There are no "tests" to do to see if you "truly" repented. If you believe The Gospel, repentance is simultaneous. When you start having to reflect on your life, whether or not you're really saved, you're taking the focus off Christ. HE is THE ONE Who saves, not you! THIS is how we know we are saved, written over 2,000 years ago in 1 John 5:13, *"I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life."* Do you see anything in there talking about feeling remorse, changing your life, etc? NO! You can stand before God on judgment day and say, "I'm sorry" all you want but if you haven't done His Will, which is BELIEVING The Gospel (John 6:40), you won't be let in.
So, what do you label the Corinthians whom Paul obviously assured were saved and going to heaven in 1 Corinthians, and with whom Paul included himself by saying ,"we" and "us"? What do you have to say about the three types of man in 1 Corinthians? The natural man (unsaved, unbeliever), carnal man (saved believer who lives worldly) and the Spiritual man (saved believer walking with God and feeding The Spirit)?
At 41:00 So, you're saying that someone who does a lifetime of good deeds is certainly saved? That's unbiblical and not at all what this passage in 1 John is saying. The ONLY way a person can do ANYTHING righteous is AFTER they've believed The Gospel. No one is righteous on their own, as God's Word clearly states. You can't judge someone's heart based off them being kind, good, and living without getting drunk, sleeping around, etc. because works can't save a person.
none of these "big church" preachers ever get verses like 1 john 3 9...the inner man is sinless and perfect, the believer has the righteousness of God...the flesh or outer man is never sinless.
48:00 The verse you read right there (John 8:42-45) tells that the reason these people didn't love God was because their God was not Jesus' Father (GOD) because they DID NOT BELIEVE THE GOSPEL! They did not believe that Jesus was The Son of God Who came to save them from their sins. It says it right in verse 45. It has to do with BELIEF. I don't know how much clearer it can be. 51:21 Yeah, their lives are marked by sin because of their unbelief. Jesus said those who don't BELIEVE will die in their sins (John 8:23-24) and it's the unbelieving who will be judged according to their works (2 Corinthians 11:15). A believer is no longer seen in their sins because Jesus' Blood has covered them ALL. Fellowship with Christ is not the same as justification. One must FIRST be justified before they can have fellowship with Christ. Since sin eternally separates one from Jesus, the only way one can ever have fellowship with Him is by FIRST believing The Gospel.
The Bible never *ONCE* says we must repent of our sins. It simply says "repent and BELIEVE". Repent does not mean "to feel sorry" or "to feel remorse" in The New Testament. Why? Because The Bible wasn't written in English. It was written in three different languages: OT in Hebrew and Aramaic and NT in entirely Greek. So, when defining "repent" in the New Testament, it's imperative to look at *THE GREEK* definition of "repent", not the English. If you follow the English version of "repent", it could cost an unbeliever their salvation. If it took us forsaking our sins to be saved, that would mean we would have to do something, a work, in order to be saved. The Greek word for "repent" is "Metanoia". "Meta" translates "change" and is where we get words like Metabolism and Metamorphosis. "Noia" translates "mind" and is where we get words like Paranoia. So, when The Bible says, "repent ye and believe The Gospel", it's literally saying, "Change your mind and believe The Gospel." Faith, *ALWAYS,* is believing The Gospel, not by doing something in order to be saved, like turning over a new leaf or changing your life. A person can try and live as holy of a life as possible and it will *_NEVER_* save them. Judas Iscariot is a great example of someone who was chosen by Christ, dedicated his life to following Jesus yet still went to hell. Notice, also, that Judas felt great remorse for betraying Christ. He felt so guilty that he hung himself. That is the English definition of repent: feeling sorry or remorse. Judas did plenty of that and still wound up in hell. Why? Well, Jesus said in John 6:64, *But some of you do not believe me.”* *(For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.)* In John 6:70-71, we discover Jesus had been talking about Judas, that Judas did _NOT BELIEVE._ *Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.* This means that Judas did not believe The Gospel yet, even as an unbeliever, Judas dedicated His life to following Christ and was a *CHOSEN* disciple.
I'm so thankful you put these online.
