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Author
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Topic: Forgiveness
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oneinchrist
Advanced Member
Member # 6532
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posted
If we are to be even more precise about the definition of repentance by going to hebrew-greek translation then we come up with....
"change of mind towards God and sin"
In conclusion then we can safely say that if there is no change of mind towards God and sin after the hearing of the Word of God then there is no repentance. No repentance, then no forgiveness of sin......No forgiveness of sin....then no sanctification.
Eden I wholeheartedly agree with you that God does not wait for us to have cleaned up our whole life first, but repentance is of the heart and mind, and that is what God is looking for. We cannot "safely" look at sin the same way in light of the gospel message. Repentance is actually for our benefit, not just a way to make it difficult for us to be saved. We cannot view sin the same way as we did before. We are warned against passivity towards sin. There is possiblility for such a passivity to exist in an individual that a sincere repentance could be put into question......that is a point that I would like to stress.
With love in Christ, Daniel
Posts: 1389 | From: Wind Lake, WI | Registered: May 2007
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Eden
unregistered
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posted
Hi, becauseHElives, you said quote:
When an individual accepts the gift, the free gift of exchange, my life for Yeshua’s life a metamorphosis begins.
Precisely. The metamorphosis does NOT begin BEFORE one receives the gift of exchange thru Jesus, but the metamorphosis begins AFTER oen has received the gift of exchange thru Jesus.
When I repent of soul-rule and unbelief in God, I once again have access to the Holy Spirit and, if I am no longer doing soul-rule but am willing to listen to what the Spirit says to the church, THEN my behavioral change will start. But without the Holy Spirit's help, there can be no behavioral change, except of deciding to believe in Jesus, or not.
The only behavioral change that occurs BEFORE the free gift is AGREEING TO ABANDON SELF-RULE and agreeing that Jesus is the resurrected Son of God who will now guide my life from heaven, thru the Holy Spirit. And if I'm sincere in no more soul-rule, then behavioral change will happen. But unbelief is what we must repent of first, then the free gift, then the behaviour changes if the input of the Holy Spirit is listened to.
love, eden
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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posted
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34, NIV)
God consistently forgives us each time we ask in repentance. John describes these few moments in clear detail. We can see that Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew about Judas and about Peter, but he did not change the course of events, nor did he stop loving them. In the same way, Jesus knows exactly what you will do to hurt him. Yet he still loves you unconditionally and will forgive you whenever you ask for it. Judas couldn’t understand this, and his life ended tragically. Peter understood, and despite his shortcomings, his life ended triumphantly because he never let go of his faith in the One who loved him.
With Love In Christ,
Carol
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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oneinchrist
Advanced Member
Member # 6532
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posted
Hi Carol,
In your post you have stated that to turn from sin is repentance........here is a verse which I believe confirms just that......
Acts 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should TURN FROM THESE VANITIES unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
It appears in the above verse that the use of the words "turn from these vanities" is a valid substitute for the word "repent".
Thanks Carol for your response.
With love in Christ, Daniel
Posts: 1389 | From: Wind Lake, WI | Registered: May 2007
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Michael Harrison
Advanced Member
Member # 6801
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posted
If you repent of unbelief, you will find your behavior to be His behavior. If!
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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Michael Harrison
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Member # 6801
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posted
Blessed me! Did Eden agree?
I had to have fun with it "E". And what you said is sweet. I'm even gonna re-read it!
Here is the thing yall, cuz all the posts were good. It is best said that repentance 'reflects' a change in behavior. One may make an 'effort' to repent of, or stop doing something (that God will step in and honor), however, ultimately, to repent is to be delivered from!!! Praise God! Therefore, repentance is turning from unbelief, unto realizing His saving and delivering power, because He is. It is simple reality for us that we 'can' accept.
Remember the man in the gospels who said, "I believe Lord, help thou my unbelief." We are all like that. Bondage to the world and its elements is like a drug. Jesus is the power to forgo them, if we will take Him to heart. If we will, we will find His word to be true. He is able to save to the uttermost, those who come to Him. (Heb 7:25) He doesn't expect us to 'do' it on our own. The Spirit (who brings us the gospels) is the power of God unto salvation.
