In Mark 1:1-4 it is written: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ ….”  Take note of the beginning, the foundation of the Lord’s Gospel.  John “preached the baptism of REPENTANCE FOR THE REMISSION (REMOVAL) OF (PAST) SINS.”  Notice John’s words as recorded in Matthew 3:2: “Repent you, for the kingdom of heaven (the church) is at hand.”  His emphasis was on repentance, without which there could be no forgiveness of past sins (justification).  Notice also that repentance was not all there was to the justification process: “Bring forth therefore fruit which proves your repentance” (vs 8).  What was that fruit?  Jesus tells us.

In Mark 6:14,15 Jesus tells us what we must do in order to be forgiven of our past sins.  When He came on the scene at the beginning of His earthly ministry He proclaimed that Truth: “Repent, and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL”  John the Baptist had gone before Him and prepared the people for His ministry.  Both men emphasized REPENTANCE as the first step in salvation process.  Contrary to church-wide opinion, that process lasts until the believer’s death.  Read Hope and Salvation.  Key word–Hope.  Repentance being the first step, the next step is to “BELIEVE THE GOSPEL” (the Law–the Holy Bible from Genesis to Revelation).  Read part one of this series.  Though repentance and believing the Gospel are required for repentance to be accepted, there is one more step.  In order to receive forgiveness of sin one must not only believe the Gospel, one must “OBEY THE GOSPEL.”

God uses the Apostle James to drive home this ultimate Truth.  In chapter two of his epistle he tells us seven times that belief of (having faith in) the Holy Bible is meaningless without OBEDIENCE TO IT.  In verses 10, 14,17,18,20,24 and 26 he hammers home the Truth relative to having faith in the Word of God: FAITH WITHOUT WORKS (OBEDIENCE) IS DEAD FAITH THAT CANNOT SAVE THE SOUL.  We “live by faith.”  Faith is spiritual.  If our faith is dead, then we are spiritually dead.  Our faith must be proven by works of faith (obedience).  If such works are not manifested, then our faith is dead.  SATAN HAS MORE FAITH THAN ANY OF US.  HE KNOWS THE WORD OF GOD AND KNOWS THAT IT IS TRUE.  His problem is that he does not obey (work) God’s Word–he sins.  What is the difference between Satan and a “Sinner Saved By Grace?”  Nothing.  Both are spiritually dead.

John made this clear in his response to the Pharisees who had come to be baptized by him: “O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  BRING FORTH THEREFORE FRUITS (WORKS) FIT FOR (AS PROOF OF) REPENTANCE.”  Notice this Truth that John and Jesus made abundantly clear: FOLLOWING OUR REPENTANCE OF PAST SIN WE MUST PROVE THAT OUR REPENTANCE IS REAL BY OBEYING GOD’S GOSPEL. .As this series will show, if one continues to sin after having repented of sin, GOD DOES NOT FORGIVE THAT SIN OR THOSE SINS.  Forgiveness is not automatic following repentance.

John made this clear to the Pharisees who came to his baptism.  He knew they had no intention of turning from their sinning ways.  They were seeking a temporary fix.  They believed what their spiritual brethren believe today, that once justification had occurred, they could continue to sin, “knowing” that all they would had to do was to repent periodically in order to remain in good standing with the Lord.  Church people are told that Christ’s sacrifice is the gift that keeps on giving.  NO IT DOES NOT.

The Apostle Paul addressed this deadly error in the fifth chapter of his first epistle to the church at Corinth.  He had learned that a man in the church was committing fornication but was being allowed to remain in the church.  The people believed that all he needed to do was repent and all would be okay.  They, in turn, were obligated to forgive him each time he repented.  When Paul heard about the heresy he sent a letter to the church, telling the people that the man must be put out of the church (vs 2).  In Romans 16:17 Paul told the church at Rome that, when a sinner was put out of the church they were to have NOTHING to do with him/her.  THEY WERE NOT TO FORGIVE THE SINNER UNTIL HE SHOWED “FRUITS MEET FOR (AS PROOF OF) REPENTANCE” (Mat. 3:8).  Until the sinner had followed Christ’s command to “Repent and believe the Gospel.” the people were not to forgive them and were not to allow them back into the congregation.  The sinner had to show proof of repentance by believing the Gospel.  But believing (having faith in God’s Word) is not enough.  Remember, Satan believes the Gospel.  James tells us that to prove one’s repentance one must PERFORM WORKS WHICH DEMONSTRATE THE PENITENT’S OBEDIENCE TO THE GOSPEL.  Repentance followed by sin is false repentance.  How one feels upon repenting is irrelevant.  The proof of true repentance means to obey Christ’s command to “SIN NO MORE.”

Why is this important?  Why must the offender be put out of the church if he will not stop sinning?  Because “a little leaven leavens the whole loaf” (1 Cor. 5:6).  After a while the sin comes to be accepted as a “normal” part of “Christian life.”  Over time that which has become “normal” evolves into a “Biblical fact.”  By remaining ignorant of the Holy Scriptures, the people are “always learning, but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth” (2 Tim. 3:7).  If someone points out their error, he is dismissed as a reprobate–an enemy of God.  This is exactly what happened to the prophets, Jesus and the apostles.  This is the theological mind-set that destroyed the Institutional Church.

Recall Christ’s warning of Matthew 24:4,5.  False prophets introduce their errors in a timely fashion.  Acceptable (“normal”) sin did not enter the church like a flood.  Instead, sin was introduced and gradually accepted a drop at a time.  In the beginning error was introduced as a “new interpretation” of a particular Scriptural passage based on extraordinary Scriptural analysis and allowed to remain.  This opened the door for another false “truth” to enter and remain, then another, then another.  Today professing Christendom’s foundation of sand consists of nothing but heathen teachings and practices as the Introduction to this website reveals.  The fact that God condemns every one of them is irrelevant.  In 1985 I was sent here (Athens, Tx) to establish a church for the Lord.  When a group of people read my newspaper articles they proclaimed that I was the answer to their prayers.  But Satan convinced them that I was wrong to believe what God said about a specific issue.  What Paul said he did and everyone should do was rejected in favor of a woman’s rejection of the practice.  As a result, in this religion-obsessed, church-on-every-corner city of 12,000, I am the “lone survivor” of Satan’s all-out attack on God’s Truth.   As he did in Eden, Satan deceived the people and they followed him and his false prophetess.  Knowing that this type of thing would happen, Jesus said that where two or three are gathered in His name, He is there.  I can testify that even when there is only one, HE IS THERE.

Note that in his letter to the Corinthian church Paul warned that if the fornicator did not repent and return to the Lord in obedience, that he (Paul) would turn him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh in the hope that the curse would cause him to truly repent.  Yes, my friends, a true man of God has the power to call down a curse on a church sinner.  God’s Very Elect have powers that professing Christendom would not believe even if someone showed them God’s divine Word on a subject.  But the world will soon see such power in action.  God has spoken this Truth in His Holy Scriptures and it will come to pass for all the world to see (Jn. 14:12).  L.J.