The first ministerial word spoken by Jesus of Nazareth was “REPENT.”  Notice what was written about Him leading up to His first ministerial pronouncement: “The people who lived in darkness saw great light; and to those living under the shadow of death, light had arrived.  At that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (HIS CHURCH) IS AT HAND'” (soon to come on the scene)–Mat. 4:15  His church was born 3 1/2 years later on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D.

In 2 Corinthians 5:7,17 the Apostle Paul writes: “Therefore, if any man is in Christ he is a NEW CREATION; (all) old things have passed away, behold, ALL THINGS ARE MADE NEW.”  In Ephesians 4:22 he says that the new man must, “do away with the corrupt and lustful old man.”  Then in Colossians 3:9 he decrees that the deeds (words, thoughts, acts) of the old man must cease.  In verse 10 he adds that the new man has been made in the SPIRITUAL IMAGE OF THE GOD WHO MADE HIM.  This perfectly describes Adam at the time of his creation.  Adam, who was created “very good” (Gen. 1:26), is the pattern God follows when creating the NEW MAN.  In fact, the new man is a new Adam.  In the Hebrew language, “Adam” means “man.”  In his original state, Adam was holy and pure, having been created in the spiritual image and physical likeness of the One Who created the universe, Who is perfect in every way.

Until he chose to sin, ADAM WAS GOD IN HUMAN FORM.  Jesus, the “last Adam,” was also God in human form.  THE NEW CREATION IS GOD IN HUMAN FORM.  Recall that Jesus said: “They who have seen Me have seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9).  Concerning the correlation between Jesus and the NEW MAN, He said in John 14:12 that the true believer would do “… EVERYTHING I have done, and even GREATER THINGS than these will he do.”  The same could be said about Adam before he CHOSE to sin.  He was created a spiritual and physical duplicate of the God Who created him.  God Himself was the template for all of human creation (Gen. 1:26-28) which He gave dominion over everything on and under the earth, in the sea and in the air above the earth.  In that He told Adam to fill the earth with his own kind, his descendants were also to have the same qualities and powers he (Adam) had.

God does not change.  All changes have been instituted by man while obeying Satan.  But believing and obeying saints are not bound by sinning man’s debilitations, weaknesses and faults.  The new man is a God-like creation with all rights and privileges that Adam and Jesus had.  Just as the man Jesus had the same moral and ministerial characteristics as did His heavenly Father, truly converted man, who can do everything Jesus did and greater things, also has the same moral and ministerial characteristics as his heavenly Father.  God is no respecter of persons.  What He did in creating the FIRST ADAM and the LAST ADAM He will do when creating the NEW MAN–the man I call the “THIRD ADAM” because he is the duplicate of Jesus Christ with the same character and power.  Unless, that is, Jesus lied to us in John 14:12.  The new man “walks as Jesus walked” (1 Jn. 2:6) and “overcomes (Satan) as I (Jesus) overcame (him)–Rev. 3:21.  Jesus said: “Behold, I give you power over all the power of the enemy” (Satan)–Lk. 10:19.  Jesus was created in the literal image and likeness of God.  As His “brethren,” those who would spend eternity with Him will conform to the original template.  Jesus being a duplicate of that God template, His spiritual brethren will also conform to it by choice and through the power of the Holy Spirit–which is exactly how Jesus became who and what He was.  Read Jesus of Nazareth: God, Man or God-man?  Read also The Third Adam.  Key words–God-man and Third respectively.

So where does a (spiritual) old man who seeks to be a (spiritual) new man begin in his quest for Godliness?  He begins where Jesus tells him to begin–he REPENTS.  But that is only the first step in the creation of the new man.  In Mark 1:15 Jesus tells us that after repenting, man’s second step is to “… BELIEVE THE GOSPEL.”  The Gospel is God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation.  To believe means to have faith in God’s Word (Rom. 10:19).  One must have faith that the Gospel (Word) of God is His Truth, which Jesus proclaimed in John 17:17 when He said to the Father: “THY WORD IS TRUTH.”  God’s Word (Holy Bible) does not merely contain the Truth, HIS WORD IS THE ONE AND ONLY SPIRITUAL TRUTH AVAILABLE TO MANKIND.  All Catholic/Protestant doctrine is Satan’s substitute for God’s Truth.  See the Introduction to this website for a list of substitute “truths” which the so-called “church” borrowed from Babylonian mystery religion and called it “Bible Truth.”  Satan has kept his church in ignorance of God’s Truth since Eden.  For that reason Satan has controlled the false church ever since.  A remnant of true believers have kept His true church alive over the centuries.

In His “fine print” God tells us that having faith will get us nowhere with Him.  As James 2:10,14,17,18,20,24,26 tell us, faith alone is useless.  As God says through the apostle, “FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD (FAITH) WHICH CANNOT SAVE (THE SOUL)–vss 17,26,14.  God’s people live by faith–belief in God’s Word (Rom. 1:17/Mat. 4:4).  However, believing God’s Word is meaningless unless that faith is followed by works of faith (obedience to God’s Word/Law).  Satan has that kind of faith.  He knows God’s Word and quotes it.  Unlike his church members, he actually believes God’s Word, as do his demons, who tremble (Jam. 2:19).  God said that He sought those who “tremble at My Word” (Isa. 66:2) to be His people.  Read God’s Trembling Saints.  Key word–Trembling.  I have written and spoken extensively about the Lord’s commands to obey His Law/Gospel/Truth.  But much change must take place in the salvation seeker’s life before obedience can begin.  With that fact in mind we will turn to the very first command relative to living the holy life that will lead to eternal life–REPENTANCE.

To repent means “to change one’s mind concerning a past action.”  Repentance is the FIRST of many steps on the life-long path that leads to salvation.  In the collective mind of the church masses, to repent simply means to be sorry for committing a sin.  The question then becomes, what kind of sorrow am I expressing?  (A) Am I sorry for having been caught?–called “worldly sorrow,” or (B) am I sorry enough to stop committing the sin–called “godly sorrow” (2 Cor. 7:10).  Church-defined repentance involves (A).  (B) is a joke to church people.  I have been sorely chastised for saying that (B) is even a remote possibility.  No one, I am told, can stop sinning in that, thanks to Adam, sin is a part of our spiritual dna.  And even if one could eliminate sin from one’s life, why go to the trouble and rob oneself of so much pleasure?  After all, Jesus died to make our sins “disappear beneath the cleansing flood” (of Christ’s blood), as the hymn goes.  I heard a preacher say that sin was not an issue for a churchite because “God can’t see through the (Christ’s) blood.”  One woman said after leaving mass: “Well, I’m good for another week.”  Mary, it seems, had taken care of the previous week’s accumulated sins.  The freshly cleansed woman was now free to sin to her heart’s content for another week, at the end of which Mary would once again make a week’s worth of sin simply vanish.  The woman “knew” that such would be her “Christian” lifestyle until she drew her final breath, at which time Jesus, or Mary, I’m not sure which, would snatch her up to heaven where awaited her private mansion, etc., etc., etc.

After a face-to-face confrontation with another such “Christian” whose “lady (Mary) takes care of it” (his sins), God reminded me that Protestants also have a “lady” who “takes care of” their sins.  Her name is GRACE upon whom they dump their accumulated sins each Satan’s (Sunday) sabbath.

In the following segments we will examine the true meaning of repentance and conversion–the first two steps in the salvation process.  L.J.