The reason that we are repenting of unbelief is because we are believing, by choosing to believe, that He 'is' delivering us. He provides grace to help in the time of need. (Heb 4:16) All of our need is met. (Php 4:19) In other words, His grace is sufficient. He is carrying us. He is able to draw us to Him and protect us from that which would devour us as we wrongfully entertain it.
Also, our testimony is in deliverance. If we are not delivered, we are a bad testimony to people who would find fault with Christ. Regretably, this is where the bumper sticker comes from: "Christians are not perfect, just forgiven." Christians are not perfect, if you will, but it is more than they are just forgiven. They are freed from bondage to the elements of the world that make people's behavior so erronious. Else our salvation is simply a paper salvation. People will see through that.
Posts: 3273 | From: Charlotte N.C. | Registered: Sep 2007
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becauseHElives
Advanced Member
Member # 87
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posted
The very nature of repentance itself is change in behavior!
Matthew 3:8
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Ephesians 4:28 reads, "Let him that stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth."
If an individual has partaken of the nature of Christ, if the seed of Yahweh has impregnated them their behavior can not help but be changed!
But the main thing about repentance if it is genuine is that which pertains to the heart.
Everything in a person’s behavior does not change in one moment… that would be nice but it does not work that way.
When an individual accepts the gift, the free gift of exchange, my life for Yeshua’s life a metamorphosis begins….
The renewing of the mind by the washing of the word…
The dying to self…
Prayer…
Ect….
As far as belief and unbelief go , they are behaviors…
When I after becoming a Christian get in unbelief, it like any other sin must be repented of.
By the way the metamorphosis of a child of Yahweh is only complete when we come out of our cocoon of this flesh body, when mortality is swallowed by immortality.
This instant cereal Christianity is non existent in the very nature of Yahweh.
Everything in the nature of Yahweh is…
First the seed…
Then the blade…
Then the full ear…
The Law of seed time and harvest are like all of Yahweh’s other Laws, natural like gravity or Spiritual like thou shalt not steal, they can never be change or broken without consequences.
that is why repentance is a life style for the child of Yahweh...
not a one time action...
Salvation is day by day decisions to continue to follow Yeshua.
Yahweh has no robots, He only has children that love Him and desire to please Him in all things and if / when they fail they are pricked in their heart and repent or chose not to repent.
If they chose to stay unrepentant long enough, which because of the very nature of Yahweh is incomprehensible because He is so long suffering, they sin away their day of grace.
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
Posts: 4578 | From: Southeast Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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oneinchrist
Advanced Member
Member # 6532
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posted
Eden,
I have looked up and studied the definition of repentance from several sources. The common denominator is "a conscious and willful decision to turn away from sin". That is action of the heart which will tranlate into outward action in a sincere repentance. If it dont begin in the heart it will not translate outwardly. I hope you understand what I am trying to say. Thanks for asking.
With love in Christ, Daniel
Posts: 1389 | From: Wind Lake, WI | Registered: May 2007
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Eden
unregistered
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posted
Hi, oneinchrist. You said quote:
really do not believe that many people understand that repentance is a condition for forgiveness of sin. This all falls hand-in-hand with the deception that man has absolutely nothing to do with his salvation. Consider this verse in regards to my concern here........in Jesus' words........
"Ye must repent or ye will likewise perish"
I agree with Michael Harrison in this regard, that the repenting that people SHOULD do is repent from UNBELIEF in the Father and that Jesus is the Son of God. Too many Christians think and propose that repentance is of behavioral habits rather than believing, or not believing, in the Son of God.
There is only one repentance before salvation, and that is repenting from saying that Jesus is not the Son of God.
And we can also repent of running our own life with soul-rule and we agree, in one act of repentance, to let Jesus rule our lives, from heaven, by communicating to each individual believer through the wireless Holy Spirit.
So oneinchrist, let me repeat what you said: quote:
I really do not believe that many people understand that repentance is a condition for forgiveness of sin. This all falls hand-in-hand with the deception that man has absolutely nothing to do with his salvation. Consider this verse in regards to my concern here........in Jesus' words........
