repent or not

There has been some teaching on grace that fosters some misunderstanding. Some lead us to believe we only need to repent once at the time of the new birth. Others say we must repent daily because we don’t want to get caught with sin when we die. As usual the truth is always somewhere in the middle. So let’s go over the Scriptures and find the truth where we are no longer confused.

2 Corinthians 5:17 If any man be in Christ (born-again) he is a new creature: old things are passed away, all things are become new.

The instant you accept Jesus as your Savior all of your sins are blotted out. You become a new creature, a person with no sin and no record of sin. Can a new creature sin? Yes, but you do not lose your salvation unless of course you commit the unpardonable sin. A born-again Christian is a new creature but they can still sin just out of habit.

It takes one minute to become a Christian, it takes a life time to learn how to live like one.

At the new birth you begin to learn how to get out of the flesh and into the spirit. The longer you stay with Christ the more like Him you act. If you don’t hang out with Him you continue to act like the old man you were saved from. Can a Christian sin? Yes, a Christian can do whatever he wants to. Our Bible talks about perfecting holiness, God gives us grace to help us break free of the old man of sin. The Jewish leaders were amazed at the boldness of Jesus’ ignorant disciples because they had been with Jesus. People who attend church and read their Bibles will manifest as the new creatures. By the way some folks live you would never know they are born-again believers.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

John wrote this Epistle to the Christians, not the unsaved people. When a Christian sins they do not lose their salvation, they lose intimacy with God. If we allow sin to permeate our new lives it will hinder the flow of the Holy Ghost from out of our lives. We must dedicate our lives to be a holy habitation for the presence of God. If you love the Lord and you want to have ongoing fellowship with Him, you will be eager to repent when you need to. Repentance for a Christian keeps them in a place where they are plugged into the power of God. Peter did a terrible thing, he denied Jesus three times but he did not lose his salvation, he lost his self respect.

2 Corinthians 6:16-17 What place has the temple of God with idols? You are the temple of the living God. I will dwell in you and be your God. Therefore come out from among them and be pure.

God is merciful to those who are in the process of growing spiritually. He knows that we need time to become this new creature. God cannot speak “A” word and supernaturally change us, but He is committed to help us become a sanctified vessel. We cannot become like Him aside from His help, I guess you could say we are co-dependent. We cannot independently serve God until we first depend on His grace to enhance our progress. We are not self made men, we are living miracles of His grace and mercy. I personally repent all the time but I don’t sin all the time.. I just want to be a clean vessel God can use, dwell and flow out of. The early church repented once a year, we can repent every day if we need to.