Must the sinner wait till he has repented before he can come to Jesus?
Must the sinner wait till he has repented before he can come to Jesus?
Is Repentance to be made an obstacle between the sinner and The Saviour?
"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavyladen, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28No, one must come to Jesus and He will give you a heart of repentance if you ask.
Thank you Presigo,
I have to say, there have been times in my own life, even recently where I had to ask God to give me the heart to forgive certain hurts I couldn't deal with on my own. He has, in very interesting ways helped me to learn to forgive people. Then to be comfortable about the forgiveness.No, because to repent doesn't just mean to be sorry, it means to change one's mind. The only way this can happen is if a person is called to Jesus.
No, Jesus is waiting for you right now. Just humble yourself because he's been longing for you...
Truly! Yah or Yeshua never states converion before repentance. One cannot convert less they have turned from their former life, otherwise their conversion would be false because they still take part in their lawless lifestyle.
We must define what repentance is. Repentance is less the acknowledgement of the fact that you are a sinner. Repentance is more of changing your actions.... lining them up with the Torah of Yah.
What are we repenting from? It is sin. What is sin? 1 John 3:4 says that sin is the violation of the Torah(law). When we repent, we are changing our actions so that they are in obedience to the Torah. Keeping the Sabbath, obeying dietary laws, etc, are all instructions of the Torah, and to avoid sinning, we are to keep the Torah.
Yeshua said in Luke 11:28 that blessed are they that hear the word of Yah and KEEP it! So, who shall stand with Yah & Yeshua, and keep the word of obedience?I think that it is important to remember that sanctification is a process although forgiveness for sin is instant and complete through Christ. Repentance is an ongoing action that takes a lifetime to "perfect", as it were. However, even if we kept the law perfectly we would still be steeped in sin without Christ. Without Christ we are nothing so in answer to your question: no, there is no waiting to repent before coming to Jesus. If that were the case then none would be saved.
I believe that it is something that happens like this; we repent of our sins and as the scripture say; believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and tho shalt be saved. When we believe that He is Jesus and admit we are sinners, we repent and ask Him to come into our heart, it is done. Ephasians 2:8-9: for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. In other words, it is nothing good we have done to deserve it, it is a gift and by humbling ourselves to ask His forgiveness and determining in our heart to forsake our old ways and live differently. He loves an honest heart and He does give rest and hope and peace and with no strings attached.
Being born of the Spirit comes first. Faith and repentance follows. It is first and foremost the work of God, not your own. We're all spiritually dead. And a dead corpse cannot respond to God's call. God must first revive and give you rebirth before you can respond to his call to repentance. He is the one that takes your heart of stone and replaces it with a beating, active heart of flesh.
The Sinner can't come to Jesus unless he or she wants to repent, they go together not seperate, the sinner needs repentance but must come to Jesus for it and for the ability to repent and to turn from their sins, the sinner, can come to Jesus but with the purpose of repentance and salvation, even a need to be met that the sinner will turn and repent and be saved.
To understand repentance, lets start from the beginning.
Faith is the first step. The Bible states in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing. meaning hearing the word of god, by faith we believe that God is; and that Jesus Christ is his son, who come in the flesh and was crucified for our sin, and that God has raised him up from the dead.
When that occurs, the holy spirit begins to convict our heart of sin. Then as we agree with the spirit concerning our sin, we recognize that we need forgiveness, and that Jesus is the only means of that forgiveness. We then come to God in prayer.
When we pray, asking him for forgiveness of our sin, accepting that his son Jesus has already paid the price for it. We then invite Jesus into our heart, in order that we might be changed into his likeness, having his nature and character formed in us, that is the beginning of repentance.
At that point we are saved by God's Grace, justified by faith in his Son and a relationship with Jesus Christ begins.
However there are often many forgotten actions and emotional scars that are still buried inside of us that are beneath the surface of our conscience, as Christ is being formed in us, the old hurts,actions, and thoughts must be dealt with. As we turn away from, or "repent" of those actions, forgive the hurts ect. Christ is more perfectly formed in us. At the end of the process we have become sanctified.
Let me add, this is only my opinion. It is not to be taken as truth. Jesus said "I am the Way , The Truth, and the Life". To find out the Truth you must go to the Source of Truth.
Also let me add I don't think of myself as Being sanctified yet. it is an ongoing work. I hope this is helpful.- Farm-Fresh-Foodsposted 14 years ago
0Many claim that there is nothing one must do to be saved. Just "come as you are and accept Jesus." Some would say that all you have to do is "believe" & that anything more is seeking salvation by works. What does the Bible Teach?
