1. Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, commanded us to: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is
near" (Matthew 4:17). The whole life of a believer must be one of
repentance.
2. This cannot be interpreted as a token gesture of
commitment, nor a technical salvation that is all theory and no
experience.
3. Biblical repentance involves conviction: a change of mind;
contrition: a change of heart; and conversion: a change of life. It is not
enough to confess our sin, we also need to
reject sin, to loathe it and to forsake it. Repentance involves a change of
mind, a change of heart, a change of habits and
a change of behaviour.
4. "Now,
therefore, says the Lord, turn to Me with all
your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your
heart and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness..." Joel 2:12-13
5. This was the message of the Apostle Peter on the Day of
Pentecost: "Repent, and let
every one of you be baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Acts 2:38
6. This was the message of the early Church: "Repent therefore and be converted,
that your sins may be blotted out, so the times of refreshing may come from
the presence of the Lord." Acts 3:19
7. The heart of the Gospel is a changed life in Christ.
8. God is a Holy God and His righteous standards are seen in
His Law. Man is sinful and we need to repent from our wickedness and trust
in Christ.
9. This repentance and faith is to be evident in obedience to
Christ, and a willingness to sacrifice and to suffer persecution for
Christ. To those who turn to Him in repentance and faith, God promises
great blessings, rewards and eternal life.
10. Before He returned to Heaven, our
Lord Jesus Christ commanded His followers: "But repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in His Name to all nations..." Luke
24:47
11. Salvation is by the grace of God
alone, received by faith alone, on the basis of Christ's blood atonement on
the Cross of Calvary alone.
12. Biblical Salvation always involves a
change of behaviour. "Let
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him
return to the Lord and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He
will abundantly pardon." Isaiah 55:7
13. Those who teach that as long as you
believe you are saved, regardless of how you behave, are false teachers.
The Scripture makes clear that just as repentance without faith is not true
repentance, so faith without repentance is not true faith. For repentance
and faith are two sides of the same coin. Belief always affects
behaviour.
14. "Thus also faith by itself, if it does
not have works is dead. But someone will say,
you have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works and
I will show you my faith by my works... for as the body without the spirit
is dead, so faith without works is dead also." James
2:17-26
15. The Scripture warns us not to harden
our hearts (Psalm 95:8). Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but
he who hardens his heart falls into trouble (Proverbs 28:14).
16. "Do you not know that the unrighteous
will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners
will inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were
some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified
by the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 1
Corinthians 6:9-11
17. The Lord is close to the
broken-hearted and He saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart
(Psalm 51:17). The Lord promises to hear and heal the responsive and humble
heart (2 Kings 22:19).
18. "Cast away from you all the
transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart,
and a new spirit. For why should you die...?" Ezekiel
18:31
19. Those who claim that we can accept
Jesus as Saviour, without submitting to Him as Lord, are false teachers. It
would not have been sufficient for Moses to have proclaimed to the Hebrews,
who were slaves in Egypt, that they should accept that in Yahweh they had
perfect freedom, whilst leaving them in bondage and under the yoke of
slavery in Egypt.
20. Nothing less than deliverance from
Egypt, freedom from the bondage of slavery, would have been adequate. God's
eternal purposes required the people of Israel to survive the Passover,
leave Egypt, cross through the Red Sea and be
established as a free people in the Promised Land.
21. Sin is serious. Yet we are far too
tolerant of sin. "God now
commands all men everywhere to repent." Acts 17:30
22. Sin is more defiling than dirt, more
dangerous than an unexploded bomb, more life threatening than a deadly
disease, more insidious than a virus. "Seek the Lord while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near." Isaiah 55:6
23. "The Law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul." Psalm 19:7. The first duty of the Gospel
preacher is to declare God's Law and show the nature of sin. Failure to use
the Law is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a
false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false
converts. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs
9:10).
24. They will never accept grace until
they tremble before a just and holy Law. The Law of the Lord is the
schoolmaster that leads us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith
(Galatians 3:24). Salvation is by the grace of God alone, received by faith
alone.
