Repentance – Regeneration
Pastor Tom Jacob, Ph. D
Major Highlights
1. Emerging of Heresy looming over Christendom ……………………………………. 2
2. Repentance is NOT Intended for Children ………………………………………….. .. 2
3. Christianity is NOT Minor’s Business ..………………………………………………. . 5
4. Beatitudes – The Key that Unlocks the Kingdom of God …………………………….. 8
5. Spiritual Enlightenment -The First Step of Repentance ……………………………… 8
6. Enlightenment is Essential for Salvation ………………………………………………..9
7. Righteousness, Reconciliation, Justification and Salvation ………………………….. .10
8. Purging of Our Conscience …………………………………………………………….. .11
9. The Effect of New Birth ………………………………………………………………….12
10. Results of Unwarranted Baptism ………………………………………………………..13
11. The Eternal Effects of this Erroneous Teaching ………………………………………..15
12. Who must be Born Again? ……………………………………………………………… 18
13. How to Experience Salvation NOW? ……………………………………………. ……. 18
14. Church of England: Fearful of Extinction due to ‘Church Induced’
‘Confirmation’ at the age of 14 & 15 . . ……………………………………………. ….19
Emergence of a Heresy in Pentecostalism
A damnable heresy slowly began to emerge among the Pentecostals by the late 1950s and 1960s in which some ignorant leadership and neo-Pentecostal ministers voluntarily started to baptize ‘underage kids’ without true repentance by treating them as adults and accommodating them into the main stream churches! Subsequently, this heresy found its footings in churches everywhere! This heretical teaching hindered the spiritual progress of the Church as Christ dreamed it!
But Christ and His Apostles clearly taught that only the penitent sinners must be baptized in water! Jesus said: “All power is given unto me in heaven in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matt. 28:18-20). In Mark 1:15, Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel.” Christ himself received the water baptism under John the Baptist, in the River Jordan, and he set the example for His followers!(Matt. 3:13-16; Mk. 1:9-11; Lk. 3:21-22). John baptized Jesus at the age of 30. (Lk.3: 23). Due to lack of understanding of the revealed Word that teaches how and when to administer water baptism or the qualifications of the individuals to be baptized, the churches around the world are hindering the spiritual growth that is described in the Book of Acts! They have not only killed the life and spirit of Biblical Christianity, but have also crushed the foundational principle Christ taught on ‘repentance and remission of sins’ as the only means for the entrance into the Kingdom of heaven! (Lk. 24:37; Mk.1:15). There may be so many reasons to justify their stand; but this heretical teaching sowed the seeds of destruction in Churches around the world!! When Jesus chose His twelve disciples, none of them were teenagers!
‘Repentance’ is not intended for children
This New Heresy that is so prevalent among the Pentecostals is threatening the future of the New Testament Church
The Gospel message Jesus proclaimed or the Apostles communicated to the Churches was not intended for kids! But there are a few verses in the New Testament that are addressed to children. Ephesians 6:1-3 is an example of this sort.
We want to keep the true teachings of the Bible as pure as possible in our generation! We will defend ‘the Faith which was once delivered unto the saints’ by all means!
The expressions such as repentance, regeneration, new-birth, and ‘born again’ denote the same thought.
The concept of Baptism that is described in the New Testament required a public confession of both sin and faith, which could only be accomplished as an adult’s exercise of free will.
An unrenewed man may have intellectual knowledge of the facts and doctrines of the Bible, but no spiritual discernment of their excellence, and no delight in them. Paul describes his conversion as ‘God revealing His Son (Christ) in him’ (Gal.1.16; II Cor. 4:6). The whole process of salvation is described as a ‘translation from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.’ The Bible describes eternal life as a form of knowledge (Phil 3:8). The whole Conversion experience itself is a form of knowledge. Our Lord Jesus said that the knowledge of Himself and of the Father is eternal life (John 17:3). The Bible describes regeneration as illumination. Regeneration of the soul that is dead in sin is raised to spiritual life.
Regeneration is declared in the Bible as new Birth. There is a mystery involved in this new birth. As soon as the heart and mind are cleansed from the guilt and stain of sin through the faith in the vicarious death of Christ, instantly, the soul is entered into a new realm of connection with its maker. The “things of the Spirit” become the chief objects of desire and pursuit. All the energies of the new-born soul are directed towards the spiritual. The soul that experienced this change, which is the new-birth, will search for the affinity of its maker.