On the day of Pentecost in 31ad, in the first inspired sermon of the New Testament Church, the Apostle Peter spoke in Jerusalem to several thousand people.
Thousands asked Peter and the other Apostles: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).
Here was Peter’s opportunity to tell them that they did not need to do anything. But what did he actually say? "Then Peter said to them......... ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’" (Acts 2:38).
Peter gave them wonderful news—that they could be forgiven of their sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. But he insisted on two points—that they repent, and that they be baptized. Repentance means to turn away from your sin, and turning to God. I believe that you can not come to Jesus until you have repented in your heart. To repent you must have Godly sorrow for what you done against God, if you don't have Godly sorrow then you don't see a need to repent. A sinner is not waiting to repent, God draws that sinner with lovingkindness and then the sinner repent. A sinner has to see the goodness of the Lord in order to repent.
God guides those who repent and he loves them because he is greatest in all qualities repentence is begining of recieving blessings and he knows us most cause he created us when u repent u r aware of ur deeds
- RS Wightposted 14 years ago0
In my opinion, no.
Anyone can go to Jesus, even children (suffer the little children to come unto me) who don't yet know, or have a complete grasp, on the difference between right and wrong. Besides that small point, there are many upon the path who are still carrying heavy burdens of anger, prejudice, resentment, self-loathing, doubt and a every manner of thing that keeps them from truly experiencing the light, yet they have begun their relationship with Jesus and are entering the dialogue that will eventually lead them to repent.
It is my understanding that you are not required to repent in order to have a relationship with Jesus, just as you are not required to apologize for every slight you have done to your friend or brother in order to have a relationship with them, but you must repent before you can enter heaven just as you would be expected to apologize before your friend let you into his house.
The question was not about getting into heaven, but about when we can start a relationship with Jesus. In the Christian religion you cannot get into heaven with a burdened heart, but you are encouraged (by Jesus himself, not one of his apostles) to come to Him, burdened heart and all and he will help you relieve that burden. The two things, repenting and having a relationship with Jesus are very different, even an atheist may repent! Repenting means nothing more or less than feeling the guilt of our sins, asking the forgiveness of those we sinned against, asking God to forgive us for that sin, and forgiving ourselves for it. There are many sins that we commit against ourselves, indeed it could be argued that every sin we commit against another is also a sin against both God and ourselves.
Repenting may be the first step taken on developing a relationship with Jesus, but beginning a relationship with Jesus may be your first step toward becoming repentant. Either way it is a journey to the same place, where you start isn't nearly as important than starting. Repentance is the universal prerequisite to coming to Jesus. While many have differing opinions, there is only one source that has the answer. Let's look at that source.
John the Baptist preached repentance.
Matthew 3:1-2: In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, "Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
Jesus taught repentance:
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
Jesus' teaching is clear. Here is a Q&A between Jesus and the people:
Luke 13:1-5 There were present at that season some who told Him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, "Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, nay; but unless ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all other men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, nay; but unless ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
In first sermon preached by Peter, the call is for repentance.
Acts 2:27-38 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said unto them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Paul also preached repentance, here to the philosophers in Athens.
Acts 17:30 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent:"
It sounds great to be able to come to God without repenting, changing your mind about how your live. But, Biblically, this does not seem to be in accord with the preaching of John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter or Paul.
Of course, you can believe whatever you want. But, you need to know that Jesus, "after that John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:14-15.We really can't repent first. Confession precedes repentance. When we come to know Christ, he reveals to us things in our hearts that we are unaware of and our desire to repent grows stronger. We must know Him first in order to turn away from sin and towards God, which is the essence of repentance. Then we experience redemption.
Repentance is an ongoing process because we are sinners and will continue to fall. However, coming to Christ is a one-time event and He walks through repentance at our side, making it possible.
He loves us enough to see all the things in our lives, recognize them as the very things He died for, and help us removed them from our lives.
Confess . . . repent . . . rise . . . walk.It certainly helps to repent but it is not a requirement at the time of asking the Lord Jesus into your life. For example, some people may simply be moved by a story, a testimony or film about Christ , which is sufficient for them to take the step of faith, usually in these cases, repentence soon follows. Or some may have a really deep encounter with Christ and through some incident is convicted of a sin that brings them to their knees. Quite often the act of repentence can take place over a long period of time, after they have taken the step of faith.. It depends on the person. Yeshua (Jesus) knows your heart and your level of sincerity, he also knows your level of ability to deal with certain issues in your life. Some people (often those who have had terrible crisis or difficulties - and people severely addicted to drugs come into this category) may have really dramatic lifechanging experiences, where repentence comes automatically. Before repentence can take place, it is necessary to acknowledge you are a sinner and that sin is a hinderance to a quality life walking with Christ.
Follow your heart.
Best WishesLet me ask you this: what do St. Paul, St. Augustine, and St. Francis have in common? The answer: They all think that they are the worst of sinners. If they think they're sinners, then, what are we? Of course, we are all sinners. One's repentance does not make one holy. Saints are those who are always keenly aware of their sinful nature and imperfection. But they still live because they found God's grace through Jesus. The question, "Must the sinner wait till he has repented before he can come to Jesus?," does not address the real issue in Christian theology.
nope - not at all. You see Jesus came to us. That's the whole point. think about all the people he hung out with during his 3 years of ministering to people. Not one of them could approach God, too holy, but he could approach them. the phrase come to christ is a really bad phrase. responding to what Jesus wants to say, and in that turning away from sin whenever it presents itself, knowing that sometimes you will still mess up, now that's another matter.
Let's just imagine that there is more to life than what is in the bible. What if "sin" is the result of an action which caused us to grow spiritually?
As you can tell, I do not believe or accept "sin". I believe that we are all here to learn our lessons and become co-workers to God, not Jesus, but to God. God is love; why would he punish us?To answer this question, let me quote Luke 5:31-32: "Jesus answered them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.'"
The sinner, whether he has repented or not, can come to Jesus. During Jesus' ministry on earth, multitudes came to Him. Have all of them repented when they came to see Jesus? I don't think so. Many were just curious and did not follow Jesus anymore when they didn't like what they were hearing.
As Luke 5:31-32 says, the purpose why Jesus came in the first place is to call the sinners. But to complete Jesus' purpose for coming, His desire is that the sinner will come to repentance. Hopefully, anyone who comes close to Jesus, get to hear what He has to say, gets to know who He really is, will have the kind of faith that would lead him to repentance.John 3:17-19 (Young's Literal Translation)
17For God did not send His Son to the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him;
18he who is believing in him is not judged, but he who is not believing hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.No, you can't really repent until you have Jesus....true repentence means to turn away from...you may have the desire to turn away from sin before you get saved, but , you don't have the power to stay away from it until you get saved....and even then, it is a fight.....
Come to Jesus just like you are...bring your habits with you because he is the one who will strengthen you to let them go.....
Most people have it backwards...they want to get clean before giving their lives to Christ....but, they can't and they get frustrated and become atheists.....
God will clean you up and He will do in sometimes instantaneously and sometimes over a period of time....just come to Him, He loves you.....No! He says , "come now, and let us reason together" Isaiah 1: 18-20 It is actually for this course ( the sinner) that the son of man was made manifest.
No you do not. You come just as you are and in time your old ways will fall away from you and be replaced with a spirit in new. Remember you are always at the beginning with God.
...and the old hymn, "Just As I am"Repent = Turn way from sin = sin no more = impossible to do without God's help
A Buddhist monk tried all his life to achieve that and fail at the last stage where he tries to control his heart and mind from thinking evil thoughts.
Even is you succeed to permanently turn away from sin it still CANNOT save you from your sinful nature (The Flesh)
Repentance is a sign of true Salvation, if you have come to Jesus and asked for him to come to your heart but you are not prepare to make room. If you confess with your mouth that "Jesus is Lord" but in your heart you still love a sinful life then you have not really given the Lordship of your heart over to Him.
So to answer your question:
NO you cannot Truly repent until you have asked Jesus to clean your sins with His blood
YES - YOU MUST REPENT - AFTER you are bathed!!! Do not return to the mud
SIN is what separated you from God in the first place.
Your SINS had cost Jesus HIS DEAR LIFE!!!
Without holiness you will NOT see God!
It is NATURAL for the HOLY SPIRIT to convict you of your SINS, if you have no conviction, has the Holy Spirit ever entered you?
When God is trying to pull you up from the pit, try to look up and hang on to his rope and start climbing. DO NOT try to look down or hold the hook that the devil is trying to pull you with.
SALVATION -> Faith - Repentance - Sanctification - Glorification!!
(People nowadays only focus on the first part)
You say you believe in Jesus but you don't want to be saved from sin??? So does Satan
If you say you believe in Jesus but do not want to turn away from sin then you are just lying to yourself.
The Bible is CLEAR, unless you repent, you WILL perish...
DO NOT BE DECEIVED!!Coming to Jesus for salvation IS repentance...realizing the need produces the request...all through God's grace!
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