Even Affliction Is Profitable For the Godly

by Daniel Rowlands

Romans 8:28, "We know that God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Make no exception, when Paul makes none. ALL! Remember Paul excepts nothing.

Give glory to God, and resolve with Job, "Though He slays me—yet will I trust in Him."

The Almighty may seem for a season to be your enemy, in order that he may become your eternal friend.

Oh! Believers, after all your tribulation and anguish, you must conclude with David, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes."

Under all your disquietudes you must exclaim, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!"

Even affliction is very useful and profitable to the godly!

The prodigal son had no thought of returning to his father's house until he had been humbled by adversity.

Hagar was haughty under Abraham's roof, and despised her mistress; but in the wilderness she was meek and lowly.

Jonah sleeps on board ship; but in the whale's belly he watches and prays.

Manasseh lived as a libertine at Jerusalem, and committed the most enormous crimes; but when he was bound in chains in the prison at Babylon his heart was turned to seek the Lord his God.

Bodily pain and disease have been instrumental in rousing many to seek Christ, when those who were in good health have given themselves no concern about Him.

The ground which is not rent and torn with the plough, bears nothing but thistles and thorns.

The vines will run wild in process of time, if they are not pruned and trimmed. So would our wild hearts be overrun with filthy, poisonous weeds—if the true Vine-dresser did not often check their growth by crosses and sanctified troubles.

See, therefore, that all the paths of the Lord are mercy, and that God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love Him.

All the events that take place in the world carry on the same work—the glory of the Father and the salvation of His redeemed people.

Every illness and infirmity that may seize you,

   every loss you may meet with,

   every reproach you may endure,

   every shame that may color your faces,

   every sorrow in your hearts,

   every agony and pain in your flesh,

   every aching in your bones

—are for your good!

Every change in your condition . . .

   your fine weather and your rough weather,

   your sunny weather and your cloudy weather,

   your ebbing and your flowing,

   your liberty and your imprisonment

—all work for good.

Oh, Christians, see what a harvest of blessings ripens from this text!

The Lord is at work; all creation is at work; men and angels, friends and foes—all are busy working together for God's glory and your good.

Oh, dear Lord Jesus, what have you seen in us that you should order things so wondrously for us, and make all things to work together for our good?

The Doctor of the Church

Jerome (A.D. 347-420) is known as the "Doctor of the Church." Jerome, however, was a plague upon the true church. Everything wrong with the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Catholic Church, and every other denomination of Catholicism, including their multitude of corrupt practices and false doctrines, can be traced back to Jerome and his perverse Latin translation, the Vulgate.

1.) Jerome condemned Jovinian as a "heretic" because he believed that virgins, widows, and married women, even re-married widows, are of equal merit in the Christian community. Jovinian went through Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, showing what high honour marriage is given. Jerome wrote an entire heretical book filled with abusive and intemperate language to praise virginity and disparage the state of marriage; that holy state which God in His Holy Word says should be "held in honor among all" (Heb. 13:4), that holy union that is a picture of Christ and His bride—the Church. Jerome even went so far as to talk about how virgins will supposedly receive many rewards in heaven while married people receive their rewards here on Earth. Jerome pretty much demonized marriage. Anyone who dares to read the Bible carefully will see how much honour God bestows upon marriage. Virginity is sacred, but it has next to nothing written about it by comparison with marriage. Jovinian was correct. The true heretic here was Jerome!

2.) Jovinian also denied the false doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary, which Scripture also denies. According to Scripture, Mary clearly had other children, which strongly implies that she and Joseph had normal marital relations after Jesus. In Mark, a crowd asks of Jesus, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” (6:3). In Luke, when Jesus is told by a crowd gathered to hear him speak, “Your mother and Your brothers (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) are standing outside, wishing to see You,” Jesus famously answers them: “My mother and My brothers (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) are those who hear the word of God and do it” (8:19-21). John writes that after Jesus had performed His first miracle in Cana, “He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days” (2:12).

Jerome argued that these "brothers" were either step-brothers, older sons of Joseph from a previous marriage (of which nothing is mentioned in Scripture), or merely cousins. Throughout the entire birth narrative and childhood narrative, there is never any mention of any other children. So where were these older step-brothers during all of this? The argument for them being step-brothers attempts to use two verses for its support. The first verse: In the upper room were "Mary the mother of Jesus, and . . . His brothers" (Acts 1:14). The argument is that it does not say "her sons," but rather "His brothers." The reason it says "His brothers" is because Jesus is the focus here—not Mary. Jesus is the object. The second verse: On the cross, Jesus looks to John, His disciple, and says, "Behold, your mother!" The argument is that He did not say this to any of His family, but to a complete stranger, implying that she must have been alone. Jesus did not give this responsibility to his brothers because they were not sympathetic to His ministry, nor did they believe in Him, and they likely were not present at the time.

