GodThoughtsWired! Friday, January 3, 2014 Evangelizing the Church in the Age of Delusion
stop receiving this please click here You are receiving this at: archive@mail-archive.com THE disciple'S resource FOR REPENTANCE! THE WORLD'S GREATEST INVITATION...UPDATED! Kingdom of God TRIVIA QUESTION (that is hardly trivial): "What's the one thing that keeps somone out of Heaven?" Kingdom of God TRIVIA ANSWER: "The kindness of God leads you to repentance. But Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." -Romans 2:4-5, bold mine The World's Greatest Invitation: UPDATED! OLD TESTAMENT: Shuv (Hebrew) verb: "to return, to turn back." Contextual connotations include "to repent," "to return," "to turn back," or "to be restored." Jeremiah put it this way: "Judah did not shuv to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the Lord...‘Shuv, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord; ‘I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious,’ declares the Lord... ‘Shuv, O faithless sons,’ declares the Lord... But they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to shuv." -see Jeremiah 3:10,12,14,22; 5:3, bold mine And Ezekiel put it this way: “But if the wicked man shuvs from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die... 'Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,' declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should shuv from his ways and live? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “Shuv and turn away from all transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you... For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, shuv and live.” -see Ezekiel 18:21:32, bold mine And, God spoke through Malachi in the last book of the Old Testament very simply: "Shuv to Me and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts." -Malachi 3:7, bold mine NEW COVENANT: Metanoeo (Greek) verb: "to repent, change one's mind, be converted." The New Testament begins the transition from Old Covenant to New with John the Baptist reiterating the message of the Old Testament prophets: “Metanoeo, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand... And he (John the Baptist) came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of metanoia* for the forgiveness of sins." -Matthew 3:2; Luke 3:3, bold mine And Jesus ushered in the New Covenant with the exact same message! In fact, His very first words at the beginning of His ministry were: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; Metanoeo and believe in the gospel.” -Mark 1:15, bold mine Jesus went on to declare His purpose: I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to metanoia." -Luke 5:32, bold mine Indeed, the teachings of Jesus are crystal clear, "Unless you metanoeo, you will all likewise perish... Unless you metanoeo, you will all likewise perish." -Luke 13:3, 5; see Luke 13:1-9 for context, bold mine And the very last words out of Jesus' mouth (otherwise known as "The Great Commision") before His ascension to the right hand of the throne of His Father was, "Now He (Jesus)said to them, 'These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that metanoia for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations..." -Luke 24:44-47, bold mine Wow! Jesus summed up the Holy writings of the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms in one succinct statement: "The Christ would suffer and rise again, from the dead the third day, and that metanoia for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all nations..." -Luke 24:46-47, bold mine In Mark 3:14 we are told that Jesus, "Appointed the twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach." And the message Jesus gave His followers to preach was this: "They went out and preached that men should metanoeo." -Mark 6:12, bold mine Indeed, the Apostle Peter learned well the salvation message that Jesus taught him: "Peter said to them, 'Metanoeo, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit...Therefore metanoeo and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." -Acts 2:38; 3:19, bold mine In fact, one of the clearest New Covenant teachings on salvation comes from the inspired pen of Peter as well, "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to metanoia."* -2 Peter 3:8-9, bold mine And what about the "Apostle of Grace," otherwise known as the apostle Paul? What did he teach about salvation under the New Covenant? He said, "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should metanoeo." -Acts 17:30, bold mine And he declared, "I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of metanoia toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." -Acts 20:20-21, bold mine And he left no doubt: "But kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should metanoeo and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to metanoia." -Acts 26:20, bold mine Brothers and sisters, the Bible clearly and EMPHATICALLY teaches that there is no such thing as salvation without repentance. No such thing as "accepting Jesus as Savior" without giving your life to Him as Lord. Grace doesn't save the "New Testament Sinner" any more than the Law could save the "Old Testament Sinner." When the Bible says, "The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men" (see Titus 2:11), it doesn't mean that "grace saves everybody," it means that grace makes salvation possible for everyone who chooses to receive it, through faith. The faith that is willing to turn away from sin, and unto God. It's called repentance (see James 2:14-26), itself a gift of God: "Perhaps God may grant them metanoia leading to the knowledge of the truth." -2 Timothy 2:25, bold mine (see also Romans 2:4) Made possible by the gracious sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the Cross. And this is why Jesus declared, "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who metanoeo than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance... In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who metanoeo.” -Luke 15:7,10, bold mine *Metanoia is the noun form of metanoeo.