+siszam Thank you. We hope people will find these studies useful.
There are no "tests" to do to see if you "truly" repented. If you believe The Gospel, repentance is simultaneous. When you start having to reflect on your life, whether or not you're really saved, you're taking the focus off Christ. HE is THE ONE Who saves, not you! THIS is how we know we are saved, written over 2,000 years ago in 1 John 5:13, *"I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life."* Do you see anything in there talking about feeling remorse, changing your life, etc? NO! You can stand before God on judgment day and say, "I'm sorry" all you want but if you haven't done His Will, which is BELIEVING The Gospel (John 6:40), you won't be let in.
So, what do you label the Corinthians whom Paul obviously assured were saved and going to heaven in 1 Corinthians, and with whom Paul included himself by saying ,"we" and "us"? What do you have to say about the three types of man in 1 Corinthians? The natural man (unsaved, unbeliever), carnal man (saved believer who lives worldly) and the Spiritual man (saved believer walking with God and feeding The Spirit)?
At 41:00 So, you're saying that someone who does a lifetime of good deeds is certainly saved? That's unbiblical and not at all what this passage in 1 John is saying. The ONLY way a person can do ANYTHING righteous is AFTER they've believed The Gospel. No one is righteous on their own, as God's Word clearly states. You can't judge someone's heart based off them being kind, good, and living without getting drunk, sleeping around, etc. because works can't save a person.
none of these "big church" preachers ever get verses like 1 john 3 9...the inner man is sinless and perfect, the believer has the righteousness of God...the flesh or outer man is never sinless.
48:00 The verse you read right there (John 8:42-45) tells that the reason these people didn't love God was because their God was not Jesus' Father (GOD) because they DID NOT BELIEVE THE GOSPEL! They did not believe that Jesus was The Son of God Who came to save them from their sins. It says it right in verse 45. It has to do with BELIEF. I don't know how much clearer it can be. 51:21 Yeah, their lives are marked by sin because of their unbelief. Jesus said those who don't BELIEVE will die in their sins (John 8:23-24) and it's the unbelieving who will be judged according to their works (2 Corinthians 11:15). A believer is no longer seen in their sins because Jesus' Blood has covered them ALL. Fellowship with Christ is not the same as justification. One must FIRST be justified before they can have fellowship with Christ. Since sin eternally separates one from Jesus, the only way one can ever have fellowship with Him is by FIRST believing The Gospel.
The Bible never *ONCE* says we must repent of our sins. It simply says "repent and BELIEVE". Repent does not mean "to feel sorry" or "to feel remorse" in The New Testament. Why? Because The Bible wasn't written in English. It was written in three different languages: OT in Hebrew and Aramaic and NT in entirely Greek. So, when defining "repent" in the New Testament, it's imperative to look at *THE GREEK* definition of "repent", not the English. If you follow the English version of "repent", it could cost an unbeliever their salvation. If it took us forsaking our sins to be saved, that would mean we would have to do something, a work, in order to be saved. The Greek word for "repent" is "Metanoia". "Meta" translates "change" and is where we get words like Metabolism and Metamorphosis. "Noia" translates "mind" and is where we get words like Paranoia. So, when The Bible says, "repent ye and believe The Gospel", it's literally saying, "Change your mind and believe The Gospel." Faith, *ALWAYS,* is believing The Gospel, not by doing something in order to be saved, like turning over a new leaf or changing your life. A person can try and live as holy of a life as possible and it will *_NEVER_* save them. Judas Iscariot is a great example of someone who was chosen by Christ, dedicated his life to following Jesus yet still went to hell. Notice, also, that Judas felt great remorse for betraying Christ. He felt so guilty that he hung himself. That is the English definition of repent: feeling sorry or remorse. Judas did plenty of that and still wound up in hell. Why? Well, Jesus said in John 6:64, *But some of you do not believe me.”* *(For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.)* In John 6:70-71, we discover Jesus had been talking about Judas, that Judas did _NOT BELIEVE._ *Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.* This means that Judas did not believe The Gospel yet, even as an unbeliever, Judas dedicated His life to following Christ and was a *CHOSEN* disciple.