25. Scripture alone is our ultimate
authority. "All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of
God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17
26. Christ alone is the Head of the
Church. Christ is the only Mediator between God and man. Truth conquers.
Not all the darkness can put out the smallest light.
27. We are to deny self, not indulge
self. For many people experience is key. But for Christians, Scripture must be our ultimate
authority. Emotions are a poor substitute for Scripture.
28. The Scripture warns us: "Learn to not exceed what is
written." 1 Corinthians 4:6-14. We must be aware of movements
and teachers who go beyond the Scriptures and presumptuously proclaim that
which is not clearly taught in the Holy Scriptures.
29. Christians must be aware of those
churches that try to look and sound much like the world. In many churches
the Great Commission is virtually ignored as social issues, health and
wealth, flashy entertainment and an emphasis on selfish and materialistic
concerns become the primary focus. Many modern Word of Faith teachers
display a lack of the fear of God and proclaim a different gospel and a
different Jesus from that revealed in Holy Scripture.
30. Many popular preachers today are
telling people what they want to hear, instead of what they should hear.
The Word of Faith 'Name it and Claim it', 'Gab it and Grab it', Health and
Wealth Prosperity preachers may be popular, but they are false teachers.
They are effectively inoculating people against true Christianity. We need
to be like the Bereans, who were more noble than the others, in that they
searched the Scriptures daily, to see if the things that the apostles said
were true (Acts 17:11).
31. A mature Christian is a discerning
Christian. We cannot love God without knowing Him. We cannot know God
without studying His Word, the Bible. Christians should test themselves to
see whether they be in the Faith. Has there been a genuine change in your
life? Have you evidenced Godly sorrow for your sins? Do you love God with
all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Do you
love to study God's Word? Do you love to pray? Do you hate sin?
32. We are commanded to contend for the
Faith, once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). Our Lord Jesus Christ is our
example and He exposed false prophets, scribes and pharisees, hypocrisy and
false teaching.
33. The goodness of man is an unBiblical concept. "The heart is deceitful above all
things and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I test the mind, even to giving every man
according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."
Jeremiah 17:9-10
34. Signs and wonders do not actually
save anyone. In John's Gospel, we read: "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the
Passover, during the feast, many believed in His Name when they saw the
signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He
knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He
knew what was in man." John 2:23-25. Our Lord Jesus said that
an evil and idolatrous generation seeks for a sign (Luke 11:29).
35. Only the Gospel can change lives.
Conversion for health and wealth is a false conversion. Those who teach
that believers should tap into cosmic forces and laws of attraction, are unBiblical. What they are offering
more resembles magic than Biblical faith. Much of what is being taught in
the modern Word of Faith movement is not the Biblical Faith in a Sovereign
God, but faith in faith. It is actually idolatrous.
36. The Scripture warns us: "Be very careful, then, how you live -
not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because
the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16
37. Believers need to be very selective
concerning what entertainment and news media is allowed to fill our minds
on a daily basis.
38. The Scriptures describe secular
humanist thinking: "Their
thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were
darkened." Romans 1:21. It is extremely dangerous that most
Christians send their children to secular humanist schools to receive their
education.
39. "Since they did not think it
worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved
mind..." Romans 1:28. Ideas have consequences. What we see
influences what we think, and what we think influences what we become and
what we do. Actions flow from thought patterns.
40. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord', shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven." Matthew
7:21. It is not so much what we say, but what we
do that counts. Actions speak much more eloquently than words.
41. The emphasis on feelings and
blessings to the exclusion of commitment, obedience, and discipleship, is a
sure way to failure and disappointment (Matthew 7:15-23).