"Ye must repent or ye will likewise perish"
You think that means "repent of our behavior, as in "stop that behavior first" before you can be saved.
But I think that this repentance is "repent of my unbelief that Jesus is not the Son of God" and instead repent and believe that Jesus IS the Son of God.
And sure, once I'm in the family of God, God asks us to do our best to behave according to the 10 commandments, because God's family is a nice family. But repenting of behavior is not what God has in mind at first, He wants us to repent of our unbelief:
Hebrews 3:19
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
It's not that they could not enter because of bad behavior, but they could not enter because of unbelief.
love, eden
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Carol Swenson
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posted
quote:
Honest confession includes turning away from sin . True confession also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We wouldn’t be genuinely confessing our sins to God if we planned to commit them again and just wanted temporary forgiveness. We should also pray for strength to defeat temptation the next time we face it.
To turn away from sin is to repent. But you're right. We can't even say the word "sin" without people giving us a strange look, let alone "repent".
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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oneinchrist
Advanced Member
Member # 6532
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posted
I really do not believe that many people understand that repentance is a condition for forgiveness of sin. This all falls hand-in-hand with the deception that man has absolutely nothing to do with his salvation. Consider this verse in regards to my concern here........in Jesus' words........
Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to TURN THEM FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, and from the power of satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins...........
Paul, by the word of his testimony and the witness of the Holy Ghost was able(equipped) to persuade men to repentance.
"Ye must repent or ye will likewise perish"
Why don't we hear the r-word these days? Is it too old-fashioned to tell the truth?
Repent, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus.
With love in Christ, Daniel
Posts: 1389 | From: Wind Lake, WI | Registered: May 2007
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
The Handbook of Bible Application
FORGIVENESS (Grace, Mercy, Pardon)
GOD’S FORGIVENESS
How can we experience God’s forgiveness?
BIBLE READING: Psalm 51:1-19
KEY BIBLE VERSE: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. (Psalm 51:3, NIV)
Experiencing God’s forgiveness comes through confession and repentance. This psalm was David’s written confession to God after a particularly sinful episode in his life. David was truly sorry for his adultery with Bathsheba and for murdering her husband to cover it up. He knew that his actions had hurt many people. But because David repented of those sins, God mercifully forgave him. No sin is too great to be forgiven! Do you feel that you could never come close to God because you have done something terrible? God can and will forgive you of any sin. While God forgives us, however, he does not always erase the natural consequences of our sin—David’s life and family were never the same as a result of what he had done (see 2 Samuel 12:1-23).
BIBLE READING: John 20:19-31
KEY BIBLE VERSE: If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. (John 20:23, NIV)
We can be confident that our sins have been forgiven in Christ. Jesus was giving the disciples their Spirit-powered and Spirit-guided mission—to preach the Good News about Jesus so people’s sins might be forgiven. The disciples did not have the power to forgive sins (only God can forgive sins), but Jesus gave them the privilege of telling new believers that their sins have been forgiven because they have accepted Jesus’ message. All believers have this same privilege. We can announce the forgiveness of sin with certainty when we find repentance and faith.
BIBLE READING: John 13:31-38
KEY BIBLE VERSE: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34, NIV)
God consistently forgives us each time we ask in repentance. John describes these few moments in clear detail. We can see that Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew about Judas and about Peter, but he did not change the course of events, nor did he stop loving them. In the same way, Jesus knows exactly what you will do to hurt him. Yet he still loves you unconditionally and will forgive you whenever you ask for it. Judas couldn’t understand this, and his life ended tragically. Peter understood, and despite his shortcomings, his life ended triumphantly because he never let go of his faith in the One who loved him.
BIBLE READING: 1 John 1:1-10
KEY BIBLE VERSE: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9, NIV)
Forgiveness is complete even when confession isn’t. Confession is supposed to free us to enjoy fellowship with Christ. It should ease our consciences and lighten our cares. But some Christians do not understand how it works. They feel so guilty that they confess the same sins over and over; then they wonder if they might have forgotten something. Other Christians believe that God forgives them when they confess, but if they died with unconfessed sins, they would be forever lost. These Christians do not understand that God wants to forgive us. He allowed his beloved Son to die just so he could pardon us. When we come to Christ, he forgives all the sins we have committed or will ever commit. We don’t need to confess the sins of the past all over again, and we don’t need to fear that God will reject us if we don’t keep our slate perfectly clean. Of course we should continue to confess our sins, but not because failure to do so will make us lose our salvation. Our relationship with Christ is secure. Instead, we should confess our sins so that we can enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with him.
