Believe or Behave?
Death to Life
“Worth the Journey” watercolor by Myra Alibrando
Repentance is Life
For years, I have strongly believed that what I believe is of far less value than how I behave. This was not so true when I was young. Even though my Christian beliefs in my 20's was similar to now, in my 70's, my life is extremely different. It is much better. What is going on inside of me all the time is also extremely different than the strife and anxiety of my youth. Why?
But I Believe
Yes, of course I know the following scripture:
"If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved." Romans 10:9-10
Too many believe this is a gotcha claim forcing God to accept them in heaven, no matter what. Just believing something like this verse doesn’t cancel the rest of the Bible.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:19
Why Escape What is Good?
With God’s commandments, which are for our good always, getting away with something is simply missing something gigantic and great. His commandments guide us to good things.
“The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive …” Deuteronomy 6:24
We miss the whole point of forgiveness and guidance to reach wisdom. Repentance is the key, not something to escape.
"I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Luke 13:3
Without repentance, we perish. These are nearly pole opposites, one or the other, life and death . . . repent or perish.
Repentance to Life
Soon after Jesus was crucified, in Acts chapter 11, God went to great trouble to reveal to Peter that Jesus was not only for the Jews, but also non-Jews (Gentiles). Convinced and amazed, notice they did not exclaim “God has granted them eternal life!” but “God has granted REPENTANCE that leads to life.”
“So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” Acts 11:18
.And what of our bondage? We want to change but so deeply entrenched in our habitual way of foolishness, we want to repent but how can we?
Wow! In Acts 11 we see God has granted repentance -
- granted repentance - given, provided ... REPENTANCE that leads away from death and to life.
Sin is Nothing to Protect
God's love is a revelation. The horror of our sin is a revelation. Discovering that all along, a holy God has loved and cherished us and our own willful rebellion forever separates us from Him is a revelation. The rippling effect of our sin in our lives and others, who also affect others, is devastating when seen.
Instead of crushing us for our injury upon so many others, God pleads to save us. This weighed heavy on me. God’s love seemed so “irrational” and unfair to Him, that I finally came to Him.
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4
Here again, a verse shows perishing as the opposite of repentance.
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." 2 Peter 2:9
Glory to Glory to Glory
While love is the true flag of a real believer in Christ, repentance is a lifestyle. Think this through. Repentance is stopping and then going in a different direction. Why would you do that? For one reason, and that is discovering you are going in the wrong direction.
Would you rather not repent and keep going in the wrong direction? Would you rather defend wrong thoughts, wrong motives, wrong assumptions? Would you prefer to NOT discover you had a wrong attitude or a wrong perspective?
How many things are wrong with me and how many of those wrong things would I prefer to never be corrected?
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
Becoming a believer is not a one-time repentance to salvation but a continual journey of discovery, humility, repentance, and transformation into a wiser, ever-grateful worshipper in love with what God is doing in your life and heart.
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Matthew 3:8
The Wise Thrive on Correction
Hopefully, you are seeing that the wise live a life of ongoing repentance, zealous for correction from God’s Word and His Holy Spirit. Once you see the life-changing dynamic of repenting toward God’s commandments yielding so many good things, you will be in a hurry - not to merely understand - but to humbly repent, because there is great reward. This is what God wants.
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. James 1:25
So do you believe me? Not good enough. Your reward is in your behavior revealing your inner conviction … daily, deeply, to the core. God loves assisting the sincere.