Opening Prayer - Heavenly Father, we thank you for the oppertunity to worship your Son this morning. We know that if He hadn't died on the cross for our sins and arose from the dead, we would have no way to have a future home in Heaven or the privilage of worshiping Him this morning. Please bless us indeed and give us the strength and wisdom to live the way the Bible says we should live. We pray that everyone who reads this sermon who are not saved will become saved before it is too late. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Worship music - Please click the links and sing along if you know the words (You can also click skip ad to go straight to the songs) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30sY4Mhvhr8&list=RDkIEEz9yaukA&index=27
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8ajtJtNXF4&list=RDkIEEz9yaukA&index=7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIEEz9yaukA&list=RDkIEEz9yaukA&index=1
Repentance Before Belief
From last Sunday morning's message -
Repentance in the Bible is not just another word for believe. John the Baptist (whose purpose was to prepare the people for Jesus’ coming) said in Matthew 3:2 “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He then said in Matthew 3:7-8 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:” When John the Baptist said, “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:” - he meant that if someone repented (or changed, with God’s help, and began to think and live the way God wants them to think and live), they will know it because they will begin to bear good fruit (becoming more holy (They set their old plans of each day aside and spend more of their time, other than work or school, etc., doing what God wants them to do.) in the way they live (Romans 6:22); sharing their material possessions with other people (Romans 15:28); having Jesus' character traits (Galatians 5:22–23), praising the Lord (Hebrews 13:15), answered prayer (1 John 5:14–15), and doing good works (Colossians 1:10)).
If people were willing to respond to John the Baptist's message of repentance, they were ready to believe that Jesus was their Savior when He arrived.
Most people know that actions like stealing, killing, and talking bad about people are things that God doesn’t want us to do. However, it is also a sin when you spend more of your time, other than work or school, etc., thinking about other things than God. (Romans 8:5-8 "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."). These verses mean that if you spend more of your time, other than work or school, etc., thinking what you want to think about instead of what God wants you to think about, you will not enter heaven. So, with the Holy Spirit’s help, you need to be willing to repent (turn from) of thinking the way you want to think from this moment on.
It is also a sin when you spend more of your time, other than work or school, etc., doing what you want to do instead of what God wants you to do. (Galatians 5:24,25 "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.") (Galatians 6:8 "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.") These verses mean that if you spend more of your time, other than work or school, etc., doing what you want to do instead of what God wants you to do, you will not enter heaven. So with the Holy Spirit’s help, you need to be willing to repent (turn from) of spending more of your time, other than work or school, etc., doing what you want to do.
Paul was witnessing to king Agrippa, and Paul said in Acts 26:19–20, “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” This means that if someone truly repented (changed, with God’s help, and began to think and live the way God wants them to think and live), they will know it if they change and begin to do good works (give, witness, serve, do acts of kindness). Notice in those verses, Paul witnessed this way to people in Damascus, Jerusalem, throughout all of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles.
Also notice that Paul preached repentance before belief in Jesus when he first preached to those in Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles (Acts 26:20). Then, he preached belief in Jesus to those people (Acts 26:22,23). Paul confirmed repentance before belief again in Acts 20:20,21 when he said, "And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Hebrews 6:1 also states, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,” Notice that repentance from dead works (which are sins) comes before faith. Some church leaders would proclaim that someone is adding to the gospel (will go to hell) if they tell other people that they need to repent (be willing to quit sinning, and if they are willing to try to avoid sinning for the rest of their life, then they are ready to become a Christian by believing). Of course, Jesus was the only one who never sinned, but we should be willing to try to “follow” His example.
Many people claim that Jesus’ close disciples were saved when they witnessed Jesus turn water into wine at the marriage of Cana because John 2:11 says, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” I also believe that Jesus’ close disciples were saved at this time, but notice that Jesus’ close disciples were willing to follow (imitate and obey) Jesus before they believed on Him and became saved. Since Paul preached repentance before belief and Jesus’ close disciples who changed the world were willing to follow Jesus before they believed on Him and became saved, why wouldn’t Romans 10:9 (which says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”) not mean that if someone isn’t willing to allow Jesus to become the Lord of their life, they are not ready to believe that Jesus is their Savior and be saved? If you have read chapter 1 of this book (www.areyousureyouaresaved.com), you will see that repentance, being willing to follow Jesus, and being willing for Jesus to become the Lord of someone’s life basically means the same thing.
Unlike Jesus and the rest of the Bible approving of repentance, many church leaders are boldly against "true" repentance. Clearly, this has a lot to do with why our world is in the shape that it's in.
To clear all of this up, if someone wants to become a Christian they have to believe that Jesus died for their sins on the cross, ask Him to come into their heart, or trust Jesus' death on the cross and His shed blood to erase their sins and let them into Heaven, etc. However, if they aren't consciously or unconsciously willing to repent before they believe, their heart isn't prepared for Jesus to come in (explained in chapter 16 of this website - www.areyousureyouaresaved.com). When someone is consciously or unconsciously willing to repent before they believe, they are not earning their salvation (Explained in http://chriswaug5.wix.com/theanswer and http://chriswaug5.wix.com/nocontridiction).
In conclusion, it is very important to use the whole Bible because we can mislead others.
If you have prayed or made a decision to believe that Jesus died for your sins on the cross, asked Him to come into your heart, or trusted Jesus' death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into Heaven, etc., but you haven't given up your old lifestyle and began to live the Christian life, please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/makingsure
If you have never prayed or made a decision to trust Jesus' death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into Heaven, you must be willing to repent "from this moment on and for the rest of your life" before you trust Jesus to save you. This website will tell you how - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven
If you have prayed or made a decision to become a Christian, but you are not sure that you are really a Christian (Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 21:18-22, 1 John 5:14, and Hebrews 11:1), you need to be sure - please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven