The Gospel Of Repentance

For years I thought the sin unto death in I John 5:16 was a specific solitary sin. What was most confusing, I did not know what that sin was. Others have regarded the sin unto death as the unpardonable sin. That is the sin that is discussed in Matthew 12:31-32. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. These are two separate matters. So, back to the original question, what is the sin unto death? Well, before I answer that question, let us read the text. “If anyone sees a fellow believer committing a sin that does not lead to death, he should ask, and God will give him life – to those that commit a sin that does lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying one should pray for that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin that does not lead to death” (1 John 5:16-17). How do we make the distinction between a sin unto death and a sin not unto death since the writer John does not provide an example of each in his letter? That is why it is very important to be...

To describe our salvation in a million words would not be enough. So what I would like to do is cover some of the wonderful features of our salvation and why we MUST praise God for it always. One can view our salvation as trinitarian. Why? Because it has three tiers or components to it. They are justification, sanctification, and glorification. Permit me to spend a little time on each. Justification - The act of pronouncing one righteous. To be acquitted. In salvific language, it means the sinner is absolved of all guilt of their sins forever when they believe in the substitutionary act of Jesus Christ who came to the world to take away our sins (Psalm 32:1-2; Matt 1:21; 9:2b; Luke 7:48; John 1:29; Eph 1:7; 1 John 2:2). God the Father punished His own Son for our sins which satisfied or propitiated God's wrath against sin. When one believes in what Christ did for them, they are given a declaration of righteousness. The sinner is not essentially righteous, they are still a sinn...

Yesterday I was watching a program where a girl found out she would not be able to have children because there was something wrong with part of her reproductive system. She was a teenage girl and was involved with the youth at her church. She became angry and blamed God saying He is not good. She told her mother that she was never going to attend church again.  It was her way of getting back at God for not loving and being there for her - in her mind. This young girl's resentment toward God is nothing new. People are yelling, screaming and cursing God every day when things go wrong in their lives. Once again the proverbial question is, "If God is so good and loving and He has all power, then why is this happening to me? I don't deserve it!"  This is the time when a person should do a very careful inventory of their lives. Because I see two possible scenarios. 1) The person is in sin and has refused to repent and ask for forgiveness so they are being puni...

For those readers who are not familiar with the doctrine of Predestination and election, it is the teaching where God before time began decided of His own initiative to chose those whom He wanted to be recipients of His saving grace for His own glory. Paul in Ephesians 1:4 said those who have been chosen were chosen before the foundation of the world.  Well, obviously if there are those who are chosen, then there are those who were not chosen. This is where the tension begins when dealing with this contentious yet Biblical doctrine. Those who militate against this doctrine will continue to cry out, "Why would God chose some and not all? That's not fair!" Since when do we believe we have the right to determine for God what is and what is not fair? God never needs our approval or denial to do anything. Romans 9:20-21 says, "But who are you O man to reply back to God? Will the thing formed say to Him that formed it why have you made me like this? Does not the po...

So, how do we harmonize the two ideas when they are apparently mutually opposed to one another and both are true at the same time? You see, in the mind of God, He can have perfect compassion for the lost, and perfect anger against the wicked simultaneously. When the Bible discusses the wicked, it is describing people in what they are actively doing versus who we essentially are. You see all men are wicked naturally speaking until that person recognizes they are sinful, lost and in need of a Savior then we become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). The overarching attribute of God is love. However, within His love the Lord does become and displeased and angry, It should be no great wonder about God. We do the same thing in our own relationships. When parents get upset with their children and become angry with them for something they have done wrong, it does not negate their love they have for them, they just have to resort to discipline to correct the bad behavior. I see...

The word prevenient is a Latin word that means something happening beforehand. So when we are talking about prevenient grace in theological circles, it is making reference to the grace that God grants to those who He will save in time. This grace is distinct from the common grace everyone receives every day in the form of the air we breathe, and the daily provision God provides.  Whenever God decides to save someone, He will use the instrument of the gospel message to inform the sinner why they must repent of their sins. Once the gospel has been effectively preached, God will open the heart and mind of the person so they understand and hear the truth, respond in faith and be saved (Acts 16:14; Luke 24:45). The grace, of course, has to be granted by God before the sinner can respond positively to the gospel message. This grace is the power or enablement that God must give to the sinner or else one can never believe unto salvation. There are many that believe that God's grace ...

This would be another of one of those age-old questions, wouldn't it? If someone has never been preached the gospel then obviously they cannot believe what they do not know. They can neither accept or reject the truth. So, what has to happen? God has to manifest Himself in some other way to them. When one refers to those who have never heard of Christ, often we are talking about people who live in the most remote parts of the world, far from what we regard as normal civilization.  God has left His handprint all over the place - on the earth and in the heavens. This is what is known as natural or general revelation. God made absolutely sure all mankind could know Him in the natural sense. The Bible says the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament His handiwork (Psalm 19:1). God has also made Himself known through the conscience. Romans chapter one tells us the things that are made - that we see clearly tell us that the invisible God is real because without Him none o...