You are changing it up what I said. The truth must be taught, and the truth is that the Way to get saved is to repent of your sins first.
We have to admit we are sinners if we want to be saved. We have to know what are sins are and confess them to Jesus, and the person must repent of their sins to be saved. They must have every intention of stopping those sins.
Can you cite an example in the Book of Acts where they had prepped sinners to know what sins they need to repent of before they preached the gospel to them?
What? You don't know that when a person wants to be saved they have to promise God that they will die to the sins of the world and live to please Jesus? That is what water baptism symbolizes.
Can you cite an example in the Book of Acts where sinners made a promise before coming to & believing in Jesus Christ?
She has to admit she is a sinner, she has to know what her sins are, she is to confess them to Jesus, and promise to die to the sins of the world, and call on Jesus to help her, to save her, to give her his Spirit.
Since that promise is open ended and can never be finished, Jesus spoke against it here.
Matthew 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head,
because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.... 5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:.... 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
You have to be careful not to teach wrong too. You can't tell someone faith alone saves, because faith alone is dead and it doesn't save anyone. A person must repent of their sins. There are many scriptures to show you this.
Actually, in regards to the Book of James, it is the church sharing their faith in God's Providence to the poor for God without works that is dead. Faith in Jesus Christ for salvation is without works, les any man should boast.
No such thing as that being the only thing to repent of. So many people never even heard of Jesus, so how could they have repented of not believing in him? You sound like someone repeating some talking point from a teacher you choose?
When sinners are slaves to sin, and since it is the Father drawing them unto the Son ( John 6:44 ) to reveal His Son to them so they can believe in Him to be saved ( Matthew 11:25-27 ) then salvation is really that simple John 3:14-18
It is discipleship that comes afterwards for how saved believers now have Jesus Christ in them to live as the sons of God as they can look to Him daily in helping them lay aside every weight & sin in running that race for the high prize of our calling.
You want an example of saved Gentiles being instructed afterwards of certain sins to abstain from?
Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. 6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. 13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. 15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. 18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world
. 19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
As it is, if they were instructed of what all sins were that they need to repent of before they can preach the gospel, I am sure sinners will either fall sleep or walk away.
There comes a point in a Christians life where they don't struggle with the same sins every day.
True, but with addicts, and we are sin addicts in all respect, we are to rely on Jesus Christ daily to lay aside every weight & sin in running that race.
We are to repent of all sins. It doesn't mean we stop all sins at that moment and are not going to have to work out our salvation and train ourselves, but it does mean you have to know what your sins are, and repent from them, to know you can't KEEP doing them.
I can see the hope in Him for newly saved believers but for sinners to do that before they are saved? That would mean they were born again by the will of the flesh and the will of man, would it not?
John 1: 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Titus 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Sinners can be honest, and when they are looking at themselves in knowing what a rotten sinner they are, a dog even, unable to stop returning to his vomit, they need to see that hope in Jesus Christ to derstroy the work of the devils in their lives and not just believing in Him for eternal life.
1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure..... 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Well you don't tell them they don't have to clean up their lives also! Because we are to prove our repentance. However, you tell them to call on Jesus to help them, to save them, to give them his Spirit.
They can look to Him in hope that He will deliver them from their sins and not just give them eternal life, and so running that race daily by looking to the author & finisher of our faith is how together with the Lord, we are cleaning up our lives as they walk in the light in fellowship with the Father & the Son.