42. There is no short cut method, no
4-point programme, no cut and dried, canned
salvation. There is no alternative to full surrender to the Lordship of
Christ (Colossians 2:6-7), and wholeheartedly seeking (Jeremiah 29:13), and
following God's way (1 Peter 2:21). You have to forsake the world (1 John
2:15-17), and you must give up living for selfish reasons and motivations
(Matthew 16:24). Repent of your past sinful way of life (Isaiah 55:7) and
put all your energies, time, strength, talents, money and abilities under God's control. Be
transformed by the renewing of your mind and live wholeheartedly for Him
(Romans 12:1-2)
43. The way of Salvation in the Bible is
described as a search (Jeremiah 29:13), a journey (Matthew 7:13-14), a war
(2 Corinthians 10:3-5), and a marathon race (1 Timothy 6:12). Christians
are described as pilgrims, disciples, soldiers, long-distance runners. The
Bible is full of words describing fighting, overcoming, advancing,
conquering, struggling, suffering and
succeeding. These Biblical descriptions speak of progress, advancement, and
movement. They speak of a continuous ongoing experience and way of life.
Not a once-for-all gesture, or technical theory, or mere theological
understanding.
44. The heart of the Gospel is a
restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ, where communication
and contact is established and maintained with God. Where character is
developed and God's eternal purposes are accomplished in, and through, your
life.
45. Ignorant and wicked are those who
teach that the Law of God no longer applies to us today. Those preachers
are in error who declare that one can receive
Christ as Saviour without submitting to Him as Lord.
46. Christ alone is the Head of the
Church. No pope, bishop, archbishop, cardinal, synod or moderator has power to overrule the decrees
of Almighty God clearly spelled out in Holy Scripture.
47. Men must be on their guard against
those who require excessive payments for spiritual services.
48. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that Repentance is not necessary
for those who seek to be right with God. The truly repentant earnestly
desires to undertake full restitution, to repair, replace and restore what he has taken, or
damaged.
49. They are enemies of Christ who
require the Word of God to be silent on some issues in order that policies
they support continue unimpeded.
50. Injury is done to the Word of God
when a balance is not maintained in our preaching. Between the Law of God
and the love of God, the wrath of God and the mercy of God, the doctrine of
Eternal Judgement and the Gospel of Redemption, the blessings of Heaven and
the realities of hell. The true treasure of the Church is the most Holy
Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.
51. He who speaks against the truth of
Holy Scripture, let him be anathema and accursed
(Galatians 1:6-10)! But he who guards against
the lusts and licence of the world, let him be blessed!
52. Those who teach that we are little
gods are guilty of blasphemy. Those who teach that the Cross of Christ was
not enough to effect our Eternal Salvation teach
heresy.
53. Away then with those false prophets
who say to the people of God, 'peace, peace', and there is no peace! (1
Thessalonians 5:3).
54. Blessed be those who lift up the
Cross of Christ and give a clear message of Repentance.
55. Christians are to be exhorted, that
we be diligent in following our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, through
sacrifices and sufferings, seeking first the Kingdom of God.
56. We can be confident of entering into
the Kingdom of Heaven through many tribulations, rather than through
delusions of comfort and complacency.
57. If I profess with the loudest voice
and clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God's Word, except
precisely that point which the world and the devil are at that moment
attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be
professing him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is
proved; and to be steady on all the battlefront besides is mere flight and
disgrace - if he flinches at that point.
58. Compromise and cowardice hurts
everyone concerned. Cowardice is destructive and short sighted. In
Revelation 21:8, cowardice is at the top of the list of those who will be
condemned by God through all eternity - thrown into the lake of fire.
59. The Word of God commands us not to
be afraid of any man (Deuteronomy 1:17). We are warned that the fear of man
will prove to be a snare (Proverbs 29:25).
60. It is cowardice for us to stay
seated when we should stand up. To remain silent when we should speak up.
To remain passive and inactive when we should fight for what is right.
"Who are you that you
should be afraid of a man who will die, and of a son of man, who will be
made like grass? You forget the Lord your maker, who stretched out the
Heavens and laid the foundations of the earth..." Isaiah
51:12-13
61. The prevailing Arminian, antinomian,
egalitarian, sinner-friendly, self-centred, superficial, sensational,
materialistic, cheap grace and easy believism
has produced gutless and spineless evangellyfish who stand for nothing.