Honest confession includes turning away from sin. True confession also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We wouldn’t be genuinely confessing our sins to God if we planned to commit them again and just wanted temporary forgiveness. We should also pray for strength to defeat temptation the next time we face it.
Confession reestablishes relationship with God. If God has forgiven us for our sins because of Christ’s death, why must we confess our sins? In admitting our sins and receiving Christ’s cleansing, we are: (1) agreeing with God that our sin truly was sin and that we are willing to turn from it, (2) ensuring that we don’t conceal our sins from him and consequently, from ourself, and (3) recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on his power to overcome it.
HUMAN FORGIVENESS
Why should we forgive one another and how can we do it?
BIBLE READING: Genesis 45:1-28
KEY BIBLE VERSE: And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. (Genesis 45:5, NIV)
Joseph is a model of genuine forgiveness. Joseph was rejected, kidnapped, enslaved, and imprisoned. Although his brothers had been unfaithful to him, he graciously forgave them and shared his prosperity. Joseph demonstrated how God forgives us and showers us with goodness even though we have sinned against him. The same forgiveness and blessings are ours if we ask for them.
BIBLE READING: Romans 12:1-21
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Don’t let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good. (Romans 12:21, TLB)
Forgiveness is a mark of the Christian life. Verses 17-21 summarize the real core of Christian living. If we love someone the way Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive. If we have experienced God’s grace, we will want to pass it on to others. And remember, grace is undeserved favor. By giving an enemy a drink, we’re not excusing his misdeeds. We’re recognizing him, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sins—just as Christ did for us.
Forgiveness is contrary to the pattern of the world. In this day of constant lawsuits and incessant demands for legal rights, Paul’s command sounds almost impossible. When someone hurts you deeply, instead of giving him what he deserves, Paul says to befriend him. Why does Paul tell us to forgive our enemies? (1) Forgiveness may break a cycle of retaliation and lead to mutual reconciliation. (2) It may make the enemy feel ashamed and change his or her ways. (3) By contrast, returning evil for evil hurts you just as much as it hurts your enemy. Even if your enemy never repents, forgiving him or her will free you of a heavy load of bitterness.
Forgiveness is an act of the will. Forgiveness involves both attitudes and actions. If you find it difficult to feel forgiving of someone who has hurt you, try responding with kind actions. If appropriate, tell this person that you would like to heal your relationship. Give him a helping hand. Send him a gift. Smile at him. Many times you will discover that right actions lead to right feelings.
BIBLE READING: Matthew 6:5-15
KEY BIBLE VERSE: For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15, NIV)
If we expect to be forgiven, we need to practice forgiveness. Jesus gives a startling warning about forgiveness: if we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Why? Because when we don’t forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means (see Ephesians 4:32). It is easy to ask God for forgiveness, but difficult to grant it to others. Whenever we ask God to forgive us for sin, we should ask ourself, “Have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?”
BIBLE READING: Matthew 18:21-35
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21, NIV)
Real forgiveness does not keep track of offenses. The rabbis taught that people should forgive those who offend them—but only three times. Peter, trying to be especially generous, asked Jesus if seven (the “perfect” number) was enough times to forgive someone. But Jesus answered, “Seventy-seven times,” meaning that we shouldn’t even keep track of how many times we forgive someone. We should always forgive those who are truly repentant, no matter how many times they ask.
Real forgiveness follows God’s pattern. Because God has forgiven all our sins, we should not withhold forgiveness from others. Realizing how completely Christ has forgiven us should produce a free and generous attitude of forgiveness toward others. When we don’t forgive others, we are setting ourselves outside and above Christ’s law of love.
For more on the subject of FORGIVENESS , visit TB125's website at:
http://www.christianityetc.org/forgiveness.php
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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