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On Being Sorry, Not Saved

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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/22/07 10:12:56 AM

Age 74, MN

I have been grateful to God for many years that I was taught that true repentance not only involved being sorry for my sin but wanting to cleansed of it and to live differently. I saw a very striking example of how only being sorry works some years ago. My niece with her two young children, a boy and a girl, were living with me. One day my niece was out and the children were playing outside, and I heard screams of anger from the little girl. I went out the door and she told me her brother had done something he was not supposed to do. His response (at the age of 4) was to say, "I'm sowwy, I'm sowwy." I went back inside and shortly heard the same anger being expressed by his older sister. I went outside and got the same response from the little boy. The third time, when I went out and he said he was "sowwy" I said to him, "No, Richard,you are not sorry." He said very emphatically that he was sorry. He had been taught that you had to say you were sorry when you did the wrong thing. I sat him down and told him, that if he were really sorry, he would not have done it again. He was really surprised. No one had told him that saying you were sorry was not enough. I sat him down in a chair and told him I wanted him to think about that for a while (I set the kitchen timer for 5 minutes, a terribly long time for a 4-year-old). When the timer went off, I told him to stop saying he was sorry, unless he was willing to stop doing whatever it was he was doing. Saying he was sorry when he was not willing to let go of the sinful behavior was telling a lie. As time went on, I tried to teach both children the concept of sin and salvation, and what sorrow for sin was. Their mother moved elsewhere, and the children are now grown. But I have always remembered it as an example of what sorrow without desire to be changed by God is.
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Re: Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved
Posted On: 08/10/07 10:12:17 AM Age 28, MD
Thank you for sharing that! It is an excellent example!
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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/18/07 10:01:06 AM

Age 36, NJ

I have a friend that calls herself saved, calls herself "born again" and believes she is on her way to heaven. But.... she has not bore the fruit of repentance. I know this because she has not bore any fruit unto salvation. I grieve for her because she purposefully listens to TV preachers who only preach what "itching ears" want to hear. She is under the impression that Christianity is only about being blessed by God, no matter what you do. "God just wants me to be happy" is her motto. I grieve for her daily and those like her. I've told her time and again what true Christianity is, but because of false teaching from very prominent pastors on television and because of her desire stay within her comfort zone, she put such a wall up and is not listening to me. I have not been able to express true salvation fluently, so I am so thankful to Brannon for this article.
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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/18/07 08:45:20 AM

Age 60, MO

Thank you for bringing this topic of false converts to the forefront. It is an issue that many claiming Christianity are in denial about. Your mention of the "Sunday Christian" is a valid description of many who routinely grace the pews of their sanctuaries every Sunday, and who have fallen into the rut of tradition that says "this is the way we do church." They encourage their offspring to make an altar call and be baptised, long before they are aware enough of what a committment to Christ is all about, and before the Holy Spirit has had a chance to work on them. Having made their profession of faith prematurely, it then becomes more difficult for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. Jesus said to pick up our crosses daily. Also, I have sat through many months of sermons without hearing one on repentance. George Cancilla
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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/18/07 06:53:35 AM

Age 57, AR

You can be sorry, and not saved for sure, but you cannot repent unless the Holy Spirit quickens your heart and draws you. I know Brother Jim believes this. Too many Armenians in the SBC today. Sad commentary on the weak preaching there in SOME churches, not all. I attend an SBC, and love it, but not because it's an SBC. I do love the doctrine, and do believe that many of the preachers are still proclaiming the truth. Those few who are apostate are making it hard for the good ones. Anyway, I came to Christ at 28, in 1978, during the hippie years. Yes, I was a partier, but the whole in my heart was growing larger and larger. I felt as if no one, absolutely no one loved me the way I wanted to be loved. I was hurting, and the drugs were not doing the trick. A Godly woman at work told me one day, and this is all she said, that God loved me. You know, I didn't have to hear the ten commandments or the Roman road, though those are important ways to witness. I visited her church and that very day, I was so convicted of my sin I knew I had to do something. I put it off until the next Sunday, though. I wanted to make sure I was presentable, and that Sunday I looked a mess. Typical worldly thinking. When I returned, she asked me if she could go down to the front with me. If I hadn't done it that morning, at that time, when the Holy Spirit was dealing with me so strongly, I don't know if I would've had another chance to do it. I gave my heart to Jesus, and knew that when I prayed for him to forgive me (the Roman road was used) I would never go back to that old life. You see, it's not the words, it's the heart. So to me, we shouldn't poo-poo the sinners prayer. Yes, they're just words, but we don't know the sinners heart, only God does, and he will draw, and it's the sinners decision as to whether he will respond or not.
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Re: Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved
Posted On: 08/10/07 10:21:16 AM Age 28, MD
Wow, thanks for pointing out that it's the "Armenians" [sic] fault. Seems to me that there are plenty of Calvinists out there teaching that all you have to do is believe and then you're good to go! Even if after you're saved you turn right around and fall back into a lifestyle of sin...even denial of God won't condemn you to hell! It's being preached...don't believe me? Just enroll in Dr. Charles Stanley's online Bible study and see for yourself. (That's where I encountered it for the first time...) Repentance in their eyes is a "work". I'm sure that there are others who are teaching the same garbage theology.
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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/17/07 09:37:36 PM