Let us assume these "brothers" were indeed older step-brothers. Even if this were the case, Mary still was not a perpetual virgin. "[Joseph] did not have sexual relations with [Mary] until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus" (Matt. 1:25). Even if you attempt to argue for the word "to" to be translated instead of "until," the word is pointing toward a specific point—the "birth of a Son." Heōs (ἕως) is a conjunction, preposition, and adverb of continuance. The word signifies something that "continues up to a certain time." She remained a virgin "until the time when" she gave birth. After the birth of Christ, she was no longer a virgin because she and Joseph engaged in normal marital relations. To argue that they did not is to create a huge problem, which Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5. If Joseph never touched Mary, he would have burned with desire and taken that desire elsewhere, which would have made him an adulterer. The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary has many holes and creates many problems within the rest of Scripture.

The Greek does not support the perpetual virginity of Mary. The writings of the Apostles do not support the perpetual virginity of Mary. The writings of the earliest disciples of the Apostles do not support the perpetual virginity of Mary. The perpetual virginity of Mary is entrenched solely in the traditions and errors of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Scripture repudiates these very teachings. Anathema upon any heretic who teaches and proclaims this false doctrine!

3.) Jerome's Latin Vulgate calls a 'bribe' a "gift" (Num. 8:19; Prov. 17:23; etc.). The Latin word for a 'bribe' is corruptela, from which the English word corrupt is derived. The Latin word for a 'gift' is munus, from which the word municipal is derived. The Latin word for 'money' is pecuniam, from which the word penny is derived. For those King James Only-ists, the fallibility and errancy of the King James Bible can be seen clearly in these verses, translating them as "gift" instead of the correct translation "bribe." When Simon the magician sought to purchase the gift of God for money, Peter told him to "Repent" (Acts 8:22). The Douay-Rheims, after the Latin Vulgate, has "Do penance" instead, which is where this false doctrine and practice had its origin.
Jerome's Latin Vulgate eliminates the many references to God as a "Rock." It also said that Jesus went to Hell (Lat. inferno) (Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:31), rather than the grave. No doubt this is how that clause was interpolated into the Apostle's Creed in the fourth century, despite being absent prior. Most Reformed individuals understand this to mean the hell he endure from His sufferings to His crucifixion to His death and subsequent three days in the grave. Nevertheless, "He descended into Hell" is a poor wording to comprehend that.
In Matthew 6:11, Jerome's Latin Vulgate has us praying for our "supersubstantial" (Lat. supersubstantialem) bread, rather than our 'daily' bread. This is where the false doctrine and practice of transubstantiation had its origin.
In 1 Corinthians 11, Jerome's Latin Vulgate talks about us "nourishing" (Lat. nutriat) our hair (i.e., if a man "nourishes" his hair, it is a shame to him, but a woman "nourishing" her hair is her glory).
In Jerome's Latin Vulgate, sodomites were expelled (Deut. 23:17; 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; 2 Kings 23:7; Job 36:14) and replaced with words like "whoremonger" and "effeminate." These passages demonstrate that there is much said against homosexuality, which the LGBT want to deny.
Jerome's Latin Vulgate refers to "holocaust" (Lat. holocausta) 359 times, where most English translations have 'burnt offering.' Jermone's translation skills sucked, to say the least. Many errors in translation and word choice find their way into his Latin Vulgate. Because of those errors, the Catholic Church teaches and practices their multitudes of doctrinal errors. If the Catholic Church were to translate a new Latin Bible from the original languages, with no regard for their heretical traditions, they would find that much of their religion would have to change, both in doctrine and practice.
The word "cross" originates from Jerome's Latin Vulgate, too, where the Greek Scriptures used the words xylon for 'tree' and stauros for 'wood,' like a stake. The "cross" dates back to Emperor Constantine with his vision, except as a pagan Mithraic sun-worship symbol. Whether Jesus was nailed to an actual cross-shaped stake is not mentioned in Scripture (except by English translation). We would have to rely on early Christianity and historical witnesses to inform us of that. Quite possibly, His hands would have been nailed together above His head. This bit of information—whether it was a stake, a tree, or a cross—does not change the fundamental theology for one's salvation. He was crucified, regardless of what it was to.

Jerome ought to have been the one labeled as a heretic. He is the one who shaped and defended many of the heretical doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church. Jerome condemned others as "heretics" who, at least in the key areas he disagreed with them, were not heretics in the least. On the three main issues between Jerome and Jovinian, Jovinian was in the right while Jerome was in the wrong. One needs to study history from a variety of sources in order to arrive at the truth, and not from Roman Catholic sources that paint everyone outside their cult as the wicked ones. Emperor Constantine is the foundation beneath all the corruption that found its way into the Catholic Church, abandoning the truth of the Scriptures.