Almost all of the so-called Catholic ‘Church fathers’ of the second century onwards mixed pure Christian Doctrines with Greek and Eastern Philosophical thoughts and had gone into a collision course! Like golden threads which run through the texture of an eastern garment, the philosophical ideologies had been interwoven with the pure Christian teachings! As a result, what Christ and His Apostles had taught was superseded with ‘man-made’ philosophy and tradition! For the next twelve centuries this darkness pervaded the arena of Christianity until the students of the Christian religion began to dig through the pages of the Holy Writ, and finally they uncovered truth after truth!
John Calvin
In His monumental work, “The Institutes of Christian Religion,” John Calvin, who was also a famous theologian and a leading 16th century French reformer, taught that the ‘circumcision’ in the Old Testament is the same as ‘Infant Baptism’ in the Church Age! He also taught that the babies that are born to Christian parents need no repentance to enter into the Kingdom of God! He added, ‘This infant is sanctified already because of the parental connection with the Christian religion!’ Hither to this heresy has already sent untold millions to eternal hell! He argued in his work that Abraham received circumcision as a seal of his faith, and subsequently through the practice of circumcision, his posterities have become recipients of all the blessings God promised to him!
Martin Luther
On the other hand, Martin Luther, who was portrayed as the famous 16th Century German reformer in the Church History, also taught and practiced heretical teaching. Although he caused the schism in the Catholic Church, which paved the way for the Protestant Reformation, he also taught and practiced heresy. Though he himself separated from the Catholic Church, he also retained most of the Roman Catholic ideologies, such as ‘mass’ and the ‘catechisms!’ In his catechisms, Martin Luther taught that while infants are baptized “Baptismal Regeneration” is taking place, and the Holy Spirit can communicate spiritual matters to these infants during the time of their baptism! He did a lot of good things in his day, but also taught and practiced a false religion! As a result, if you enter into a modern Lutheran Church, you may have a feeling of standing in a Catholic Church with statues and idols!
There are conglomerates of heresies floating around in Christian circles since the second century and we need to find a common ground to eliminate all these heresies on the basis of the revealed Word!
I earnestly plead with all of you in the love of Christ: “Stop baptizing ‘underage children!” You are contradicting the Bible. It is not acceptable to God and is against the spirit of Christianity!
The so-called salvation and the subsequent baptism of underage kids are ‘parent-induced’ or ‘pastor-manipulated’ acts, and it is totally unscriptural! It is the result of an unintelligent view of the plan and purpose of man’s ‘redemption.’ It is portrayed in the Holy Bible as a stupendous task of the Godhead!
Childrens’ hearts and minds are not fully developed to understand the ‘faith’ that God requires for them to be justified before him. Their hearts and minds are not fully developed to undertake the task of placing their ‘entire trust’ in the Supernatural!
The undeveloped and under developed minds of children are incapable of apprehending the truth of the Gospel. In a court of law, children are treated as minors and Christ himself could have died as a minor; but he didn’t!
In their younger age, childrens’ minds are incapable of comprehending advanced information! Their learning process is in a way ‘progressive’ in nature due to the inability of their mind to grasp new things, and their minds only have a gradual development! We don’t teach university curriculum in the fourth or the fifth grade! You can force it; but it won’t work! That is one of the reasons we don’t have 10 and 12 year old Medical Doctors or Registered Nurses, commercial airline Pilots or Space Engineers around us! Even if one of these little kids acquires a degree in the discipline of ‘Space Engineering,’ NASA, which is the US Space Agency, won’t entrust him alone to send a man to space! It is the responsibility of an adult! We usually don’t hire a 10 or 12 or even a 14 year old boy to be the pastor of a local Church!
It is very seldom that we see an earthly father divide his property to a minor, even if he is the only child! In spiritual matters, our Heavenly Father does the same!
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God” (Gal. 6: 15-16). A further study of the scriptures also tells us that not everyone has to be a ‘new creature’ at the age of 10, 12, or 14!
The fundamental fact in Christianity is regeneration, and the Christian Life is only possible through regeneration. In this spiritual system there must be an ‘inward change.’ The new life must originate in Christ. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17). The spiritual renewal springs from union with Christ. Man cannot change his heart. Christ is our very life. It is a new life; for it has new thoughts, new desires, new principles, and new affections that stand in everlasting relation to the new name, the new song, the New Jerusalem, the new heavens, and the new earth. The new birth has ushered the believer into a new world!
