Is Repentance a Work?

The following is a prerecorded version of core Christianity will be back alive again on Monday.

The Scripture say we must repent and believe in order to be saved but is repentance a work of man that is one of the questions will be answering on today's edition of core Christianity hi this is Bill Meyer along with Pastor April Sanchez.

This is the program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now and talk to pastor a drill live at 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post a question on her Facebook, Instagram or twitter accounts. You can email us with your question at questions at core, Christianity.com and you can check us out on YouTube. We have a live stream every day. During this program will atrial your kids are still pretty young, but in just a few years, you and your wife will experience that faithful day when they finally get their drivers license to know our little our middle child. She just turned 16 and she what she was determined to get her license the day after her birthday wound out, she passed the test she did with flying colors. Did great so far things have gone pretty well but I have to tell you every time she burrows my car. The seat is pushed so far up. I am scrunched into the steering wheel. The radio is set so loud my teeth are vibrating out of my gums and I didn't. Also, there's the fast food wrappers in the cookie crumbs so I would say to you. Just be thankful that your kids are still in the big wheels stage yeah well I get that to me. Thanks, Bill.

I can ever let them MM is can it tell them yeah you can get a drivers license in California until you're 21. That's just the law and see if they ever figured out that way I don't have to worry about it.

I cannot imagine being in the car with one of my children driving me of grievant even when they're older. I just feel like a terrifying seller lives. I've seen them drive their big wheels in your side yard there so I know it did it. They are little devils get out of the way as all the way so I don't go out there when they're out there in the big guys will let's get to our first question we have a Gaylene from Topeka, Kansas on the line daily. Welcome to core Christianity. Yeah, I know you you need to see. How could you know I try to see prayer because I want to work of the Lord, you know, we usually work on new Lord Dr. Flushing drafted Monica got all the things all working theories coming at me so will force you Gaylene. I really appreciate the question I think is the heart of every believer that we we have the spirit of God living in us by faith in Jesus Christ. We hate our sin, and yet were in this battle with with our own flesh and Paul talked about it in Romans seven in Galatians 5 there is this very real battle that takes place where despite the fact that were born again that the Spirit of God lives in us. We still experience these temptations.

These these desires these things that we week we don't want in our lives and yet it's his constant battle and the reality is, is it's in a be a battle until were in the presence of the Lord.

John said in first John chapter 1 verse eight if anyone says there without sin. There a liar and the truth is not in them and I guy know from your question what you just said that's not what you think you meet your question is how can I put to death the sin in my life and the answer that the apostle Paul gives in Romans chapter 6 through eight is only by the grace of the Holy Spirit that was not going to happen you know through trying to muscle through it.

That kind of thing. It's the grace of the spirit. It says were walking by the spirit and not according to the flesh, like Paul said in Galatians 5 what does it mean to walk by the Spirit.

Well it means to be saturated in the word of God in in prayer ultimately that we do that when were resting in and receiving the grace that God is given to us in the gospel. One of the things that I love about the section that I just mentioned in the book of Romans Romans six through 18 is Paul gives there a lot of great direction for how to fight the sin in our lives. And one thing I would encourage you to do is meditate.

Maybe on those three chapters of Scripture Romans six, seven and a and Paul begins there in Romans chapter 6 by saying, what shall we say then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound by no means how can we who died to sin still live in it. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, we too might walk in newness of life, and so one thing in terms of being able to fight the sin in our lives. It's key, and maybe the most key thing is recognizing your new identity in Jesus Christ, that by faith in Jesus you but you been baptized into his death Gaylene you're already dead to sin, your sins are forgiven.

That's done now were called to walk in that new reality bite by putting to death the sins that we still struggle with but you need to know that you belong to the Lord by faith in Jesus, you can rest in that reality and that now by the grace of the Holy Spirit as you walk with the Lord.

Day by day he's going to work in you to put to death the sin in your life and so I would encourage you in that way and then I would also say if you're not a part of a good church, a church that's preaching the word of God faithfully were you have other believers around you that can encourage I think that that is also very important in terms of the fight against sin.