Mystery of the Gentiles

It is important that we remember that the Bible in its original writings did not consist of chapters and verses. Therefore, we should not start and stop our readings and studies with these divisions, but look at the writings in their complete form, noting appropriate changes in subject discussion. Dispensationalism/Zionism has re-interpreted much of Scripture, looking at it through the lens of Judaism. This is why they miss much of the truths stated and revealed in Scripture. Especially those truths re-interpreted by Jesus and His Apostles from the Old Testament Scriptures. Whether deliberately or ignorantly, they ignore much of what the New Testament has to say and try to develop their theology based on a Pharisaical-type interpretation of the Old Testament (the interpretation the Pharisees applied caused them to miss the predictions and first coming of Jesus). With this in mind, let us now look to Scripture for its clear teachings.

"Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called 'Uncircumcision' by the so-called 'Circumcision,' which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory." Ephesians 2:11-3:13

Five things were true of Gentiles in the past. We were...

1. ...separate from Christ
2. ...excluded from the commonwealth of Israel
3. ...strangers to the covenants of promise
4. ...having no hope
5. ...without God in the world

"But now," Paul says, "in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." The two—Jewish believers and Gentile believers—have been made into one body! "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." Dispensationalists want to divide God's people into two groups, saying that the unbelieving nation of Israel will get a pass simply because of their Jewishness. But this is repudiated by all of Scripture! If they do not come to and through Jesus, they do not come at all. How many times does Jesus have to talk about the kingdom being taken from the Jews and given to a people bearing the fruits thereof before Dispensationalists accept what it is the Bible is saying? Gentiles are now...

1. ...in Christ ("you who formerly were far off have been brought near")
2. ...included in the commonwealth of Israel ("you are fellow citizens with the saints")
3. ...heirs of the covenants of promise ("fellow partakers of the promise")
4. ...with hope ("the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body")
5. ...with God in the world ("of God's household")

Dispensationalists will argue that 1, 4 and 5 are true of Gentile believers, but they want to deny 2 and 3 as being true as well. They are refuted concerning 3 when they read Ephesians 3:6 and especially Galatians 3. In Ephesians, Paul talks about how Gentiles were "strangers to the covenants of promise." But in Galatians, Paul talks about how Gentiles are "Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise" if we belong to Christ and have the same faith as Abraham had.

"Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.' So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. ... Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. ... There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise." Galatians 3:6-9, 16, 28-29

Following on what Paul had just said in 2:11-22, he begins what he is about to reveal in 3:1-13 with, "For this reason." In Ephesians 3, Paul informs us that the mystery was made known to him by revelation, and that this mystery was not known to former generations. What was this mystery? That Gentiles are fellow heirs with the Jews (v.6): "the mystery...has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs." Romans 11:17-26 explains this mystery of the Gentile inclusion. True Israel—believing Israel, spiritual Israel—is expanded with the inclusion of believing Gentiles who are grafted in with them.

"But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, 'Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.' Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, 'THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.'" Romans 11:17-26

As the ESV reads, "In this way all Israel will be saved." What way is that? By the inclusion of the Gentiles: "a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." In to what? Into Israel: "and so all Israel will be saved." 'All' does not refer to 'each and every individual,' nor does 'Israel' here mean physical, national Israel. The first 'Israel' speaks of physical Israel, while the second 'Israel' speaks of the true—the spiritual—believing Israel, which consists of believing Gentiles. Dispensationalists want to deny this, but if you carefully pay attention to what this passage is saying, to the picture it is painting, that is precisely what is being taught. Expansion Theology!

Paul takes national, physical, ethnic Israel and divides them into two groups: believing Israel and unbelieving Israel. According to Romans 2:28-29, unbelieving Israel are not true Jews. Believing Gentiles, having circumcision of heart, according to these verses, are true Jews. According to Romans 9:6-8, unbelieving Israel does not belong to Israel. Believing Gentiles, according to these verses, do belong to Israel, as attested by Galatians 3 and Ephesians 2:11-3:13.

There has always been a faithful remnant of believing Jews in national, physical, ethnic Israel. These were the true Israel. (Jesus Himself is the true Israel.) Not all national, physical, ethnic Jews were true Jews (see Rom. 2:28-29). But some were. Not all national, physical, ethnic Israel were true Israel (see Rom. 9:6-8). But some were. When Jesus the Messiah came, the evidence of whether a national, physical, ethnic Jew was part of the true Israel was whether he/she confessed Jesus as the Son of God or denied Him. Jesus stated that, "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him" (John 5:23). Even the Apostle John stated that, "Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also" (1 John 2:23). If you reject Jesus, you reject God; and if you reject God, you are not part of true Israel, even though you may be a national, physical, ethnic Jew.

"The manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places." Ephesians 3:10

God's aim is to hold up the Church as a showcase of the glory of His perfections, saying to Heaven and Hell, "This is the glory of My Son—His Church!" This was supposed to be Israel's destiny. Now, Jews and Gentiles together as the Church will be God's people. Jewish rabbis and Dispensationalists/Zionists will say that God has two plans to bless people: one for Jews and one for Christians. Jews can get to God without Jesus without becoming Christians, and Christians can get to God with Jesus without becoming Jews. But this is false! Jesus made is absolutely clear: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me!" If Jew and Gentile do not come to and through Jesus alone, they do not come at all. They will spend eternity in Hell.

The picture that Romans 11:17-26, Galatians 3, and Ephesians 2:11-3:13 paint is this: the true Israel becomes the Church of Christ and the Church of Christ emerges as the true Israel. The two are one in the same! God has one Church, one body, one people. This one body of Jewish believers and Gentile believers, from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, is not only the true Israel—spiritual Israel—but also the true Church, which consists of anyone (Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female) having the same faith as Abraham. Any theology that attempts to divide what God has joined together is an aberrant, heretical theology. Biblical theology teaches expansion theology!

The Cursed Fig Tree

"Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, 'No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.' And at once the fig tree withered. Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, 'How did the fig tree wither all at once?' And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, "Be taken up and cast into the sea," it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.'" Matt. 21:18-22

"On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again!' And His disciples were listening." Mark 11:12-14

Some Christians have had a difficult time with this passage, unwilling to accept it and unable to reconcile how Jesus could do such a thing. These Christians fail to know who Jesus is, or even how just His actions were. On a grander scale, like Dispensationalists, they fail to grasp the significance of this passage. Jesus was about to enter the temple and cleanse it, overturning the tables of the money changers. 

Mark records for us that "it was not the season for figs." This does not mean that it was not yet time for the fruit to start growing and ripen before being gathered, and thus Jesus was acting irrationally. At the end of March, smaller green figs, growing from the sprouts of the previous year, appeared simultaneously with the leaves. They are ripe in May or June. The larger figs that develop on the spring shoots, much like a plum, are gathered from August through October. In other words, there ought to have been something on this tree. From the outside, the tree presented itself as a fruitful tree, being full of foliage. But upon inspection, there was no evidence of fruit. This is important!

The reason Jesus cursed this tree is found much deeper. This pretentious but barren tree represented Israel. Jesus provides the interpretation for this event the next day: "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it" (Matt. 21:43). Jesus even tells a parable of a fruitless fig tree where fruit was sought but there was none (Luke 13:6-9). The disciples, however, did not have to wait until the next day for the interpretation. The counterpart for the fig tree would be found in the temple cleansing shortly thereafter.

From the outside, the temple presented itself as a place of worship, a place where even the Gentiles could go to get close to God. In fact, the largest part of the temple was the outer court, known as the Court of the Gentiles. Because the Jews hated Gentiles so much, they filled this court with so much stuff that they pushed the Gentiles out. Not only were they selling oxen and sheep and turtle doves for the Passover at atrociously marked up values, but they were also cheating people who brought their own animals by telling them that they were not acceptable, selling them one of their provided animals, and then turning around and selling the animals they took from these people to others. From the outside, the temple looked like a place of worship, but upon closer inspection of the inside, it was anything but.

The cursing of the fig tree was just one of the many times that Jesus would predict the downfall of unfruitful Israel. Not long after this, Jesus would predict the permanent destruction of the temple: "Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, 'Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down'" (Matt. 24:1-2). There will never be another temple because we, Christians, are the temple of God: "having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit" (Eph. 2:20-22). What is so difficult for Dispensationalists to understand about this?

Who are they who produce the fruit of the kingdom? Christians! Believing Jews and believing Gentiles, together, as one body of Christ, the Church. The fig tree was acting hypocritically. It was in full foliage, and was therefore expected to provide fruit. Those inside the temple were also acting hypocritically. Like whitewashed tombs, they appeared beautiful from the outside, but on the inside were full of dead men's bones. Outwardly they appeared righteous  and religious to men, but inwardly they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Jesus hates hypocrisy, and His righteous anger is always justified, just as He will be justified when He casts people into Hell for all eternity for having broken God's laws. The fig tree symbolized God's judgment of Israel.

