As we saw in Part Two, the biblical words translated as "repentance" indicate a thorough moral adjustment of an individual's thoughts, words, and deeds. While the word itself focuses on the change ...
David Grabbe, reminding us that a major focus of John the Baptist's ministry was a call to repentance and turning to righteousness, a focus that Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul reinforced and magnified. Curiously, in main-stream Protestantism, repentance. . .
The gospel accounts show that God gave John the Baptist the responsibility to "prepare the way of the LORD, make His paths straight" (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4). When he preached the good news of God's Kingdom ...
Last time, while discussing the Hebrew word naham, frequently translated as "repentance" in the Old Testament, we saw that sorrow for sin may be nothing more than self-pity. ...
Repentance is a condition of baptism in God's church and ultimately of conversion and salvation. It is also a lifelong process which we should continue until the day of Christ's return.
John the Baptist is the first of God's messengers to address repentance in the New Testament. ...
Now that we have considered the two main Old Testament words for "repentance," we can look at the New Testament Greek word metanoia. ...
More time to change does not always lead to more repentance. It may actually increase the danger that we will adjust to the sin and think it acceptable.
We may feel sorry or even guilty when we sin, but have we actually repented? The Scriptures show that true repentance produces these seven, distinct fruits.
While people can make positive changes in their lives, true repentance—the kind that counts toward salvation—only occurs after God has invited a person into a relationship with Him. ...
We can learn a great deal from the sore trial of Job, particularly what God did to bring him to the point of repentance. ...
David Grabbe, observing that Christ threatened consequences to the Thyatira Church if the congregation did not repent, asserts that God usually grants abundant time for people to repent, but that the recipients of this grace often interpret it as God's tol. . .
In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus defines the two great commandments of His law—the two highest principles: "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" ...
In the American presidential campaign of 2008, eventual winner Barack Obama ran on a platitudinous platform of hope and change. His supposedly soaring rhetoric captured the support ...
When we do something against the law or even against our own conscience, guilt is triggered, and we suffer, not just a gut-wrenching emotion, but also a descent into a state of culpability, of sin. Martin Collins instructs the guilty on their response to g. . .
Protestantism is based on Luther's insistance that Christians are saved by faith alone. But is the really true? Earl Henn explains that the Bible says this of justification, not salvation.
"Justification" is a theological term that many people do not understand, thinking that it is a complex point of biblical doctrine. However, it is not as difficult as it may seem on the surface. Martin Collins explains what justification is and how it work. . .
I John 5:16 often elicits many questions about sin and its consequences. This article systematically answers these questions, explaining that the apostle's words hold out hope for those who have fallen by the wayside.
Are you saved already or are you being saved? What is salvation anyway? What part do we play in our own salvation? These are important questions that we must answer from God's Word.
Acts 5:32 declares that God gives His Spirit to those who obey Him, yet some argue that keeping God's law is not necessary. What is the truth?
Why must we put leaven out, yet we do not have to circumcise our boys? Earl Henn explains this apparent contradiction.
Even though our sins are forgiven when we come under Christ's blood, a stipulation of that forgiveness is that we also forgive others. ...
Footwashing is the initial part of the Passover ceremony. Why did Christ institute it? What is its purpose?
The Feast of Unleavened Bread immediately follows the Passover. In it we see how hard it is to overcome and rid our lives of sin.
Jesus Christ, our Savior, commands Christians as His disciples to participate in the annual Passover memorial of His work on our behalf. The service consists of three parts: 1) Mutual footwashing; 2) Drinking of the wine; 3) Eating of the bread.
Repentance is something we must do with our God-given free moral agency. Reconciliation is an ongoing process that enables us to draw closer to what God is.
The old song speaks of "Amazing Grace" but do we really understand just how amazing it is? John Ritenbaugh fills in some details on this vital topic.
It seems that some sins should be worse than others in God's eyes. Though all sin merits the death penalty, some sins carry greater consequences and penalties.
Ted Bowling, ruminating on God's purposeful act of forgetting, assures us that His active choosing not to remember sins is a sterling, Godly act of wisdom, one that we are commanded to emulate. God does not forget our sins because He cannot any longer reme. . .
Do you realize not one in a hundred knows what salvation is—how to get it—when you will receive it? Don't be too sure you do! Here, once for all, is the truth made so plain you will really understand it!
No one seems to talk about sin anymore, but it still exists and continues to wreak havoc! Scripture describes sin and its great effects in our lives.
Sometimes we are disturbed, even angered, because an act of God seems unfair. We have difficulty because we do not understand holiness, justice, sin, and grace.
Can a Christian commit a sin, and still be a Christian? Or would this be "the unpardonable sin"? Or would it prove he never was a Christian? Thousands worry, because they do not understand what IS the sin that shall never be forgiven.
We often hear of "innocent victims" dying in some tragic way, but are they truly innocent? John Ritenbaugh discusses God's perspective of the sinful, human condition.