Age 66, WA

Over the past two years, I have learned most of us do not know or understand the meaning of repent. Especially lost is the knowledge of the Greek word, which is translated repent, metanoeo. We think we know, but we have not studied. Most of us would be surprised at the definition of repent found in a Webster's dictionary or the Oxford American dictionary. We also forget salvation is by God's grace (a gift) alone through His faith (also a gift) alone in Christ Jesus and His faithfulness alone, and not by any works on our part whatsoever. Salvation is 100% of and from God who is sovereign. Most people sharing or preaching the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ use the word repent to obligate people to do works of the law to be saved. Anyway, it would be well for all of us to thoroughly study this word and how it is used in the New Testament.
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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/17/07 09:43:04 AM

Age 51, TX

Oy! The only way to be more "on target" would be to shoot first and then draw the target. Great column! 'tis a shame on my SBC that such is true within our association. 'tis a shame that such is true anywhere that Christ is claimed. But it is inevitable, as the Lord has told us this will be (1 Tim 4 and 1 John 2:15 - 19). All the more reason we must be faithful to proclaim the hard truths of Scripture. The world is full of the things men want to hear - leading many to destruction while thinking they are "OK with the Big Man upstairs." Now is the time - as it is in every generation - for sound doctrine to mark the church.
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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/17/07 09:17:40 AM

Age 42, NC

I, like you thought I was saved but I really wasn't. I was depending on what tv and radio said about the bible and what was in it. I thought that if I believed that Jesus died for my sins, I just had to be good and I would get to go to Heaven. When I saw for myself what the bible says, the Holy Spirit showed me the truth. But repentance does not save you. When you trust Jesus' work on the cross as the only payment for your sins, you will then repent(change your mind) and realize you were never saved at all. Only the power of the Holy Spirt can change you from being a hopeless sinner to a saint. Repentance will lead you to salvation but it does not save you.
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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/17/07 09:02:35 AM

Age 47, MO

Amen, Amen, Amen! After coming to Christ I was baptized with my dad and sister. They are both Jehovah's Witnesses now and I believe that the reason the weren't soundly saved is the failure to repent. I do wonder also that it may be possible to truly repent and then not put your full trust in the true Christ. You may be depending on your works, or your baptism, or something else than the creator of the universe. If not that, then maybe you have a different Christ you are trusting in, a Christ who was an angel or a created being or and exalted man. That trust would be misplaced, like trusting your lawyer to do your heart transplant. I agree you need true repentance and trust the true Christ. Examine yourself and see if you pass the test.
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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/17/07 08:23:12 AM

Age 59, IL

Brannon, seldom have I "enjoyed" the strong words of a convicting message or sermon. But afterwards, I have always been so grateful; grateful for belonging to a church with strong and convicting messages, and grateful for reading about what I truly needed to be reminded of. Thank you for clarifying for us what true Christianity is all about. This verse is for you, my friend - Gal. 6:9. In Him, scott.
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Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved

Posted On: 05/17/07 08:20:04 AM

Age 59, IA

Right on, bro. About time somebody said this. Wish we heard it more often from the pulpit. The amazing thing is, we are hearing, from our pulpit, that we ought to "witness", but not that we need to repent. If there isn't a difference in our lives and those of the rest of the world, why bother "witnessing"?
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Re: Re: On Being Sorry, Not Saved
Posted On: 05/22/07 11:55:00 AM Age 47, TX
This is just such a timely message. Charlse Stanley recently preached on something very tangibly related to this epic in the church. He noted that the church today teaches a Jesus who "overlooks" our sin. That is a lie. Jesus " paid" for our sin and that is significantly different.He knew exactly how depraved we were and saw all the ugliness of our sins. A Savior who pays for our sin deserves our repentence and indebtedness and not just our praise. One who only " overlooks" our sin simply shows compassion. We give that Jesus a polite thank you , with no understanding of the real price he paid for our sin. Repentence makes us debtors to Christ. And our reflection on that repentence gives depth and richness to that dear eternal gift that can be attained through no other name under heaven. Blessings, Shirley Skidmore
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