The Hard Truth About Marriage

"Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?'
He answered and said, 'Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, "FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH"? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.'
They said to Him, 'Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND HER AWAY?'
He said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another woman commits adultery.'
The disciples said to Him, 'If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.'
But He said to them, 'Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.'" Matthew 19:3-12

There were two schools of thought during Jesus' day. The school of thought from Jewish rabbi Hillel believed that a man could divorce his wife for any reason. This was derived from Deuteronomy 24:1 where it says, "...she finds no favor in his eyes..." The school of thought from Jewish rabbi Shammai believed that a man could only divorce his wife for the cause of adultery. This was derived from Deuteronomy 24:1 where it says, "...he has found some uncleanness in her..." These Pharisees were tempting Jesus, testing Him so that they could trap Him and turn one of these groups against Him.

Pharisees: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?

Jesus: Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, "FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH"? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.

Jesus answered the Pharisees by asking them, "Have you not read...?" He went to the source of authority on marriage, which is the Word of God. Scripture is our final authority! "From the beginning..." Jesus directed them to creation, where the first marriage was instituted. At creation, God made two from the one, taking woman from man, and then He joined the two into one, making the two one flesh. "What God has joined together, let not man separate." Not even the government! Have you ever noticed that when you want to get married you go to a church, but when you want to get divorced you do not? You have to go to the government, and not even the government has the authority to annul a marriage.

Pharisees: Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND HER AWAY?

Jesus: Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another woman commits adultery.

"From the beginning it has not been this way." Jesus once again directed them to creation, the very beginning with the first marriage. The Rule is this: "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery." The Exception is this: "Except for fornication." Fornication is pre-marital sex. In order to understand the exception, and what fornication truly is, we need to examine Deuteronomy 22:13-21 and Matthew 1:18-25. What is the man in Deuteronomy 22 accusing his wife of? Pre-marital sex. Fornication. Why did Joseph want to divorce Mary, even though they were only betrothed and not yet married? Because he thought she had committed pre-marital sex. Fornication. According to Jesus, had this been the case, Joseph would have been justified in divorcing Mary.

Disciples: If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.

Jesus: Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.

"If it is like this, it is better not to marry." The disciples understood precisely what it was Jesus was saying. Like most people today, they thought Jesus was being awfully strict; that it was very difficult and unfair. "Not all men can accept this statement." Which statement? The one that the disciples had just uttered. By "eunuchs" Jesus means people who remain sexually inactive, who cannot engage in the intimacies of marriage. "He who is able to accept this, let him accept it." Accept what? That it is better not to marry if you cannot divorce your spouse for any reason.

Let us address some common errors that people, even well meaning people, Christian people, believe and teach though they are contrary to the Word of God.

ERROR #1: Baptism washes away unscriptural marriages. This belief teaches that if someone entered into an adulterous marriage before he/she became a Christian, after he/she was baptized then the marriage is cleansed and therefore becomes an acceptable marriage. Let us apply this false reasoning to some other marriages. Does baptism somehow change a homosexual marriage or polygamous marriage into an acceptable marriage? No, it does not! Repentance needs to be present.

ERROR #2: Non-Christians are not amenable to the law of Christ. This belief teaches that marriages before becoming a Christian are irrelevant, even if you have been involved in numerous adulterous marriages. God's law of marriage does not become applicable only when you become a Christian! "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent" (Acts 17:30). God's law applies to everyone! All men are amenable to the law of Christ! Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Even before they were Christians, they were "adulterers." That means God's marriage law applied to them.

ERROR #3: If one party in the marriage commits fornication, then both parties are free to remarry. This belief teaches that both the innocent party and the guilty party are free to remarry after a divorce due to fornication, but this is not taught anywhere in the Bible. Matthew 19 is written in such a way that it releases the innocent party while binding the guilty party. The guilty party is not free to remarry.

ERROR #4: If children are involved, God will allow an unscriptural marriage. When children are involved, it does make it more difficult from an emotional standpoint, but it does not change the fact that the marriage is unscriptural and unlawful. Some people argue that a home, a family, should not be broken up. But is this biblical? It is not wrong to stop living in sin. In fact, it is a requirement! People involved in a remarriage that is not the result of death or fornication are living in a constant state of adultery, and cannot continue in that state with God's blessing. These people need to repent by ceasing the unscriptural marriage. If two homosexuals are married and one of them later becomes saved, he/she cannot remain in that unscriptural marriage. Divorcing in this case is not wrong because the marriage was not scriptural to begin with. In the Old Testament, God did not permit His people, the Israelites, to marry people from heathen nations. Read God's law in Deuteronomy 7:3-4, and then read His command in Ezra 10:10-11 after the Israelites had disobeyed His law: "Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives." Even though they had children with these heathen people, they were to separate themselves from them. Couples cannot remain in a relationship contrary to the will of God regardless of children being involved. The father should still look after his children because that is the right thing to do!

