“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)
One of the ways to recognize that we have been born-again is the acknowledgment that we are sinners, saved by grace through faith, hid in Christ, yet still sinners. It is the realization because of the truths of the Word of God of what sin is, actions, words and thoughts that are not only displeasing in the sight of the Living God, but go against His Word, and thereby His will.
And we must realize this truth as well, all sin is performed by an action of our free will.
“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;” (Gen. 3:17)
The first human sin was done by Eve, for the exact reason that she was so easily deceived we are not told, but it revealed this truth, she knew the commandment, and words were all it took for her to disobey. The lust of her eyes when she looked upon it, the pride that began to form within her when she believed she could be as the Most High was enough to cause the lust of her flesh to desire what she should not have.
Disobedience my friends is sin.
Neither Adam nor Eve needed to understand the truth of Romans 1:20.
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”
They spoke with the Lord, they heard audibly His single commandment, there was then and there is now, because we have the complete and inerrant Word of God, no excuse for anyone not to obey His will for us.
No one can be saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ unless they are first convicted of the truth that they are sinners in need of repentance. And here is where many of us fail when we reach out to those who do not yet serve the Almighty, it is the foundational truth that must be revealed to them, that they are sinners in need of repentance.
We tell them of His love, of His mercy that endures forever to those who will call upon Him, of an eternity of joy and pleasures forevermore that await all that will heed His call, even of the suffering, the trials and tribulations that await all His servants, the possible loss of all they hold dear in this life, solely for His glory. But we will not tell them that they are vile sinners upon whom the wrath of God abides in need of repentance.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
We fear to offend them, we do not want them to feel bad about themselves, they may already be in a bad place emotionally, they may already be suffering some form of personal turmoil, some great suffering in their life, and we do not want them to feel even worse. And so, we tell them He loves them, that a peace that passes all understanding can be theirs, that a wonderful joy can be theirs today as well as for all eternity, that He will never leave them or forsake them if they will just call upon His Holy name.
But we will not tell them they are the wicked in His eyes, that they are vile sinners, that they must repent.
Repentance, salvation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit all happen at exactly the same moment my friends, there is not one infinitesimal moment of time between them, but salvation and the blessing of the Holy Spirit in our lives do not occur unless we repent.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
There is no need of laying on of hands, no man of God, no matter the title he holds, needs to be present, no words said in a particular pattern must be said, church attendance for salvation is not required, nor is baptism or any tradition.
We must realize we are sinners, and we must repent of those sins.