The Christian life was not meant to be lived in isolation on our own and so Gaylene, that's the other thing I would say are you a part of good church right now.

Gaylene will will will okay all goals and everything you have a dolly and will live like that and so this morning though I've been having some trouble with my reading Bible in his own and my light will look let me let me pray for you right now and and and continue to press sin to be a part of the fellowship to dig into the word and and ultimately to rest in the fact that God is not gonna let go of you Gaylene that he's in a continue to work in you and he's in a use his word to continue to sanctify you so father I pray for Gaylene. Thank you.

Just for the desire to walk with you to know you, to love you and to fight against sin.

Oh God, that's what you call us to as your people to put to death the sinful deeds of the body, but we know that we we can do it in our own strength Lord is only by the grace of your spirit.

So would you grant that grace to Gaylene, would you bring victory.

We pray an end in the daily fight with sin just direct all the attention to Jesus to his work to the forgiveness that we have in him. We pray in Jesus name, amen.

Thank you so much for your critical know the drill. I was thinking about that passage much in the book of Romans.

In the end of Romans seven when Paul is talking about his own personal struggle with saying of the things I want to do. I don't do the things I don't want to do I keep on doing you know when who's going to save me from this this wretched body of death and then you get to get to the first get the first part of chapter 8 and what is he saying there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What an amazing promise that it is and that's what we have to lay hold of it in the struggle with saying it's easy to did not believe that the field condemned to feel beat up the other section article that I wrote over@corechristianity.com called for things to remember after you send that I think it's important for us to be encouraged by the word of God and to go to passages like this one in Romans chapter 8 verse one that remind us of the fact that as believers in Jesus we we been justified. We are justified and now we get to walk as the children of God, no, we don't do that perfectly but that doesn't mean God abandons us. He's in a continue to be with us and to raise us up when we fail your listing to core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez. Here's the phone number to call if you have a question. It's 1-833-843-2673 let's go to Opal who's calling in from St. Louis, Missouri hi Opal hi Opal, what's your question now about everything by complex, pray about everybody in my ability I want to know how to talk to like talking to you. Praying you are mobile. I think when we talk to the Lord. Me and Paul says, pray without ceasing.

I think our entire lives throughout the day from from the moment we wake up in the morning to to the time when we lay our head down on our pillow we ought to be praying and and sometimes it that's what it looks like it looks like just saying, Lord, and talking to the Lord in the middle of you know, doing your laundry you're going to get groceries or do I think that that is is totally okay and I think it's something that we should do is you should call to cultivate this habit of prayer in our lives now. How is it that we should pray.

We pray to the father through Jesus Christ and by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It's important for us to understand this because it helps us to have confidence when we pray, Opal. We go to the father not standing in our own righteousness that we have access to him, not because were perfect or pure.

We have access to the father through Jesus, his son, that's what it means to pray in Jesus's name, by the way a lot of people are confused know what we end our prayers like that will were coming to the father through the son, and that's what gives us confidence. We can go to the father because through Jesus. You've been adopted into the family of God. Jesus by his sacrifice for you has made you a child of God and so you can go to the father as one of his children all day throughout the day, speaking to him, praying for others and and this is what were encouraged to do in in the New Testament in various places. Also in the Old Testament prayer is just such a central part of the Christian life and it's what the apostles encouraged.

It's what Jesus himself encouraged. I'm always struck by the fact that no one occasion in the Gospels, the disciples asked Jesus to teach us how to pray with that. Just an amazing question that is a tedious to do miracles teach us how to walk on water every that's the kind of thing I would want to ask they see teach us how to pray because they realize that prayer was so central to his ministry and I want you to just here with the apostle Paul said, and I think this is right in line with what what you're talking about Opal. He says in first Timothy chapter 2 verse one.

First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth and Opal. It sounds like that's what you that's what you're doing in your life is praying for people throughout the day and and so I want to encourage you to keep doing that sister wake up and I think that way yeah I was going to write a thank you so will the Lord bless you Opal, you keep on being the prayer warrior that you are and thank you for your service to Christchurch and what an inspiration for all of us. Thank you Opal… Forms are hard to hear that something all of us should be doing right spring without ceasing. This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez and today we want to offer you a very special resource that they drill himself has produced. It's called seeing Jesus.

