growth, not your salvation. A person who has sincerely turned to Christ will repent. People who did half hearted commitments to Christ will not and then their faith will eventually get derailed. Preachers who keep hammering the message of repentance don’t want their flock ending up in hell. Soft messages of “ask Jesus into your heart” and then everything will be okay, does not produce true disciples of Christ.
Christ followers do some difficult things. They forgive people without being asked or forgiveness. They give sacrificially of their time and money to others. They deny their flesh and walk in the Spirit. They have a compulsion to share their faith with others. They discipline themselves in all areas of their life so that they become more and more like Jesus. They want to reflect Him.
If you are in a religion that promotes works righteousness (JW, Mormon, Catholic, SDA, Islam, etc) come on over to Biblical Christianity. There’s nothing you can do to tilt the scales in your favor, Jesus has already done everything that was needed for your salvation on the cross.
Following Jesus 