Hi Arc,
Real change comes when we have been led to true Repentance By GOD, as Ray teaches in: http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3709.0.html Here is a link to a previous discussion thread on repentance we had back in february; Below is the first post:Excerpt from Repentance: http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,9389.0.htmlThis topic was addressed by Ray a while ago. At the time i read it my thoughts were,
i already have read the Bible many times; so what is the big deal. Well the big deal is
reading, and then doing, the things that Ray counselled have really been a huge deal.
This is not for stories or confessions but to ask any member that has listened to the
audio and read this paper completely. Has it made a difference in your understanding
and discernmernt of The Scriptures. For me it is an emphatic yes, i would love to get
some feedback from others.
Mat 3: 1-2
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
2 and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
Mat 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent! For the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
Mat 11:20
Then He began to upbraid the cities in which most of His mighty works were done, because they did not repent.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,3709.msg27923.html#msg27923Excerpt from: Repentance----- Nashville Conference 2005
Who knows what the first word was that Jesus Christ said in his ministry? According to Matthew it was, “Repent.” So if that’s the first word out of our Savior’s mouth, maybe we ought to look at it a little bit…
Repent means to turn around, to go the other way. Whatever you are doing that’s wrong and sinful and evil and carnal and worldly and everything else, you turn around, you “repent” and you go the other direction. The scriptures mention a couple of words:
Matthew 18:3 talks about being converted
Matthew 19:28 talks about being regenerated
1Peter 1:3 talks about being born again
John 3:3 talks about being born again
What are all those things? They’re all one and the same, there’s no difference. Being begotten anew, being born again, being regenerated, being converted…they are all the same. And this is what we all want to do, so that we can take on more knowledge and live more Godly, and reach this goal. We all sin. Sin has to go through three things: cleansing, repentance, forgiveness. Does anybody know the order of these things?
This is the order of what happens to sin:
1. Forgiveness
2. Repentance
3. Cleansing
(God does not cleanse anybody of sins they haven’t repented of.)
Forgiveness comes first and isn’t that interesting. Jesus Christ was slain from the foundation of the world and why was he slain? Why did Christ die? The scriptures say Christ died for our sins. That’s the simplest statement. But there is a little bit more. I want you to notice this:
This is the audio version; this is priceless as a listening learning tool'
Audio Download link:
http://bible-truths.com/audio/Ray_Repent%201.mp3george.