There is no question that the reason Jesus Christ came to this sin-infested world, was to save people from their sins (Matt. 1: 21). Christ stated that He was going to shed His blood for the remissions of sins (Matt. 26:28). John put it this way in Revelation 1:5, “…To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.”

To help us know how our sins are remitted, let’s pinpoint when it all started. For this we go to a time just after Christ’s resurrection. Prior to our Lord ascending back to heaven, He spoke to the eleven apostles and those that were with them, saying, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ‘and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Lk. 24:46-47).  

This bring us to the book of Acts. We read in chapter one that Jesus again told the apostles that they needed to go to Jerusalem, which is where they will receive the Holy Spirit that will give them the ability to witness to people about Jesus beginning at Jerusalem (1:8). After the Holy Spirit came upon them (verses 1-4), they began to preach (verses 5-36). The audience heard about Jesus and that they were in need of salvation.

In Acts 2:37, a number of people asked what they needed to do? It was then they were told to “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (vr. 38). Here we see that those who wanted to take care of their sinful state, needed to have their sins remitted.  I want people to know about Jesus, but at the same time, everyone needs to understand that their sins need to be removed.

Many are puzzled that there is a direct connection between Christ’s shed blood, water baptism, and the remission of sins. So many people are being told that they are saved from their sins prior to being baptized. Is there any truth to this? I mean, could it possibly be that baptism is like church attendance, singing, giving our contribution? By that I mean, baptism is something you must do, like other things for God, but it doesn’t have anything to do with removing one’s sins. Is this correct?

This question can be cleared up by understanding that baptism alone cannot possibly remove any sin. Baptism alone puts it on par with swimming and someone goes completely under water. Being immersed in water alone doesn’t remove any sin. Just like just believing in Jesus doesn’t help either (Jas. 2:26). It’s like debating which step in a flight of stairs is the most important, this first, the last, those in the middle? The truth is, they all are.

When it comes to the remission of sins, there is Christ’s part and then there is man’s part. However, it is essential that we see all of Christ’s part and all of our part. It was vital that Christ come to this earth (Phil. 2:5-7). Yet, Jesus also needed to live a perfect life in order to be the lamb without blemish as a sacrifice for mankind (I Pet. 1:19). Then our Lord needed to resurrect in order to conquer death and rule and reign over His kingdom (Acts 2:30). Now, which one of the things Jesus did is more important than the other?  The answer is, none, they are equal and all essential to help mankind have the remission of sins.

What about man’s part? We are told that for anyone to take care of their sins, to be saved, they must hear the word of God (Acts 11:14). Those that hear are then required to understand and believe the gospel message (Jn. 8:24,32). Knowing that people often hear and do not do (Jas. 1:22), they are also told to repent (Acts 3:19). By turning to Jesus, everyone must be willing to confess their faith in Him (Rom. 10:9-10). The final step would be to be baptized into Christ’s death for the remission of sins (Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:3-7). Now, which one is most important? The answer is none, they are all equal.

Problems come when individuals want to create their own combinations. They will take some of what Jesus did, and some of what man is responsible for, and conclude it is acceptable to God. That will not work for many reasons. The obvious one is that it will leave people in their sins, even though they think they are removed. People need to realize that Christ didn’t provide remission of sins so that people didn’t have to do anything. If that were the case, everyone would be saved. But they are not (Matt. 7:13-14).

Again people struggle with their part because they don’t want to put what they are to do on par with what Christ had to do. The fact is, we can’t. All that we are to do, and I mean all, doesn’t accomplish anything without the blood of Christ (Rev. 1:5). One might think if Christ's part is the first step and our part is the second step, then like the stair step illustration, both are equally important. Actually, if we want to use the stair step illustration, it would be Christ built the stair steps so man could take them. This means that no matter what steps man takes, none of them were possible without the stairs being constructed in the first place!

Jesus was basically making this same point in Luke 17:5-10. In verse 10, our Lord makes the statement, “So likewise you, when you have done all those things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” As we can see, there is no room for boasting, or even thinking we can earn our salvation (the remission of our sins). Yes, we can get our sins removed, but without Christ doing His part, there is no opportunity or hope. However, since Jesus did do His part, it gives man the opportunity to do what he is told to have the remission of sins.

Now we shall close this article with this important question: Were you baptized for the remission of your sins by first meeting the prerequisites? It matters not what you feel, it matters what you know to be true based upon the word of God. If you do, you are walking by faith, because it is faith that makes it possible to please God (Heb. 11:6).

