God COMMANDS people everywhere - to repent
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I am sorry, you are going to have to explain your thoughts farther for my old mind to grasp what you are saying that connects it with my post.
Then why are you and so many others having difficulty interpreting it right?
I believe that command is for the regenerate only, Its for them that have been given the Gift of Repentance through Jesus Christ Acts 5:31My grandpa Bert, was a Seargeant in World War I. And a seargeant gives commands! And they must be obeyed. God commands people everywhere to repent! It's not a matter of waiting around for someone to do it for you. God already did His part - He provided the way of salvation to the world through Jesus' dying on the cross for the sins of the world. And following that - He commands all people to repent! So the next step is yours. Not His! He is not wiling that any should perish, though He knows many will end up in hell - due to willfully rejecting God in their lives. But choose not to be like those who choose to reject Him, and who refuse to repent of their sins! Hell is a terrible place to spend all eternity after this life - in! While heaven is the most wonderful place there is - to spend all eternity in! Up there - you'll be in God's presence forever, and will be happier than you've ever been before while on earth!
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 11:18
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Now the words give and granted in the greek are the same word didōmi which means:
to give something to someone
- of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage
- to bestow a gift
Jesus saviourship supplys repentance, gives/bestows it as Gift to them He died for, His Sheep or Elect or His Body the Church.
Its to them wherever they are the command goes out to, and to say the least, it produces the desired effect or result, repentance.
I am in agreement with you on the fact that the scripture is to be applied to the regenerate only.
It does not stand to reason that the unregenerate natural man, described in 1 Cor 2:14 would repent of breaking a spiritual law that he cannot discern, and thinks it to be foolishness.
it says its Granted to Israel and granted to gentiles. Not individuals . Meaning its extended to . Or afforded to both Jews and Gentiles to come .
bf52,
I believe that the word, 'Command', when associated with Jesus Christ, is for the whole, entire, world -
I say this, because when I was young and going to SS and CH, VBS, (and in school),
I was 'taught' the 10 Commandments on a very regular basis, and I did believe them and respect them
to a 'certain-point, and I will add, this belief and respect kept me out of a multitude of situations which could
have destroyed, ie, killed me, while I was IN & SERVING THE-WORLD/satan -
I would only go 'so far' in my choices, before Christ came to me and called/dragged me OUT,
and I know for sure that this was because of the seed of His Commands/Laws being implanted
in my youthful-carnal-worldly-brain'...
and so, I am able to 'look-back' on my bad-behaviours before my conversion, and know for certain
that His Commands were indeed a SEED, 'guide-post-STOP-sign, if you will, in so many situations where
I could have 'totally listened' to the devil, who was trying to destroy me -
thus I believe that I truly was given a special gift, as so many others, by 'believing in Jesus and His Commands'
while-serving-the-world, but not LIVING for Him, while I was yet 'un-saved'...
I believe that the word, 'Command', when associated with Jesus Christ, is for the whole, entire, world -
I say this, because when I was young and going to SS and CH, VBS, (and in school),
I was 'taught' the 10 Commandments on a very regular basis, and I did believe them and respect them
to a 'certain-point, and I will add, this belief and respect kept me out of a multitude of situations which could
have destroyed, ie, killed me, while I was IN & SERVING THE-WORLD/satan -
I would only go 'so far' in my choices, before Christ came to me and called/dragged me OUT,
and I know for sure that this was because of the seed of His Commands/Laws being implanted
in my youthful-carnal-worldly-brain'...
and so, I am able to 'look-back' on my bad-behaviours before my conversion, and know for certain
that His Commands were indeed a SEED, 'guide-post-STOP-sign, if you will, in so many situations where
I could have 'totally listened' to the devil, who was trying to destroy me -
thus I believe that I truly was given a special gift, as so many others, by 'believing in Jesus and His Commands'
while-serving-the-world, but not LIVING for Him, while I was yet 'un-saved'...
I disagree. It's difficult for many and most people tumble in the world for a long time before they realize it's in vain and there's nowhere in the world to go, for which reason majority of people don't serve God in their youth most are too enchanted and overwhelmed with the sensual phenomena. And many never even reach this realization and want to hold on to the world to the last breath.
Also I believe the unregenerate non elect are under the dominion of the law and are debtors to do it, since Christ was not charged with their sins. There is no repentance under the dominion of the law, its either do it all or die !
My belief is that mystery Babylon makes it difficult. She's the author of sorceries and God blames her, in fact, for deceiving everybody. She rides the beast (beast = the old man that was crucified, the flesh) so the delusion operates on the senses:
Eccl 1:8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
This is why we must receive a new, spiritual body, and why the flesh perception must be changed "pluck the offending eye".
This is where the seduction and the sorcery lies. To think that about what is real, as if it wasn't there, and to think what is temporary and fleeting, to be an actual reality. The level of deception is so insane that the Bible writer is bewildered. She's called "mystery" Babylon. And she seduced "all the nations" with her "sorceries". What is a bewitched person. When someone is not functioning freely, but they are enchanted by some compulsion (called "labor" in the book of Ecclessiastes) and do not act in their best interest, although they are mysteriously compelled to do what they do
Rom 7:15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do.
it does seem by nature ( the natural man) difficult. and yet God created everything.
but we have consciences too, thankfully, and a spiriritual nature. we can choose. but not all as much perhaps can choose.
it takes awareness. and once you become aware of any wrongness or something just kind of off in your self you have a chance to start to do something about it.
you do not need to have heard of Jesus to do this i do not think. we have consciences and with noticing (if any does, at any time) and wanting to change (repentance), you can begin to change.
Yes. How is this different from when we were children and haven't learned about religious matters yet? I watched here recently a documentary "Doing time doing vipassana" (it's on YouTube) where they brought meditation classes to an Indian prison. And these were the results: as these people realized by meditative observation, that all their impulses and what they thought were thoughts, they realized all evil was actually arising as sensations from the flesh. This is what the Bible teaches us, and they observed this by being still. They came to the point of realization that they made many mistakes, hurt others, it was not all about what others did to them anymore. They repented, wanted to ask everyone for forgiveness, and to live a different life. One of them went and asked for forgiveness, from the family of a man he murdered. And they forgave him and accepted him as their family, and he takes care of them and provides for them now.
If what I described above is not God in action, I don't know what is. I 100% agree that someone might not have to be an official Christian. But I think they must follow the Way of Jesus Christ. Transformation into His being must happen, in order for one to recognize Him and be recognized of Him after death, and to be able to enter eternal life, but it doesn't matter if they cognitively heard of His birth event. "By no other name can any one be saved" - I believe the name is God's eternal identity. Some people thinking historical name of Jesus Christ is this name, which is a perfect expression of God's nature, but if God's nature was limited to this event, then people would be condemned just for not having heard about something, which would make mockery of God's sense of justice. The Way Truth and the Light is greater than its incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth. Now, someone having opportunity to hear about the light and hating the light is a different thing, this usually means that the soul is drawn to darkness.
until we do keep them all, we are not fully alive.
“For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13)
until we do (keep) them (the laws) all, we are not fully alive.
“For if you live according to the sinful (law-breaking) nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds (sins, law-breaking) of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13).
That is error. Man can't keep the law. Man by nature is under the curse of the law and his sins are charged to him. That is final!