ERROR #5: You can divorce for any reason, with God's approval, as long as you do not remarry. This belief teaches that as long as you never remarry, you are free to divorce your spouse for any reason whatsoever. But this false idea violates every passage in Scripture. "What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." This includes yourself!

ERROR #6: A spouse who is abandoned is free from the marriage and has the right to remarry. This belief teaches that a person is free to remarry in the case of abandonment, and 1 Corinthians 7:15 is often cited as the proof text for it. But 1 Corinthians 7:15 does not teach this! "Not under bondage" does not mean you are free from the marriage. The ESV renders this as "is not enslaved." You are not a slave to your spouse. Be faithful to God. If the unbeliever wants to leave, let them leave because if you try to force them to stay, they will make your life a living hell, as Proverbs frequently describes. What do you do if your spouse abandons you? "But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife" (1 Cor. 7:10-11).

The Pharisees had asked Jesus, "For what reason can a man divorce his wife?" Jesus had replied, "What God has joined together, let not man separate." God's basic law of marriage is not difficult to understand. It says: Stay Married!

No Such Thing As A Carnal Christian

There are not two classes of Christians, one holy and one carnal. Such an idea is absurd nonsense. The Bible teaches no such thing!

"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?" 1 Cor. 3:1-4, KJV

You could read 'worldly' here, which would work, but the Greek word sarkikos (σαρκικός) means "fleshly; having the nature of the flesh," and by implication, "unregenerate." To say you can be a Christian and yet be of the flesh is demonstrative of not knowing a thing about Scripture and what it teaches. What was it the Apostle Paul said again?

"So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Rom. 8:12-14).

As if that was not enough, how about when Scripture declares these things?

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Matt. 6:24

"For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." 1 Tim. 6:10

"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me." John 15:18-21

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Rom. 12:2

"You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James 4:4

"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:15-17

"Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you." 1 John 3:13

Loving the Father in 1 John 2:15 and doing the will of God in verse 17 are not separate things. If you love God, you will love what He wills. It is nothing but empty talk to claim that you love God but not to love what He loves. No reasonable person buys stock in a company that is sure to go bankrupt, and verse 17 informs us that the world is passing away. The idea of a carnal Christian is an oxymoron; it is contradictory. Those who teach and believe in carnal Christianity have these facts to contend with:

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it." Matt. 7:13

"For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Rom. 8:13

"Abstain from every form of evil." 1 Thess. 5:22

"Strive for peace with all men, and that holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Heb. 12:14

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." 1 John 1:6-7

"Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.'" John 8:12

Scripture does not hold any punches. It says you are either all in, or you are all out; there is no fence-sitting. You are either a Christian or you are not. Those who typically attempt to argue for "carnal Christianity" tend to utilize the "sin argument," trying to make excuses for themselves and defend some sin pattern in their life they do not want to repent of. Sometimes a good, hard look at what Scripture says about the Christian is needed so that we can examine ourselves and see if we are truly in the faith. Because Scripture makes it clear that we can be deceived about this. Do not think so? Read Matthew 7:21-23. It is impossible to be an unregenerate Christian.

We have all been taught that we are saved by faith, but we have not been taught, or even taught well, the relationship between trusting Jesus, loving Jesus, and obeying Jesus? You cannot trust Jesus (have faith in Him) if you do not love Jesus, and you cannot love Jesus if you do not obey Jesus. Every New Testament author sees these things as connected. Trusting Jesus, loving Jesus, and obeying Jesus are inseparable. They are all the path to eternal life because they are the same path! How many times does Scripture need to state something for it to be true? For those who think you can be less than the Bible declares a Christian to be and simply be a nominal "Christian" only, self-righteously trying to defend sin patterns in your life you have been commanded to repent of, contend with these statements:

"So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.'" John 8:31

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." John 14:15

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." John 14:21

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.'" John 14:23-24

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." John 15:10-15

"By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." 1 John 2:3-6

"Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." 1 John 3:21-24

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. " 1 John 5:3

"And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it." 2 John 1:6

If we are truly and genuinely Christians, according to 1 John 5:3, our love for Jesus overcomes the obstacles of disobedience and makes His commandments a joy to keep rather than a burden. Similarly, according to verse 4, our faith in Jesus overcomes the obstacles of disobedience and makes His commandments a joy to keep rather than a burden. Both faith and love. Faith toward Jesus and love for God. Faith and love are a part of each other; faith which loves God and love which trusts God. If you do not love Jesus and trust in Jesus, then of course His commandments will be a burden to you, and you will continue in your disobedience because you are not a Christian. You think you are a Christian, but every line of Scripture says otherwise.