Chuck

Kicking a habit is not conversion

I think it is great when people tell me they no longer do a certain sin that they were a slave to for a long time. I know a man who got up one morning and said, “That’s it, I am not smoking anymore.” This man smoked all day, every day for 30 years until he quit. As wonderful as that is, it was not a conversion.

People kick all kinds of bad habits. Some do it for health reasons. Others do it for financial reasons. Some even do it for the Lord. But again, stopping a sinful behavior does not automatically make everything right with you and the Lord. That may seem odd, especially if you did it because of the Lord. Let’s take a closer look.

In Acts 3:19, Peter stated, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…”  It is one thing to stop doing a certain sin, but getting it blotted out is another thing altogether.  Many people forget is that there are consequences to sin. It brings forth spiritual death (Rom. 6:23). This spiritual death means we are separated from God (Isa. 59:1-2; I Pet. 3:12). Knowing this, it is illogical expect that everything is restored as soon as we stop committing wrong.

Imagine a husband who constantly beats his wife. One day he wakes up and says to his wife, “I have decided not to beat you anymore.” Does the wife thank him and rejoice now that everything is okay?  Of course not. Where is the man’s sorrow and the repentance? We are told that godly sorrow leads to repentance (II Cor. 7:10).  Those who want to be saved must repent and then get baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). We need to make things right with the Lord, not just quit our wrongdoing.

To make things right, we must turn away from sin. However, we must also turn to the Lord and seek forgiveness. If we do not turn to Him, then we are just changing a behavior for ourselves. Christians are to live their lives for the Lord, so consider Him when you are deciding how to proceed in daily life.

  Chuck

What grace is not

If you teach someone that 2+2=4, you should not have to also teach everything that 2+2 does not equal (2+2≠5, 2+2≠3, etc.). If someone was raised to believe that 2+2=5 though, you would have to teach both what 2+2 does equal (4) and also what it does not equal (5).

This is a common challenge when trying to teach what God’s word actually says. You might think that whenever someone teaches what the Bible says, they would not have to also teach what the Bible does not say. Sadly though, many people think the Bible teaches certain things that it does not. In this article, we will teach what grace is. But we also have to point out what grace is not. Why? Many religious teachers spread confusion by making claims about grace that are NOT Biblical.

The Biblical meaning of grace

The simple definition of grace is “a gift”. Paul stated that we are saved by grace through faith and not of works (Eph. 2:8-9). This shows that we can never earn our salvation – it is a gift from God and thus something that we do not deserve. If we did deserve it, it would not be a gift thus would not be considered grace. Specifically, God’s gift to us was the sending of Jesus Christ and providing a plan of salvation that leads to heaven (Eph. 2:1-7). 

Despite the Bible’s clear teaching, religious teachers have muddied the waters. Here are some things that grace is NOT:

Grace is not a license to sin

The brethren at Rome were told God’s grace was great due to the amount of sinfulness in the world (Rom. 5:20). Paul did not want them to get the wrong idea though, so he posed a question: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). In essence, Paul asks if the brethren should sin more to make God’s gift even more necessary. He strongly answered his own question: “Certainly not!” (verse 2). The point of Christ dying on the cross and giving His life as a gift for us was so that we would no long live under sin (Rom. 6:2). Willfully turning to sin is a rejection of this gift. Therefore, grace is not a license to sin!

Grace is not God overlooking sin

For some reason, people want to believe that “the grace of God” means He sees Christ’s blood when we sin rather than seeing us commit the actual error.  This makes no sense. Mankind was in sin, so the Father sent His Son (Rom. 5:8) to help us find forgiveness (Eph. 1:7). Does this mean God will overlook sins after someone becomes a Christian? In the Bible, Christians who sinned were told that God saw their wrongdoing (I Cor. 5:2; I Cor. 1:11; Rev. 2:4, 14; 3:1, 15-16). They were never told these sins were overlooked.

Grace is not obtained without conditions

Many religious people today are confused about grace because they believe it is unconditional. They say that if there are conditions on grace, it would no longer be a gift. What about the conditions Jesus gave: “Unless you believe I am He you will die in your sins” (John 8:24)? Also consider this condition about repentance: “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish,” (Luke 13:3). And this condition about baptism: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). To not abide in the doctrine of Christ is to miss heaven (II John 9). Keep in mind what we read earlier – we are saved by grace through faith. This faith must be active, not dead (James 2:26). Grace is the Lord’s part, and faith is our part. Our faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17).