When Moses was about to build a tabernacle for Jehovah God, he was also instructed to ‘build it according to the pattern God showed him upon the mountain top.’ On the same token, the way sinners are made recipients of the Kingdom of God is through ‘Repentance’ or ‘Regeneration,’ and it is the ‘pattern’ we see in the early Church! In order for us to acquire all the blessings Christ has offered to the believers, we must follow the ‘pattern’ Christ entrusted with the Church. It is a universally agreeable thing that in the early Church, all the Apostles practiced ‘Adult Baptism’ (believer’s Baptism) and not the baptism of children due to the teachings of Christ!
Christianity is not a minors Business
The New Testament is filled with proofs that it was intended only for adults who had the genuine experience of Salvation, or “Repentance and the remission of sins” (Lk. 24: 47).
I want to show you a few examples of Scriptures that are addressed to the spiritual needs of adults!
In I Peter 1: 13 Peter said: “Gird up your loins of your mind.” How can our children understand the expression which reads ‘gird up the loins of your mind’?
In the same book Apostle Peter warns the believers in chapter 1: 14 “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance” (i.e. before you were illuminated). So in the life of a truly born again Christian, there was a life before he was illuminated and a ‘new life’ after he was illuminated (Heb. 6: 4; 10: 32). How many of our 4 to 12 or 14 year old boys and girls have former lusts in their life based on this teaching of Peter in 1:14?
Again Apostle Peter says: “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babies, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby” (I Pet. 2: 1-2). Isn’t it pure adult talk? Or can you tell us how many children keep in their hearts hypocrisies and the rest of the evils Peter enumerated here which are contrary to the holiness of God! At least we should give due civility to the revealed Word!
How many of our under age children that are 8 to 14, have in their life of having a need to “abstain from fleshly lusts which war against their souls!” (1 Pet.2:11). Are any of these letters of the Apostles ever written to children by saying, hey, children in Asia Minor, in Europe or in Rome?
Some of us may have our own opinion that Paul should have also addressed his letters to the Kids in Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, etc. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he addressed the believers there like this: “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ.”
Baptism of Jesus in River Jordan
Jesus was baptized at the age of 30; but not 13!! His divinity gave him the intelligence to discuss the Scriptures with the ‘Doctors’ of the Jewish religion as an authority at the age of 12! He was old enough to be baptized! If one of our modern preachers were there, he would have pushed for a baptismal service for Jesus right after Jesus had this serious discussion with those scholars of the Old Testament!
Parables of Jesus
Let us look at some of the Parables Jesus taught during His public ministry. In the Parable of the Sower Jesus said: “Some seed fell upon stony places” (Matt. 13: 5). As He explained the meaning of this parable Jesus said, “He that received the seed into the stony places, yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.” (Matt:13:21). It is very clear that Jesus really was talking about the adult sinner who received the word with joy, later when unfavorable conditions erupted, he gave up the word!!
On verse 22 of the same chapter, Jesus said: “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of the riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” Apparently, ‘the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches’ only affects an adult who is actively going after the things of this world.
In verse 44, Jesus said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth the field.” This transaction is done by a man (adult) and not a 10 or 14 year old child and it was intended only for the adult to perceive the magnitude of that commitment for becoming a part of the kingdom of heaven! The scope of the Parable of the ‘Pearl of Great Price’ (verses 45& 46) is just the same! The ‘merchantman’ is also exemplified as an adult!!
Peter’s Sermon on the Day of Pentecost.
No one will argue that the audience of Apostle Peter addressed on the ‘Day of Pentecost’ was made up of children! The Bible says: “They were pricked in their heart” and it was due to the conviction the Holy Spirit wrought in their hearts. Apparently, they were not under age children of 6-14 years of age at all! If anyone, for the sake of argument, argues that they all or some were children, then we have to call this supposition as ‘inconsistent’ based on the revealed Word! A great number of our pastors are not competent enough to comprehend the truth of Christianity due to the fact that they were also baptized without true repentance while they were children! They are like the uninformed Baptists who argue that the ‘Baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues as the initial evidence’ was only intended for the first century! It is not there any more and God has no intention to impart that blessing to any one any more! What a lie! Not only that, if any one believes in it, and waits upon the Lord in prayer and receives it, the Baptists will say, ‘it is from the devil!’ What a lie!! It sounds like they were in heaven and just came back to tell us that good news! By the way, the cut-off date they fixed to the ‘cessation’ of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and its blessings were at 11:59 PM our time (not Jewish time) of December 31, A. D. 99. Similarly, for the Baptists, the ‘Repentance’ Jesus demanded was only intended for the first century only, but not for now, would be a similar lie! But what they call something now as ‘Salvation’ is a mixture of Repentance and baptism of the Holy Spirit together! We do not know what kind of spirit controls their minds which allows them to deceive millions from around the world.
