R and F, baby!

Are you curious why the title for the blog anyone? Why the repentance AND faith? Let me explain why....

It seems to me in our modern day evangelical state of witnessing, our prayers of acceptance of faith in Jesus into our lives (the "Sinner's Prayer") can be quite deceptive.  Before you attack, listen to my explanation. In and of itself, the acknowledgment of yourself as a sinner is not what the Bible says is needed for salvation, but it IS most certainly a step.

I would like to point you to Jesus' ministry of witnessing to people, it was nothing if not riddled with absolute love, all while presenting the necessity of continual repentance for breaking ALL of God's commandments. This stems from the entire Old Testament and the Israelites and this branches into our lives, not only in the ways we sin but showing us that we have been granted opportunity upon opportunity to also learn from Jesus' words and learn from the past mistakes of others.

Jesus would always lovingly let people know that they have done wrong, they aren't inherently good people, and that they need to repent.

If you polled random strangers to ask if they think they are a good person, almost everyone will answer that they think they're a good person. A "good person" does not need a Savior. Why would a "good person" need Jesus? Why wouldn't a "good person" go to Heaven, when they feel they are good enough? Who needs to humble themselves if they're a "good person", or throw off all pride to get down on their knees to ask for forgiveness? How in the world is a "good person" bad when their relevant truth and beliefs don't tell them that?

(As an aside, here is a fun little quiz to take to see if you ARE good enough according to God's standards... and if you ARE good enough to go to Heaven.)

The sinner's prayer acknowledges your sin and need for a Savior which is great, but please ensure that they are not empty words, you need to follow it up with a fully repentant life-your heart will guide your actions and your thoughts when you truly seek God.


You view sin differently after you repent, you don't enjoy living in sin, you cannot stand sin, you pass it by and don't even look over your shoulder with longing, you're excited about renewing your mind with Godly things, and you just plain hate sin! We all know that even Satan professes Jesus' name, so next time you hear someone say the Sinner's Prayer please further encourage them to go onto the next step for true forgiveness of their sins.

In light of all that, I ask you, when you became a Christian and as you daily walk with God, if you have had a different outlook on sin and it's effects on your life and your relationship with your Creator, your grace-grantor, your GOD? And if not, I think you know the next step to take.