Yes, I really want you to get a hold of this resource not just because I wrote it because I think it's going to help you set your eyes on Jesus, there's nothing more important for us than truly knowing Christ and walking with him and how do we see Jesus today. I will not talk about dreams and visions here.

I'm talking about understanding how Jesus has revealed himself to us in his word and there are so many things about how Jesus is revealed himself to us in his word that I think Christians today often times miss, and so this resource. It's this was a four week devotional seeing Jesus going to help you hone in on elements of treat Jesus's ministry, his identity that so often people today miss, I hope you get your hands on a seeing Jesus. I know it's can encourage you in your walk with the Lord to sign up to receive a free copy of seeing Jesus just head over to core Christianity.com/Jesus. You can also call us at 833-843-2673 for help getting any one of our offers. That's 833 the core by the way, when you go to our website@corechristianity.com. If you click on today's show notes page you can find today's offer and any of the resources mentioned on this program let's get to a voicemail that we received at 833. The core my name is Bill from North Carolina.

My question is how play into or what part of salvation is repentance because it seems like an integral to salvation. And yet it also conducted something that I do.

I believe salvation is of the Lord and the works played no part in it.

And yet I'm commanded to repent and turn away from my sin how the that where with the New Testament. Thank you. Hey Bill, thank you for that very important question and and I and I want to clear this up for you. I think that there are different ways in which people define repentance.

It can can make this confusing. Therefore thinking about repentance is that sort of ongoing thing that's happening in the Christian life, which we do every day.

As Christians were called to repent of our sins and we know that we still have sin organs were to continue to have sin until the day that we die so it's this it's his lifelong process and then if it if it's a part of salvation will then how can I ever know if I'm saved because it met every day I have to repent that kind of the thing I repentance this this right now is always in a be imperfect and so we don't base our salvation on the perfection of our repentance are ongoing repentance throughout the Christian life. That's something that God is working in us, and I want to talk about that a little bit more in a second.

When we think about this repentance is is a sort of repentance and to life the initial turning to Jesus, we would see how that's absolutely integral to salvation it, and here's what it is.

It's recognizing that were sinners. It's identifying our sin for what it is. It's not minimizing it down playing denying it were saying no, I've sinned against you, Lord, what we were coming to an understanding that only comes from the Holy Spirit that we have sin and its turning from those sins to Christ as others and knelt a negative aspect of repentance was its turning away from our sin we realizing what it is, how heinous it is in God's sight but is not just of wallowing in sorrow its turning away from our sin to Jesus got this positive element as well. There's there's hope there and it's so important for us to communicate this that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer. He talked about how this is the difference between Judas and Peter. You know Judas. He was remorseful about what he had done, but he didn't turn to Jesus to receive grace, you sort of wallowed in his misery and took his own life Peter on the other hand, just like Judas denied the Lord and yet he felt the guilt, the shame of his sin and he turned to Jesus and laid hold of Christ.

And so that's that's the role that repentance has in in salvation. It's a saving grace we turn away from our sin to Jesus. And you're right it's something that we do. Just like faith. Faith is something that we exercise, but both faith and repentance bill are gifts given to us by God. It's God himself was working in us.

That's precisely what the apostle Paul says in in Philippians chapter 2 verses 12 and 13 that he gives us exhortation work out your salvation with fear and trembling, and then he says, for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. And so the reason we can we can rejoice and rest, and that the fact it is not us being saved by our works. It's it's know this is something that God has accomplished in us and his people were not saved by the perfection of our repentance were saved by laying hold of Jesus Christ by faith.

Faith alone. That's what saves us in having been saved by faith justified.