No Such Thing As A Backslider

Want biblical evidence that there is no such thing as a "backslider"?

"But Jesus said to him, 'No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Luke 9:62

Not to mention that the word never occurs in the New Testament, and the five words that occur in the Old Testament all have the meaning of "faithless, unfaithful, turning away, rebellious, apostate, apostasy." John 6:66 and 1 John 2:19 describe apostates. They were never believers to begin with. They could not "backslide" because they never slid forward in the first place.

http://bereansdesk.blogspot.com/2012/03/backsliding.html

Those who typically attempt to argue for "backsliding" tend to utilize the "sin argument," trying to make excuses for themselves and defend some sin pattern in their life they do not want to repent of. Sometimes a good, hard look at what Scripture says about the Christian is needed so that we can examine ourselves and see if we are truly in the faith. Because Scripture makes it clear that we can be deceived about this. Do not think so? Read Matthew 7:21-23.

First John is the litmus test for every genuine believer. If the things written there do not describe or define you (or me), or the direction in our life (meaning we are not stagnant), then there is a problem (because the rest of the New Testament agrees with everything found there). If those things are not true of us, and we are not growing in them, then as Paul challenges in 2 Corinthians 13:5, we might want to examine ourselves to see if we are truly Christians or if we have merely latched onto some gimmick as a "Get-out-of-Hell-free" pass. There are many false gospels being peddled out there (pray a prayer, walk an aisle, sign a card, make a decision, let Jesus into your heart, try Jesus, etc., etc., etc.), and if you do not have the right one, you are still on that broad road that leads to destruction. The biblical Gospel is repentance and faith (trust) in the Person and work of Jesus the Messiah. You cannot have faith in a prayer, faith in having walked an aisle, faith in having signed a card, of even faith in your faith... If your faith is not placed in and on the proper object, then your faith is no faith at all. And if your faith is not put into action, then your so-called faith is vain, empty, useless, and dead, as James informs us. "Actions speak louder than words." What you really believe will always be lived out in your life. As Charles Spurgeon said, "If there is one fact, one doctrine, or one promise in the Bible, which has produced no practical effect upon your temper or conduct—be assured that you do not truly believe it." Scripture agrees.

The Greatest Hour of Idolatry

Did you know that the morning of worship is the greatest hour of idolatry in the Western world? If you were to enter most churches and ask people to describe the God they are worshiping, you would find that it would not resemble the God of the Bible. If you were to do a week long Bible study on the attributes of God in most churches, teaching the classical, historical view of the attributes of God, by the time you got to the sovereignty, justice, righteousness, and wrath of God, you would have church members standing up and shouting, "That's not my god! I could never love a god like that." This is because most self-professing nominal "Christians" worship a god made in their own image to suit their own agendas and ideals. They do not know Who God is.

In the book of Psalms, God rebukes Israel because they thought God was just like them. He is nothing like us and we would do well to stop committing idolatry by trying to project our faults and limitations upon Him. God is thrice holy. All his attributes are holy, from His love, grace, and mercy to His sovereignty, justice, and wrath. One does not trump the others. Those who worship God are to do so in spirit and in truth. Of course these people could never love the biblical God, because they have never been saved to begin with.

Did you know that because we are made in the image of God, every time we sin we are telling the universe, "That's what God is like." We are defiantly shaking our little fists at God in rebellion and disobedience. And then you want to argue that eternity is not a fair punishment for our sin? We sin against an eternally holy God. If you were to lie to your child, they can do nothing to you. If you were to lie to your husband or wife, you are probably sleeping on the couch. If you were to lie to your boss, you are going to lose your job. If you lie to your government, that is treason and you can expect to see the inside of a prison. What changed? It is the same sin, so why the difference in punishment? If you step on a bug, not much will happen to you. If you kill a puppy, you will probably be charged. If you kill a vagabond, you will do some time in prison. If you kill the President of the USA, you are getting the death sentence. What changed? It is the same sin, so why the difference in punishment? It is because of who you have sinned against. Because you have sinned against an eternally thrice holy God, eternal punishment for your sin is a just response.

If we, as fallen sinful beings, burn with indignation against real injustices in this world (not "social injustices"), how much more a perfectly holy God?

Entertainment Does Not Win Souls

"The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them."

(i.e., The biggest lie the devil ever told is that churches could win souls with entertainment.)

—Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), from an aptly

titled sermon, "Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?"