In the Teachings of Jesus
Jesus taught the Beatitudes that we see in Matt. 5: 3-12. How many of our teenagers could understand any of those Beatitudes? Even our grown ups have difficulty understanding the whole meaning of all the Sermon on the Mount which we see in Matthew 5, 6, 7, due to the lack of their acquaintance with the revealed Word of God!
Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.” Do the majority of our little children have a lot of money to have a bank account where they could accumulate treasures there? In my opinion, this is pure adult talk!
In the ‘Lord’s Prayer,’ our Lord showed us a pattern for our prayers! We see there an expression like, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” and so on. Isn’t this also all for the grownups!
With reference to fasting, (Matt 5:16) Jesus said, something like this. ‘Do not disfigure your faces while you are fasting!’ Who is he talking to? Has a child at any time come to Jesus and said, ‘Master, What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’
In the Ministry of John the Baptist
Would anyone be under the supposition that John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, was addressing the children, “O Generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Matt. 3: 7.
Can you prove to someone with common sense that these Pharisees and Sadducees, who took baptism under John the Baptist, were underage children?
Do you think if the Pharisees and Sadducees were underage children, how much they had comprehended when John the Baptist said “Bring forth therefore fruits meet (suitable) for repentance.” (Matt: 3: 8).
As the Publicans were ‘pricked in their hearts’ with John’s ‘purposeful preaching’ for their repentance, they came to John to be baptized. You might say there were some kids who worked as publicans! (Lk. 3:12). True Gospel preaching will always create ‘pricks in the hearts’ of the sinners; but it is intended that way so that ‘the Sun of righteousness’ will dawn on them; but you might say: “That preacher is criticizing others” (Acts 2: 37).
In the same manner, the Roman Soldiers were also pricked in their hearts and got convicted with the fiery preaching of John. Then they approached John with the question: What shall we do?
Are you saying that all Roman soldiers were underage kids; then you must be out of your mind! Or you may say at least some of these soldiers were underage children and what else can you say!!!
I just simply showed you some scriptures to demonstrate before your very eyes the silliness of modern argument in comparison with the proclamation of the true teaching of Jesus regarding “Repentance and the remission of sins.” I believe, now we have established a common ground.
We are Chosen for Salvation
In Pauline Theology, ‘God choosing us for Salvation,’ is pivotal in the teaching of the Subject of Soteriology (The Doctrine of Salvation). In 2 Thess. 2: 13 we read “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”
The Salvation of humanity has a Divine side and a human side. In other words, God has chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit. It was also based on our ‘belief’ of the ‘truth’ which is the Gospel. This Salvation of an individual is not for Church privileges and the purpose of that calling is “to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2: 14). In Romans 8: 29 we read: ‘God has predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son.’ What we lost in the Garden of Eden, through Jesus Christ we are regaining them! So the Salvation of a sinner must be taken as a very serious (weighty) matter!
Many have been deceived and a strong delusion is overtaking humanity. The result is also awful!
The Beatitudes - the Key to unlock the Kingdom of Heaven
In the Beatitudes, Christ formulated His principles for anyone who wants to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
The first four Beatitudes in Matt. 5: 3-6 forms a heavenly ladder by which penitent souls pass from the dominion of Satan into the Kingdom of God.
A. A consciousness of spiritual poverty dethroning pride
B. A sense of unworthiness producing grief
C. A willingness to surrender to God in pure humility
D. A strong spiritual desire developing hunger and thirst (for God’s righteousness), and enter into the experience of one who wholly abandons sin, and heartily turns to Him who grants repentance unto life.
In the Old Testament, Moses had set forth in the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) the portrait of the perfect Man, of the Divine life which the Lord Jesus Christ went forward to fulfill it! Through the glorious Gospel of Christ, the Holy Spirit is creating the ‘new man’ in every life as they embrace the Gospel.
Spiritual Enlightenment is the First Step of Repentance
The spiritual enlightenment or illumination is essential for Salvation. Many are baptized, but no enlightenment or illumination!