"Open rebuke is better than
love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the
kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Proverbs 27:5-6
62. We are not called to be popular, but
faithful. The Great Commission is not about how to win friends and
influence people, but how to make disciples of all nations, teaching
obedience to all things that the Lord has commanded.
63. We are called to submit to God, to
resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7)
64. They can kill the body - but they
cannot kill the soul.
65. It is a disgrace for ministers of
the Gospel to remain silent while the very foundation of our faith and
freedoms - civilisation itself - is under attack. A campaign to have what
God describes as an abomination called "marriage" should rouse every Christian to stand up and fight
for the family and the faith. The basic building block of society, the
family itself, is in the frontline of the world war of worldviews. As the
influence of education, entertainment and the news media is so pervasive,
it is in these realms that the battle for the family is being either lost,
or won.
66. The Bible tells us that God seeks
"Godly offspring..." Malachi 2:15. It is the first
priority of parents and teachers to ensure that children are taught to love
God and His Word. Secular humanist education is attempting to kill God by
eradicating Him from the classroom and from the minds of the next
generation. By eliminating the Bible as the basis for all knowledge,
humanists are removing the very foundation of truth. They are prohibiting
the only objective standard by which reality can be evaluated. "See to it that no one takes you
captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human
tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on
Christ." Colossians 2:8
67. I am much afraid that schools will
prove to be wide gates to hell, unless they diligently labour in explaining
the Holy Scriptures, engraving them on the hearts of the youth. I advise no
one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every
institution in which men are not constantly occupied with the Word of God
must become corrupt.
68. In this culture war, it is vital
that we understand the war between Creation and the theory of Evolution.
Science textbooks and Museums are strategic battlegrounds in the world war
of worldviews.
69. We need to know the Word of God and
we need to know the God of the Word. We need to know God and to make Him
known.
70. It is vital that we know
what we believe, why we believe it, and
to practically know how to defend it in argument. It is
also vital that we become effective soul winners.
71. Christians must recognise that we
are involved in a world war of worldviews. There is a war against God and
against His Word - The Bible. In this battle for the mind, classrooms and
cinemas are battlefields. Education is a battleground. The textbooks and
the teachers are frequently promoting evolutionism, situation ethics, sex
education and values clarification. Reality is
being rearranged by selective focus and in what Karl Marx declared "the first battlefield - the rewriting
of history." By twisting perceptions, secular humanists hope to steal
our children and hijack our culture and country. Much of the entertainment
industry has been so subverted as to glamourise evil, popularise profanity,
and celebrate ugliness. It is the duty of Christians to support excellent
Christian media.
72. In entertainment, it is vital that
we know before we go, that we learn to discern. We must choose the best
family-friendly films, and avoid the anti-Christian programmes.
73. The theory of Evolution is an
attempt to abort God retroactively. The theory and philosophy of Evolution
destroys all meaning, purpose, direction, justice and hope in life. The Scriptures declare:
"The fool says in his
heart, 'there is no God'. They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is
no one who does good." Psalm
14:1
74. We are called to be the light of the
world. All the darkness cannot put out the smallest light. "For the earth will be filled with the
knowledge of the Glory of the Lord as the waters cover the
sea." Habakkuk 2:14
75. The recent phenomenon of
age-segregated Sunday morning worship should be re-evaluated in the light
of Scripture. The youth are not the Church of tomorrow, they are part of the Church today. The
Church is one body. "For as
the body is one, and has many members, and all
the members of that body being many are one body; as also is
Christ." 1 Corinthians 12:12
76. Parents should be raising up their children in the fear of God, in
fellowship with all believers. Church social events should involve
families. Youth ministry should be returned to where it belongs - to
families and fathers. It is a sad fact that many youth groups are doing
more harm than good. "Those
who walk with the wise become wiser still, but the companion of fools
suffers harm." Proverbs 13:20
77. Young people have a far greater
capacity for spiritual and social maturity than we tend to give them credit
for. Young people should be encouraged to go deeper, further and higher for
the Lord.
