Along the same vein as my True Faith thread...

All of us who follow Christ, regardless of denomination, know that repentance for our sins is central to our relationship with Him. It is through repentance that He then bathes us with His grace and forgiveness, and thus makes us whole in the sight of the Father.




But how do you know if you are truly feeling repentant, or if you're just afraid of being a participant in the eternal barbecue at the end of time?




In my case, there is one sin in particular that I finally stopped doing after decades of doing it, even when I knew it was wrong. Yes, I still feel the temptation, but now when it pops up I very often feel a type of revulsion at it even crossing my mind.




Knowing that Christ will help you break from sin if you are truly repentant, I am led to conclude that I "finally got it right" or, as I sometimes wonder, if it's just that I'm older, fatter, and just not interested anymore?

1 cor 2:14.  
Since I have accepted I know I am no longer natural man.
John 10 v 27-28
Romans 8:1
1 cor 10:13

Those verses refer to perseverance of the saints...or once saved always saved.  
This is where we may vary.  I know that the work of Jesus was enough.  There is nothing I can do to earn or deserve my salvation.on the cross he died for my sins.  He said " it is finished" my debt was paid.  If I had to keep the law or do anything else his work would not have been enough. My sins were paid for on the cross that day, by Jesus.

I say all of that to say, john 6v 37-39, assures me that I will not end up in hell.  So I do feel remorse and repentance, because I am saved.

You asked my opinion and that's it.

As Christians we believe in a personal God that we have a very real personal relationship with. When we deal with the people in our lives who truly matter to us, don't we strive to not disappoint those people?  To do the right things by them?


"The person who obeys God for the reward of heaven is nothing but a mercenary.  The person who obeys God out of the fear of hell is nothing but a slave.  But the person who obeys God out of love for the Creator is a true child of God and it is children, not slaves or mercenaries that God seeks.”

May I respectfully suggest you reevaluate your definition of Biblical Repentance?    Start by looking up the Greek word that is translated into English as Repentance.

You of course can choose to interpret any way you desire but the way I see it Religion, to include the religiously watered down view of Christianity today,  the true meaning has been lost in translation.

Awesome quote, who said it?



ETA: C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain.






 

 

For whatever it's worth, I had a new experience this weekend...

The Lord already knows that I have not always been as honest as I should have been. I know in my heart that certain store chains have changed their policies in response to people like my past self. I have been forgiven for it, but I'd be lying if I denied being guilty of it.

So this weekend I'm at a store, and I have a very real opportunity to walk out with quite a bit of merchandise without paying. The temptation was definitely there...

In the past, I would have done it. Later, I remember thinking "No. Eternity in hell isn't worth this."

This weekend was different. The first thought that crossed my mind was, "No. My Lord wouldn't like that. Begone Satan." It was a new experience for me.

I paid for everything with a smile.

Maybe I'm learning.