“The true Light, which lights (illuminates) every man, was ever coming into the world.” John 1: 9 (This is the correct translation of John. 1: 9 and most world renowned evangelical scholars are in agreement with it). We have to keep in mind the fact that the manner of His coming transcends all others!
Here we see the ‘stages’(steps) pertaining to a man’s Salvation.’
First, the sinner must have the enlightenment (illumination) Heb. 6: 4-5; 10: 32.
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Heb. 6: 4-6).
Step 1. Enlightenment or Illumination
2. Tasting the heavenly Gift (Salvation)
3. Making them partakers of the Holy Ghost (Baptism of the Holy Ghost)
4. Tasting the good Word of God
5. Tasting the powers of the world to come (Heaven)
The Greek word “PHOTISMOS” is translated illumination or light. The Greek word ‘PHOTOS’ denotes ‘the light of Divine truth, spiritual illumination, as in Luke 16: 8; John 3: 19; Romans 13: 12; Eph. 5: 8. Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5: 8, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” The English words ‘Photo’ and ‘photography’ derived from this Greek word. In Photography, as the shutter in the camera is open, the shape of the object goes to the film plate. Then the shutter is closed. Now the plate absorbs the picture! In the same way the ‘Gospel light’ (Jesus Christ is ‘The Word’ or ‘The Logos,’ John 1: 1-14) has to radiate the effulgence (Brightness) of the Glory of the Lord Jesus into the heart and mind of the sinner, immediately the ‘New Birth’ will take place and instantly the sinner will become a ‘Born-Again’ Christian! (John 3:1-8; Acts 9:1-9). The ‘Gospel Light’ can reach a human heart and mind faster than the speed of light!
The Greek word used for ‘to enlighten’ is “PHOTIZO.” It signifies to give light, shine (Rev. 22:5). The Greek word ‘PHOSTER’ denotes a luminary, light or light-giver. It is used figuratively of believers, as shining in the spiritual darkness of the world. Apostle Paul said in Phil. 2: 14-15, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as ‘lights’ in the world.” Only those of us who are enlightened by the Gospel (through New Birth, i.e. experiencing ‘repentance and the remission of sins’ and ‘become the sons of God’ according to John 1: 12; Phil 2: 15) can shine as lights or luminaries to lighten the hearts of others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Man, naturally, is incapable of receiving spiritual light inasmuch as he lacks the capacity for spiritual things (1 cor. 2: 14). But Jesus called his believers as the ‘children of light’ (Luke 16: 8), because they have not only received a revelation from God but also during their ‘New Birth’ they have received the spiritual capacity for it. The Lord Jesus is the illuminator of all men (John 1: 4, 5, 9).
Spiritual Illumination is Essential for Salvation
An inward spiritual illumination is essential for Salvation (Repentance). Though the Bible teaches this spiritual illumination as the ‘initial step’ in connection with a man’s Repentance (Salvation), several church fathers taught that this illumination is taking place only at the time of ‘baptism.’ Thus they paved the way for new teaching: ‘infant baptism and the baptismal regeneration!’ This erroneous teaching is contrary to the spirit of Christianity! The ‘message of Salvation’ (the Gospel) must illuminate the heart and mind of a sinner to have faith, then the conviction follows, subsequently confession takes place along with the acknowledgement of Lordship.
During his journey to Damascus, Saul saw the light from heaven and heard the words of Jesus saying “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 9: 4). But in verse 5, Saul was asking the Lord “Who art thou, Lord? Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” The ‘light from heaven’ had illuminated his path; but the voice of Jesus (The Word from heaven) illuminated his heart!
Some time ago I went to visit a man whom I had known for years. He was a very ‘mature Christian and at the same time he was a teacher at a High School!’ He was also the secretary of a local Pentecostal Church. As a matter of fact, he was a second generation Pentecostal. He also had several years of Biblical studies at a Bible College that was sponsored by a major Pentecostal denomination. But one day he asked me: “Pastor, is there a God in heaven?” Isn’t this all a man made story? Is there any basis for our belief in the existence of a personal God? If and when a minister administers Baptism to a child at a young age without an inward illumination this is what you can expect. He never had a personal encounter with Jesus! Baptism at the age of 10, 20, 30 or 50, without the ‘illumination of his heart and mind,’ will become meaningless and true Salvation will never become a reality in his entire life!