In an excerpt from "Restoration of Truth and Revival," (Sword and the Trowel, December 1887), Spurgeon wrote:

"The Lord our God, is holy, and He cannot compromise His own glorious name by working with persons whose grovelling tastes lead them to go to Egypt—we had almost said to Sodom—for their recreations. Is this walking with God? Is this the manner in which Enochs are produced? It is a heart-sorrow to have to mention such things, but the work of the Lord must be done faithfully, and this evil must be laid bare. There can be no doubt that all sorts of entertainments, as nearly as possible approximating to stage-play, have been carried on in connection with places of worship, and are, at this present time, in high favour. Can these things promote holiness, or help in communion with God?"

One would almost think that Spurgeon had visited many churches here today in North America, and the rest of the world. Francis Schaeffer once said, "Tell me what the world is saying today, and I'll tell you what the church will be saying in seven years." Pretty sad when the church is imitating the world instead of setting itself apart as holy, like it was commanded, to be a light on a hill.

What Is Repentance?

And Are We Required To Do It?

As a result of the bankrupt theology of Dispensationalism, many professing Christians these days believe that repentance is a "work" and that it is not required as part of the process of salvation. For part of the answer to this issue, see my previous article Are We Saved By Faith Alone?.

So, what exactly is repentance? According to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, to repent means "to be sorry"; "to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life," "to feel regret or contrition," "to change one's mind." It means to agree with God about His assessment of us; that we are wretched sinners deserving of eternity in Hell. Repentance involves doing a 180. It means to STOP what you are doing, the direction you are going; TURN AROUND; and START doing the opposite, going in the opposite direction. It is turning FROM your sin and turning TO God.

When Jesus said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of heaven is at hand; REPENT and BELIEVE the gospel" (Mark 1:15), He was telling them to turn from the wickedness of their ways. As Matthew Henry said, “By repentance we must lament and forsake our sins, and by faith we must receive forgiveness of them. By repentance we must give glory to our Creator whom we have offended; by faith we must give glory to our Redeemer who came to save us from our sins. Both these must go together; we must not think either that reforming our lives will save us without trusting in the righteousness and grace of Christ, or that trusting in Christ will save us without the reformation of our hearts and lives. Christ has joined these two together, and let no man think to put them asunder. ... Thus the preaching of the gospel began, and thus it continues; still the call is ‘Repent and believe, and live a life of repentance and a life of faith.’” (Emphasis mine.)

Some individuals attempt to contest all of this. They want to argue that it has nothing to do with our sin, but only with placing one's faith in Christ. If that were so, then how do you explain this passage? "If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he REPENTS, forgive him" (Luke 17:3; see also verse 4). Is your brother placing faith in you? Quite obviously not! So repentance is something different from faith. What does repentance mean in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10? Clearly, what these individuals are attempting to argue is not what the Bible teaches.

Acts 20:21 gives the exact formula I described above in the second paragraph: "repentance TOWARD God [from what?] and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Hebrews 6:1 contains the same formula, giving us the other side of it: "repentance FROM dead works and of faith TOWARD God" Acts 26:20 agrees: "they should repent and turn TO God." If repenting means to turn to God, as we saw in Acts 20:21, what does it mean here when it adds "and turn to God"? Acts 26:20 also talks about "performing deeds appropriate to repentance." What does this look like? "He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." (Eph. 4:28). That is a complete 180 right there!

Not to mention that in the context of the command to repent by John the Baptizer, he said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit [demonstrate evidence] in keeping with repentance" (Matt. 3:7-8; cf. Luke 3:8). But if that was not clear enough, how about when Scripture says, "REPENT of this wickedness of yours" (Acts 8:22)? How about this passage? "I gave her time to REPENT of her fornication; and she did not repent" (Rev. 2:21). That is turning from the wickedness of our ways right there!

John the Baptizer's ministry began with, "REPENT, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2). Jesus' ministry began with, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of heaven is at hand; REPENT and BELIEVE the gospel" (Mark 1:15; cf. Matt. 4:17). The disciples, when they were sent out, "preached that men should REPENT" (Mark 6:12). All throughout the entire New Testament are commands to repent. Jesus told His disciples that "Christ would suffer [His crucifixion] and rise again from the dead the third day [His resurrection], and that REPENTANCE for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations" (Luke 24:46). What about when God's Word states that "God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should REPENT" (Acts 17:30)? Jesus even stated, "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to REPENTANCE" (Matt. 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32). Jesus twice says, "unless you REPENT, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). He also stated that "there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who REPENTS than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7).

Acts 5:31, 11:18, and 2 Timothy 2:25 inform us that repentance is a grace from God. Romans 2:4 informs us that the kindness of God leads us to repentance. If we are chosen by Him, He has granted to us the ability to repent. There is no faith without repentance, and there is no repentance without faith. They are two sides of the same coin. They go hand-in-hand. You cannot have one without the other.