Ephesians chapter two plainly us that salvation is by grace, through faith. But the Bible teaches us, just as clearly, that repentance is a necessity! Turning from sin is a requirement for discipleship.
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, proclaimed that men were to repent (Matt. 3:1-2). Jesus, in His very first sermon, stated that the Kingdom was at hand, therefore people were to repent, and believe the Gospel (Matt. 4:17)!
Sadly, some of the most well known "preachers" in the world today refuse to approach the issue of sin; yet, unless and until one is brought face to face with the reality of their sinfulness, they will never see the necessity of repentance!
Elmer towns, a well known preacher and Christian educator, says of those without Christ: "You have to get 'em lost before you can get 'em saved." There's a lot of vital truth in that pithy statement.
Most people, even church people, today simply do not believe that sin is such a big issue. It is embraced, excused, justified, and explained away as an addiction, or an "issue".
God is so serious about the sin problem that He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins! And, His commandment to us is to repent! To turn from sin and pursue holiness!
In light of this, we ought to ask ourselves: "Am I a Christian as the Bible defines it? Or have I deceived myself into believing that God "understands" that I really love Him even though I willingly embrace things that He says are wrong?"
Eternity is forever! And your soul is too precious to presume that all is well. The Lord has given us His word as a guidebook for life! It matters not what the popular message may be, The crucial issue is whether or not I am endeavoring to follow the Lord out of a heart that has been cleansed by His precious blood.
Jesus said "If you love me, keep my commandments". Really pretty simple if we'll just have ears to hear that which the Spirit is saying today.
Let's press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!
Welcome!
My prayer is that you will find something here that will encourage you to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. In this day of cheap grace and easy and crossless discipleship, I have a sense of urgency to challenge Christians to make their calling and election sure by examining their life in light of the teachings of God's eternal word.
These entries are not intended to be strictly of a devotional nature, rather, my burden is to issue a challenge, or a wake-up call, if you will, to a Church that is, at present, more closely aligned with the world than with the teachings of the Lord.
I invite you to contact me via email with questions or comments that you may have
web-rev@sbcglobal.net
God bless you as you seek and serve Him.
These entries are not intended to be strictly of a devotional nature, rather, my burden is to issue a challenge, or a wake-up call, if you will, to a Church that is, at present, more closely aligned with the world than with the teachings of the Lord.
I invite you to contact me via email with questions or comments that you may have
web-rev@sbcglobal.net
God bless you as you seek and serve Him.