The parents neither have the right to force their children to take baptism, nor have the right to tell a minister to baptize their children! You are prescribing wrong medication to the wrong individual! If you are not extremely careful, you may dispense an ‘adult dose’ to a child!
The kids, who are baptized without an inward ‘transformation’ in their life, will never experience any connection with the real Savior even in their adult life! There will be no Salvation for those who HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED GENUINE REPENTANCE!
When Jesus sits on His throne to pronounce His verdict, He will say to this group: I never knew you: depart from me” Matt.7: 23. The word ‘Know’ in this verse has a deeper meaning: ‘know Him intimately!’ When a person genuinely experiences ‘repentance,’ he begins to establish a new relationship with Jesus! During the life of the individuals in this group that opposes salvation without illumination, will call the Lord, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and act like very religious, will show tears, will preach and teach, will recommend Jesus to others; will prophesy in Jesus name, cast out devils, do wonderful works; but they never had confessed their past sin with a conviction to begin with and no genuine experience of Repentance at all! (Matt: 7: 21-23). They are unaware of the dangers awaiting them! If this Bible is the true Word of God, it is one hundred percent sure and certain that this group will remain deceived, and will not make themselves available to experience the ‘rebirth’ (new beginning through Repentance) and to meet their Lord in the air! But some of our religious people (church members including some pastors, Sunday school teachers, deacons, board members and church administrators) will say to the Lord: “Lord, Lord, open to us” which is already a closed door!) (Matt. 25:1-13). It is already too late to open the door!
Faith
Based on the etymology of the English word ‘faith’ the root meaning has something to do with ‘uniting a man to God for salvation.’
‘PISTIS’ (the Greek word used for Faith), primarily means firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing things spiritual, is used in the New Testament always of faith in God or Christ. This word is used for ‘trust’ as in Romans 3: 25. The main elements in faith are (a) A firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgement of God’s revelation or truth (2 Thess. 2, 11, 12) (b) A personal surrender to Him (John 1: 12); (c) A conduct inspired by such surrender (2 Cor. 5:7).
Faith signifies trust in the Supernatural, and God expects total dependence from his converts!
Righteousness, Reconciliation, Justification and Salvation
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Cor. 5: 21). The man who trusts in Christ becomes the righteousness of God in Him. On the ground of the Death of Christ the penitent sinners are declared as righteous. As soon as the sinner places his faith and trust in the vicarious death of Christ, God counts his faith and trust in him for righteousness (Rom 4: 5).
“The death of His Son is the means of the removal of condemnation, and thus we receive the reconciliation” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words). By Christ’s death his people are reconciled to God. The shedding of blood is equivalent to taking of life (death). “Without shedding of blood is no remission of sin.” God has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ (II Cor. 5: 18). God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself (II Cor. 5:19). Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:10, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
Reconciliation implies a state of enmity has been replaced by a state of friendship and agreement. The sinners are pardoned and at peace with heaven through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
By faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ God justifies the sinner (Rom. 5:1). We are justified by his blood. In Romans 5: 9 we read “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Justification implies that there takes place, in the case of those who believe, a ‘reversal’ of the sentence of condemnation. Those who were guilty before God are accepted; those who were judged by the law are now received into favor.
The amount of faith (belief) the children have is not what Jesus demands in order for them to inherit eternal life. He is demanding a deeper commitment. Nothing superficial will suffice to be justified by the Father. Conviction and confession – total surrender of heart and mind to the full control of the Savior is a must during the time of ‘Repentance.’ The inner faculties of a penitent sinner will become transparent to the eye of the Creator as he takes a decision to follow Jesus!
The Purging of Our Conscience
The ‘purging of our conscience’ is essential for the penitent sinner to appease, his mind to enter into the act of worship. In Hebrews 9: 14 we read, “How much more shall the blood Christ, who through eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works (sin)
to serve the living God.” Our dead works are our past sin we committed against a righteous God’ (Heb. 6:1). The Blood of Christ is the only solvent that can cleanse our conscience (remove the guilt of sin – the stain of sin from our conscience). When true repentance takes place, the Almighty God will declare the penitent sinner as clear from all sins and its effects including the cleansing of the heart and conscience (Mind)! This is the true philosophy of Christianity: “The BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN” and its effects! (I John 1: 7). When Christ gave Himself a sacrifice for sin, it became the real atonement for the sin of humanity which satisfied a Holy God! A clear conscience is essential to enter into the spiritual worship which Jesus pointed out to the woman of Samaria (John 4: 23-24). Until the conscience is purged, the sense of past sin will not go away. The children’s minds are incapable of recognizing the need of elimination of guilt and stain from their conscience! As soon as the sin and its effects are removed from the life of a penitent individual, he is no longer in the jurisdiction of Satan (powers of darkness), immediately he is “translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son” (Col. 1: 13). The sum and substance of “The Redemption through the ‘Blood of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins’ (In some manuscripts it read as ‘In Him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin’) is “THE NEW CREATION” (Col. 1: 14; 2 Cor. 5: 17). In connection with this ‘new creation’ Apostle Paul said that ‘we need to put off the old man “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4: 23-24). This admonition is given not in reference with the underage children and their man-made religious act!