                                                                                         Chuck

Look for the truth

After writing the first article,  I briefly wondered why so few people see the problems that exist in the religious realm today. Do they not care about God? Do they just want to rebel against Him? Have the majority of the religious people today become cold and callous? I do not think so. I am convinced the root cause is a lack of understanding.

When Jesus was dying on the cross, He cried out, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do,” (Luke 23:34). He was saying that His persecutors were not really aware of what they were doing. Did they know they were killing an innocent man? Yes. Did they realize the pain and the suffer Jesus was going through? Yes. So what did they not know? They did not know (accept) that they were doing these things to the Christ – the son of God.

The overwhelming majority of people who gather for religious purposes are confident that what they are doing is correct. So how can we help people separate truth from error?  In Christ’s case, people were taught (again) on the day of Pentecost that they had crucified the Son of God (Acts 2:36). From that teaching, a great many understood, believed and obeyed (Acts 2:37-38). Some still did not understand, though, because they refused to accept the truth.

Without question, many people settle for assumptions and do not truly examine their beliefs. They firmly believe that what they are doing is approved by the Lord, but they are mistaken. This is nothing new (Matt. 7:21-23). How can we know with confidence that we are right? We must honestly seek the truth and continue looking until we find it (Matt. 7:7). Be willing to challenge and be challenged, and do not let pride get in the way. Apollos is a good example (Acts 18:24-26).

Every religious body worldwide – Muslims, Jews, Hindus, atheists, etc. – claim they have the proper religious perspective. We should all seek truth and ask questions to avoid becoming blind followers (Matt. 15:14). Someday we will all stand and give an account (II Cor. 5:10).

                                                                                      Chuck

Do we have to sin?

There is no way anyone in this world is ever going to take sin seriously if they accept the false notion that man must sin. A lot of this stems from the doctrine of depravity. This teaching promotes the idea that we sin because of Adam and Eve and that we inherit their original sin, meaning we are born in sin. This could not be any farther from the truth. Let’s take a closer BIBLICAL look.

We begin by looking at Adam and Eve. They both were given laws to obey (Gen. 2:16-17). We read in the next chapter how they both broke God’s law and were punished. Why did they sin? The Bible does not mention being born in depravity. Rather, the inspired word, brings up the concept of temptation. James states that sin comes about when we give in to temptation (Jas. 1:13-15). This is no different than what happens to every other person.

Some might conclude that Adam and Eve sinned because temptation is irresistible. Fortunately for us as God’s children, this idea is also not found in the Bible! Nowhere in the scriptures are we told we have to yield to temptation. Actually, we are told there is no temptation that cannot be resisted if one turns to God for help (I Cor. 10:13; Jas. 4:7). I am not denying the fact that all have sinned (Rom. 3:23). Even Christians were told if they say they have no sin, they are a liar (I John 1:8).  However, knowing that we will sin is not the same as saying we have to sin.

That difference is what we need to focus on if we are going to gain a proper understanding. That fact that we are commanded not to sin (I John 2:1) implies that we do not have to. To even suggest that everyone must sin implies that we have an unjust God. A just and loving God will not command us to do something impossible for us.  Let us also not forget the punishment for sin. Every sin has consequences (Rom. 6:23), meaning that men are held accountable for their actions. Again, why punish someone who could not help it?

     It is wrong for us to think that God’s grace and mercy means He overlooks sin because we are forced to transgress. This idea is not found in the Bible. God’s mercy and grace has been offered to mankind so he/she can obtain forgiveness for their SINS! There is no forgiveness without repentance (Luke 13:3). To repent means to turn about. How could we truly repent if we knew that sin was irresistible and would thus happen again? If we live our lives committing the same sins over and over, we are addicted to them. This person is not walking in the light but rather in darkness (I John 1:3-7).

     How many employers would accept the same lame excuse over and over for not arriving at work on time? How many spouses would accept the same lame excuse regarding adultery? As God’s people, we know there are sins we committed in the past and then successfully never did again. We succeeded because we made up our minds to turn away (repent) and not go down that pathway again.

    My point is that we can choose to make the right choice, but we do not always do this. We sometimes falter because we fail to walk in faith. When we do not walk by faith, we succumb to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye or the pride of life (I John 2:16). When we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us (verse 15).  When a person puts off the old man of sin (Rom. 6:3-6), the Lord and other Christians expect that they have left their former life of sin behind.  If they do sin, the Lord and other Christians are right to be disappointed because we have no excuse for sinning.

     God’s people get stronger by resisting sin (James 1:2-4).  Are they sinlessly perfect? No. But they are certainly sinning less and less.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Chuck