When it comes to salvation, many people want to just keep living the way they have always been living even after they become Christians. Even though this is the philosophy of Calvinism, once a person is saved, they are always saved, even if they went on to murder, rape, and do any number of diabolical deeds. But the reality is that a person must repent and change the way they live if they want to receive and maintain salvation.
But the reality is that there must be a change of action in the person who is becoming a new Christian. You cannot continue to live the way you were living before. It simply is not possible. Instead, you must repent.
The Bible clearly teaches time and time again that repentance is necessary for salvation. Yet many various denominations and religions do not push their members to actually change or to maintain their change.
“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'”
Acts 2:38
“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Matthew 9:13
“I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
Luke 13:3
Repentance is a change in the way a person acts. This change is generally brought on by a change in a person’s pattern of thinking.
“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance”
Matthew 3:8, indicating that repetnace has observable action tied to it.
Many people try to define repentance as “A change in heart that results in a change in action”. But as you know, I’m not a fan of the word “heart” because of its excessive emotional connotations. If we want to use the word “heart” correctly, we need to understand that it includes more than the way a person feels. Even though I’ve denied it in the past, emotions are a part of a man’s heart, but they are not the only part.
When it comes to repentance, not only must your emotions eventually shift, but your thinking and attitude about your life must change as well. This all results in a change in your actions. You must think differently about your life purpose and goals. You need to change your attitude towards sin from one of acceptance to one of hatred of sin.
Also, you must recalibrate your conscience. A Conscience may be defiled, Evil, Seared, or irrelevant before it can be good.
When we live as part of the world, there are many things that do not bother our conscience. If a person does not know the gospel and engages in many sexual relationships, he/she may not feel a sense of guilt because he/she does not know the law of God. Only once the law is heard, understood, and believed does an individual begin to feel the tug of their conscience.
That is just an example, but there are many various sins like the sin of extramarital sex that may cause no guilt in the heart of the person engaging in those sins until they become aware of the commands of God. But once these laws are known, a person must change their action, hopefully, spurred on by a sense of shame from living in opposition to God.
Once understood and obeyed, a person must repent – he/she fundamentally changes the way they live their lives. That is the next step in the process of salvation.
You have heard the gospel message, the story of Christ. You have accepted it as true, which is what it means to believe. And now what you must do is change the way you are living your life. You can no longer live just in anyway you want. You need to completely renovate your lifestyle. That old life you were living is dead, and you cannot live it any longer.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Romans 6:1-4
Many people try to skip this step in the process of salvation. They complete all the necessary steps in order to accept the free gift of salvation from God, but they do not change their lifestyle. This is unacceptable. The life of a Christian is one of constant change and of constant war against the desires of the flesh. Constant repentance is the lifestyle of the Christian.
So you heard the gospel and believed it. Are you willing to change the way you live? Will you repent? Are you willing to have a paradigm shift in your lifestyle? That is the next requirement on the path to salvation. I would encourage you to study with your local church of Christ, continue to learn, and complete the steps of salvation.