78. Many mainline denominations have
been infiltrated by secular humanists, who have gutted the churches of the
Biblical Gospel and produced generations of spineless evangellyfish. Many
churches are filled with pseudo-saved,
semi-saved, half-saved, un-saved, pew-warmers who have never been truly
converted, nor have they come into any real relationship with our Lord
Jesus Christ.
79. To distract and neutralise the
Christian Church, false doctrines and heresies have been vigorously
promoted. Passivism has been promoted and a "rapture fever" obsession with end-times prophesies has
greatly distracted many Christians.
80. Antinomianism has gutted the Church
of the Law of the Lord which is perfect, which converts the soul. Defeatism
and escapism have neutralised many churches.
81. Worldly music, age-segregated
services, youth groups which entertain rather than educate, have further
undermined the churches' fulfilment of the Great Commission in our
generation.
82. Discernment is at a low ebb in the average Western church.
Sensationalism, materialism and idolatrous
elevating of human beings have side-tracked many believers from fulfilling
the Great Commission.
83. Many Christians have failed to
notice that secular humanists have hijacked the schools and universities
and are continuing to send their children to, what are effectively,
anti-Christian brain washing institutions.
84. Theological seminaries have
generally been infiltrated by liberal theologians and those who hold to
theistic evolution. The undermining of Biblical Christianity in many
denominations is like a cancer working throughout the body.
85. "Should you help the wicked and love
those who hate the Lord? Therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon
you." 2 Chronicles 19:2
86. We need to face the moral challenges
of our day, including the symptoms of moral depravity: deception in the
news media, degenerate entertainment, dishonesty
in business and decadence in government.
87. Even more importantly we must
recognise the root causes: ineffective churches, insipid preaching,
irresponsible leaders, a rejection of God's Law as the foundation for our
families, churches and nation, neglect of the Bible, prayerlessness,
selfishness, confusion, compromise, cowardice and, at the very core, a lack
of wholehearted love for God.
88. All too many churches are
entertaining their members instead of educating them with expository
preaching from God's Word. They are comforting their members instead of
challenging them in confronting sin. "Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of Your Throne; love
and faithfulness go before You."
Psalm 89:14
89. Life begins at conception. Abortion
is murder. The sanctity of life is an essential aspect of the Christian
Faith. Christians must "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves."
Proverbs 31:8 and "Rescue
those being led away to death." Proverbs 24:10
90. Throughout the Bible, money is
spoken of by weight. God's Law forbids theft, unjust weights and measures,
inflation, usury, unbacked currencies and multiple
indebtedness. Biblical Law requires honest money backed up by real
constant value (Leviticus 16:35-36; Proverbs 11:1; 20:10; 20:23; Amos
8:5-7; Micah 6:11-12).
91. In the Bible sin is specific and
personal. It is the violation of the Law of God. We are guilty when we
disobey one of God's Commandments. Sin is failing to worship God alone; it
is making, or worshipping an idol; taking God's Name in vain; desecrating
the Sabbath; dishonouring our parents; taking innocent life; committing
adultery; stealing; bearing false witness and being covetous. However,
guilt manipulation, false, or psychological, guilt, is vague and
general.
92. When we repent of our personal guilt
in violating God's Commands, the result is forgiveness, freedom, healing and restoration. However, when repenting for
false, or psychological, guilt we will never find freedom and forgiveness -
because the devil is a hard taskmaster. We must know the Bible to recognise
deception in the world and we must understand history in order to expose
those who attempt to manipulate God's people through guilt
manipulation.
93. "Where there is no vision, a people
perish..." Proverbs 29:18. We need a positive and practical
vision from the Word of God for our personal lives, for our Churches, for
our nations and for the world.
94. We must give our highest priority to
loving, worshipping, serving, obeying, and honouring God. We need a
Biblical vision of righteousness, justice, love
and compassion. "The Lord
loves righteousness and justice..." Psalm 33:5
95. "Now to Him who is able to do
exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the
power that works in us, to Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus, to
all generations, for ever and ever. Amen." Ephesians
3:20-21
The Reformation Society
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Fax: 021-685-5884
