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#4.38 REPENT AFTER BELIEVING IN JESUS 7

Greek Word Study on μετανοέω, metanoeo, 'to repent'
Greek Word Study on μετάνοια, metanoia, 'repentance'

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Introduction 4.38

This is a bible study shows that stony-hearted people are not righteous, even demons believe in God, and sickness and sin are linked together. This section is for those people who believe that past sins are automatically forgiven when we become believers in Jesus Christ, or those others who believe that sins are removed from our heart when we are water baptized. If the devil can deceive us into believing either of these errors, then he will be able to prevent us from seeking for the cleansing that is so necessary to enable us to overcome sin in our own lives. He will also be able to keep us from being healed sometimes, deceive us in other areas, and keep us living without the manifestation of the real spiritual power of God in our lives. The fact that forgiveness of all sins is a PROMISE has already been shown (See #2), and all promises can be asked for and received by faith when we believe in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20; Matthew 7:7-11; Mark 11:23-24). This does not mean that they are immediately manifested.

#4.38 Stony Hearts Do Not Automatically Become Good Ground

MATTHEW 13:20-21 (Jesus)
20 But he who received seed into stony places, the same is he who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy;
21 Yet does not have root in himself, but endures for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended.

MARK 4:16-17 (Jesus)
16 And these are those likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness.
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

LUKE 8:13 (Jesus)
13 They on the rock are they, which when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

Note: Those with hearts like stony ground do become believers (Luke 8:13), and receive the word with joy (Matthew 13:20; Mark 4:16), but are only capable of enduring for a while (Matthew 13:21; Mark 4:17; Luke 8:13); and many new Christians will come into this category. The way to ensure that these new believers are not lost, is to get them to recognize their condition, and show them how to improve their heart, before they endure trials that will discourage them. Repentance from sin is a good place to start. The scriptures show that these stony-hearted people cannot be righteous.

(Proverbs 12:3) "the root of the righteous shall not be moved."
(Proverbs 12:12) "the root of the righteous yields fruit."

This being so, how can we be righteous when we first believe?

#4.40 The Demons Believe That Jesus Is The Son Of God

MATTHEW 8:28-29
28 And when he came to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with demons, coming out of the tombs, very fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God? are you come here to torment us before the time?

MARK 1:23-24
23 And there was in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? are you come to destroy us? I know you who you are, the Holy One of God.

Note: Just knowing, or believing who Jesus is by itself is not enough to justify us, because even the Devil and the demons know that, and are also prepared to confess it in public. We must also confess it, because "with the mouth confession is made to salvation" (Romans 10:10), but the one thing the demons will not do is God's perfect will. They have to obey Jesus but they do not become like him. Nor were the believing rulers of the synagogue cleansed from their sins, when they would not even confess Jesus (John 12:42), so how can sins be automatically removed from our hearts when we first believe?

#4.42 Sin And Sickness Are Linked Together

MATTHEW 9:5-6 (Jesus)
5 For which it is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you; or to say, Arise, and walk?
6 But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, [then he says to the sick of the palsy,] Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.

MARK 2:9-11 (Jesus)
9 Which it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Your sins are forgiven you; or to say, Arise, and take up your bed and walk?
10 But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, [he says to the sick of the palsy,]
11 I say to you, Arise and take up your bed, and go your way into your house.

Note: There are an abundance of scriptures that show that in the vast majority of cases (but not all) sin can be linked to individual sin as its cause (Leviticus 26:21; Deuteronomy 28:15-22; 58-61; Psalm 25:18; 31:10; 38:3-5; 39:11; 89:30-33; 107:10-11; 107:17; Proverbs 11:17; 17:11; Jeremiah 30:14-15; Daniel 9:11; Micah 6:12-13).

Jesus made the point here with the man who was sick of the palsy, that it did not make any difference whether he forgave his sins, or healed him, the end result would be the same. There are other places also where sin and sickness seem to go hand in hand (Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24), but it is obvious to everyone that all sicknesses do not disappear when we first believe, or when we get baptized. Why then should we believe that all sins go from us? The scripture declares that we were healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:24), but in the same way that we need to bring these healings into manifestation, by faith, after we become believers, so also we need to bring about the manifestation of the forgiveness of our sins, because the forgiveness of our sins does not automatically manifest when we first believe, or when we get baptized in water.

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