We get to walk in repentance and that something of the spirit of God is gonna work in you and can continue to work, and in all Christians, day by day, making us more and more into the image of his son Jesus. And so Bill, thank you for that question. May the Lord bless you and by the way, a resource I want to point you to over core, Christianity.com is an article that I wrote actually called true versus false repentance. What's the difference I unpack a somewhat Paul says in second Corinthians chapter 7 to help define repentance a little bit further there so check out that resource your listing core Christianity with pastor Adm. Sanchez. Let's get to another call. Frank is calling from San Diego hi Frank, what's your question for pastor. Israel, yeah Mike Mike my question my question would be all like the word millennium. I know like in the book of Revelation. All Revelation 20. Talk about all a lot of debate on Revelation 20 and going to a Bible study with some friends of mine book of Revelation right now were not there yet but you know there's different approaches and so I just want to know pastor, a drill can which is give a brief explanation on the eschatological views and how he would define the millennium or that millennial kingdom language that you know sometimes disagree. Thank you, Eric, Frank, thank you. I'm encouraged by the fact that your studying the book of Revelation with the group of friends you it's one of those books that a lot of people think I'm does not contest that one with a 10 foot pole, much less the Christian's to try to study it.

And you're right there's a lot of controversy around the book of Revelation. In particular, different views of the end times and then you went to the right texted. Think about the millennium.

Revelation chapter 20 there are some Christians who believe that that's a future literal 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth. There are other Christians that view the millennial reign of Christ is something that's happening right now that the thousand years isn't the literal 1000 years but that it's symbolic for this long period of time. This this age in between Christ's first coming and his second coming. When he returns to judge the whole world. And so there are different views but let me boil it down to this and were thinking about eschatological views, use that word. Not me is a big word and just refers to that the study of the last things the study of the end times were thinking about that.

The key that we have to understand and embrace as Bible believing Christians is that Jesus Christ is bodily. Coming back he ascended into heaven, we see the very beginning of the book of acts, and we can altogether affirm that he's coming back and that he's gonna come back to judge the whole world and that something that all Bible believing Christians agree on. So that's what I like to focus on what were talking about the last things the end times is is that Col. artwork that kernel of truth that we all agree with. As believers, and other art as it is it you mentioned in and as I said the differences on the millennial reign of Christ and those are I think important for us to discuss, but I would say focus on the fact that were were looking forward to the coming of Jesus and we want to live in light of his second coming as believers right now and so that's that's a key brother and I pray that the Lord continues to bless you as you dig into the book of Revelation. Thanks Frank by the way, we have a resource a new Bible study coming out on the book of Revelation. So be watching our website for that core, Christianity.com.

This is one that's gonna really help you understand that somewhat mysterious book at the end of the Bible. That's right.

Let's get to one more question. This one is from Leah who posted on our Instagram account. She says I've seen a lot of people saying things to prove the Bible is not real. I really want to be closer to God. But I'm worried that can happen if I don't fully believe the Bible is there proof. Leah, I would say absolutely, there is all sorts of proof that supports the the accounts that we find in Scripture. One thing that I sometimes point to is the prophetic testimony. Isaiah chapter 46, nine and 10, God said I am the Lord.

I am God and there is none other declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, things that are not yet done the words God says look, I'm the Lord, and my word is true. I've given this divine revelation.

Here's how you can know that it's true that this isn't just people making stuff up.

I minute tell you the end from the beginning, and from ancient times, things that have not yet been done, and the fact of the matter is Leah that's something that we see all over the place, especially related to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Isaiah 52 and 53 Psalm 22 meet even the very beginning of the Bible and the book of Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 you have this for the first presentation of the gospel promise were God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent the entire Bible testifies to this one great reality of how God is redeeming sinners and how he's done it through his son Jesus. We sent into the world. I think that that is an amazing testimony in a powerful thing that we can point to as Christians to confirm the fact that the Bible really is God's word.

But then there's also all sorts of other evidence as you think of the archaeological evidence you think about the historical evidence. There are so many things that we can look at that help to bolster our faith as Christians in the in the veracity of the word of God and so sister I want to encourage you and and I think that there are plenty of resources over it.

Core, Christianity.com that you could look at that would help you as you as you want to defend your faith. One resource we often point to is Greg Koegel's book the story of reality check that one out. But you can rest in the fact that the Bible is true. Thanks for listening to core Christianity request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us at core, Christianity.com and click on offers and the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833 when you contact us. Please let us know how you been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time. As we explore the truth of God's word together