“Our Daily Bread”   

http://odb.org/2012/07/16/speech-study/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

John 14:15-16… “If you love Me, keep My commandments. ¹⁶ And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever”— (NKJV)

The opening scripture is spoken by Jesus, shortly after Jesus told His disciples that He wouldn’t be with them in person much longer… It was the night before Jesus was going to be tried and scourged…and then crucified on the cross at Calvary; and Jesus was giving His disciples last minute instructions, at what is now called…“The Last Supper”…

Two days ago, I wrote about repentance being part of Jesus’ teaching, as a necessary (but often neglected) part of what a sinner must do, in order to be forgiven of their sins by God…  I also wrote about what is commonly called…“Easy-Believism”, where to many people falsely believe they are Christian’s, just because their faith is based on only part of what God requires for salvation… Here is the link for that day’s writing, for those who want more detail on this false belief…                https://www.facebook.com/notes/gods-group/gods-group-thoughts-for-7142012-how-to-recognize-a-christian-jesus-way/10150921161836437

 Here is an example of scripture neglecting to give the sinner the whole story, as written by Luke, in…Acts 16:30-31… And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”  (NKJV)

There is more than just believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, to be forgiven of one’s lifetime of sins… And this more…is alluded to in the very next verse…Acts 16:32… Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.  (NKJV)

This “word of the Lord”, is now known as “The gospel of Jesus Christ”… But when Jesus first began His public teaching, this is what He called it, in…Mark 1:14-15… Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  (NKJV)

Here is that word “Repent”, which is missing in the false, “Easy-Believism” doctrine…  But Jesus used this word, along with the need to understand and obey what is now known as the gospel of Jesus Christ…

I like the way John MacArthur defines the word repentance, in his book I am reading, titled…”The Gospel According to Jesus”…  Here is a quote from this book… “Repentance is not simply a mental activity; genuine repentance involves the intellect, emotions, and will.” (End quote)

Intellectually, the un-repentant sinner has to understand, first of all…that they are a sinner…and that they can in no way save themselves from an eternity in hell… They must first understand who Jesus Christ is…and that they must come before Him to confess and repent of their sins… Jesus Christ tells us that everyone must come to Him, in order to get to heaven, in His own words, in…John 14:6…  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Noone comes to the Father except through Me.”  (NKJV)

Emotionally, the sinner must be truly sorrowful for their past sins, and want to turn from them…asking Jesus for His help…  Just being sorry, does not constitute repentance…  John MacArthur uses the fact that the rich young ruler walked away from Jesus sorrowful, but he was not repentant (Matthew 19:22)…

Being sorrowful for one’s sins in the right way, can lead to repentance…as recorded in scripture written by the apostle Paul, in…2 Corinthians 7:10… For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.  (NKJV)

I must finish this study on repentance, as a necessary part of salvation…in tomorrow’s writing (God willing)…

Heavenly Father, I pray that You will use Your Word, to open the eyes of those who believe that they are Christian’s, when they have left out godly repentance from the gospel of Christ; or those who may not have even heard of the gospel of Jesus Christ to begin with… I pray Lord, that You will draw these un-believers to Yourself (John 6:44)…and that You will regenerate cold hearts, so that lives will be changed for an eternity… I pray Lord, for special blessings as well, for all of Your obedient children…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills