“I regret that happened”

To repent means to turn around and go in the opposite direction. In the Bible, to repent means sorrow for wrongdoing, but must include that you stop doing wrong action and start doing what God says is right. Repentance always involves making a change away from sin and toward God. I watched a story on the news in which a law maker said some things while talking to his peers that was out of line. When he realized what he said offended some people he made an attempt to fool the listeners again by apologizing with the words “I regret that happened” in others word he regretted that he got caught saying what he said but doesn’t regret saying what he said. C’mon Man!

Repentance is a necessary result of the saving work of God--not the cause of salvation.  If repentance brought salvation, then what is the point of confession, baptism, and remaining faithful?  If repentance brought salvation, then salvation is by works or rather, the ceasing of bad works.  That isn't how it works.  God grants repentance to the Christian (2 Tim. 2:25). The Christian then turns from his sin; that is, he stops sinning. He is able to repent because he is saved--not to get saved.

In 1 John 1:9 it says, "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Confession of sin and its natural result of repentance are necessary elements of the Christian's life. But, what about the sins that we do not know we commit? If we do not confess them and do not repent of them, are we still saved? Of course we are! Otherwise, we would be forced to confess and repent of every single sin we ever commit. In effect, we'd be back under the Law--living by a rule of absolute repentance of every detail lest you be damned. This is bondage--not freedom. Jesus said His yoke was light--not hard Matt. 11:27-30.

So, repentance is not the cause of salvation, but it is a key component in the salvation plan.  We are saved by grace. And the Jesus bore all sin.

⁷  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace Ephesians 1:7

If Jesus bore that all sins on the cross and one was not covered, then the Christian was never saved in the first place; and the one sin is able to undo the entire work of the Christ. This cannot be. Jesus either saves completely, or he does not.

¹³  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14

Sparklers to Roman Candles

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice,
but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation
itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the
glorious freedom of the children of God. Romans 8 :64-21 (NIV)
This was the year! I finally got to shoot off some “real fireworks”! No more sparklers, and the little green tanks (that hardly ever worked right), no more spinners and “Pharaoh's snake”, you know the small black coal looking cylinder that produces a growing snake of ash when it is ignited? Not for me, no sir. I was finally old enough to purchase the good stuff; the Black Cats firecrackers, bottle rockets,
roman candles and the aerial fireworks that needed to be launched with a tube! I was so excited! In the past on the 4th of July, all I could do was watch my older brothers shoot off 
those items while I did the sparklers. Now it was my turn!
However, being old enough to shoot off the more powerful fireworks came with 
accountability. My Dad was always nervous because of the all the hay across the road. So my
responsibility was to make sure I had all ten fingers at the end of the night and not burn up
any of the round bales. So I made sure all was safe and that I was responsible.
Independence Day is more than shooting off fireworks and more than celebrating
freedom from tyranny. When it comes down to it, it is about celebrating “glorious freedom”.
And with that comes glorious growth, and glorious responsibility. In many ways it is just like
our Christianity. Through grace and Christ we receive glorious freedom and we grow in the
faith, we soon learn that with this comes great responsibility.
But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be
beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be
demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will
be asked. Luke 56:88 (NIV)
Grace & Peace
Blan

Facing Questions Fearlessly

 Well I'm back. It’s been a few months since I put anything on my blog.  For the record I took some time to think how I wanted to continue this blog. I have received a lot of compliments on it and want it to be uplifting to anyone who chooses to read it. The problem is I'm a terrible writer, when it comes to grammar. But I have made a goal to increase my blogs to twice a month; or more if I get inspired or need to get something off my chest. ;)

A discussion came up about the how churches can and need to be involved in community outreach. One of the statements was the reason for churches to do outreach is to give the community a “taste” of what we believe, and how we worship, and to answer any questions on why we do what we do what we do or why we DON’T do what other churches do”.  And I thought to myself, sarcastically, “Yeah, those are the fun kind of questions”.

This is one of my favorite quotes "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

Now this is just my opinion, but I think fearlessness hasn’t been talked about enough amongst Christians. What I mean by that is when a theology question is asked to many Christians, we tend to do one of three things A. Compromise or B. Retreat. or, C. Both

When we compromise both parties leave with feeling, deep down, that nothing has changed and the underlining question really hasn’t been answered. We do feel better because we didn’t “step on toes” or “hurt feelings” or “dodged a bullet.”  And in the end the truth has been watered down or we have placed human emotion and logic in front of what the Bible says. We also understand that our relationships with our friends and family who have different beliefs have a boundary line of “things we can’t talk about.” 

When we retreat we give in and take on the role of being an apologist for things that may not necessarily need an apology for. When we retreat we give more concern for emotional side of the discussion and not trying to come to grips about why the question is asked in the first place. Let me say in fairness that a retreat can be strategic so that you can take some time to better prepare oneself for another attempt, but how many times does that happen? I will write more about this later.  In the end we say things like “Oh well it’s not a salvation issue” or “This is one of question that we may never find an answer to.”  Here’s my favorite…”I’m going to ask the preacher that the next time I see him.” (Which, by the way, is okay with me!)

I think that these “Bermuda Triangles of Theology” questions have ultimately lead to more harm than good. They are asked in order to gain the upper hand or to test tolerance or to make one feel better about oneself.  This is sad when you think about it; because it discourages conversations with those who are real truth seekers, who are searching for spiritual answers, and have chosen you to help them on their journey.

I have said before that I treat those who are honestly looking for answers differently than those who just like to argue. When I get into a discussion with a debater, I put the burden of proof on them. For example: I want an atheist to prove to me that there is no God instead of the other way around.

So when facing those “fun” kinds of questions, is there another path to take other than compromise or retreat?

 I say YES! I need to be fearless and knowledgeable enough to answer the questions.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 2 Timothy 4:1-4 (NIV)

I also need to be humble enough to know my limits and be willing to study up. So I can answer it later or even better, study with that person so we both can discover the truth! In this type of situation it is not an assumption that I am right; on the contrary it is a desire to discover truth! Not right or wrong.  

 “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:7-11 (NIV)

It is time to be fearless! No more duck and cover, no more compromising on what the word of GOD says. And definitely no more relying on just what you heard on Sunday as the only thing you use when asked, why you believe what you believe or why we do what we do or, why we DON’T do what other churches do.  It’s time to study for yourself so you can be ready.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)

It is time to be fearless!

More on this later…

Grace and Peace

Blan