The Effect of New Birth
First, illumination must take place in the life of a sinner (Heb 6 4-5; John 1:9). As soon as a sinner experiences this enlightenment (illumination), ‘faith’ is being formed through the operation of the Holy Spirit. While a sinner exposed to the Gospel truth, his heart experiences illumination with the light of the Gospel; subsequently, he gets convicted and becomes remorseful about his sins!
A sinner, while he is convicted by the Holy Spirit about his own sin and the consequences of sin subsequent to hearing a God-inspired message of a preacher, the Bible says, the following experiences will take place in his life.
1. Illumination (Enlightenment).
2. Conviction through the operation of the Holy Spirit.
3. He will become remorseful about his past.
4. He will publically confess his sinfulness before his Savior.
5. He will (want to) cry out to God for forgiveness.
6. He will accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.(The acknowledgement of Lordship).
7. He, then and there, realizes what Christ has done on the cross of Calvary for His cleansing.
8. He declares his allegiance to the Sun of Righteousness.
9. He will quickly recognize the removal of his guilt (burden of sin).
10. He will immediately have a foretaste of eternity (the joy of Salvation).
11. He will be transformed to the image of the ‘Son of His love,’ with out his knowledge.
12. He will be alloyed to a different nature which is not mundane (Rom. 8: 29).
13. He will quickly recognize the nearness and the dearness of the cross.
14. He will (immediately) recognize a change in his ownership.
15. He will recognize the love of God the Father and His Eternal Son which sought after him.
16. He will fall in love with God’s Word and the incarnated Christ who promised eternity as his abode.
17. He will recognize the very joy of heaven that radiating its beams in the four chambers of his heart. and the blood that passes through his blood-vessels will send eternal signals from the upper chambers of the heart to the lower ventricles and then to the arteries to the feet and to the top of his brain.
18. He will also recognize that his blood is inundated with new signals with the desire to meet the one who died for him.
19. He will be overwhelmed with the love of God shed in his heart (Rom. 5: 8).
20. He will become cognizant of his faculties that are interwoven with a celestial love for eternity (1 Pet. 1:3-5).
21. He will have an unprecedented desire to proclaim what Jesus has done for him.
22. His heart will burst forth with the peace that Jesus promised (John. 14:27).
23. He will experience the formation of that ‘inner man’ which soon gives him an affinity to the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God namely, adoration of whom he got connected to and the eagerness for more of God.
These changes are supposed to be inherent in the heart of newly converted individuals whether their skin color is white, yellow, black or brown, or any other!
[At the age of 21, as I experienced the ‘New Birth’ in my own life during the preaching of a Minister, immediately I began to start weeping for close to an hour and did undergo these blessings I just mentioned right now! After forty five years of my Bible study and research in this area of discipline, without any reservation I am presenting these elucidatory remarks to all readers so that not only our spiritual eyes will be opened to see that ‘Repentance’ of a sinner is a miracle, but also to avoid playing with God’s plan of man’s Salvation! Only eternity can reveal how many more things happened in the life of a sinner during the time he experiences Salvation!]
Above all, when he realizes the meaning of the ‘vicarious death of Christ’ (Christ’s died in our place and, in Isa. 53 alone we see 12 statements regarding the vicarious character of our beloved Savior’s suffering) his love for his own Savior will be multiplied a million times!
The old song tells us what that love is:
I love Thee, because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow
If ever I love Thee (3), my Jesus ’tis now.
In Mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I love Thee (3), my Jesus ’tis now.
It is impossible for sinful man to redeem his fellow-man (Ps. 49: 7, 8). It is also impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away our sin (Heb. 10:4).
In order for us to be made the righteousness of God through Christ, God had to make ‘Christ to be sin for us’ (II Cor. 5: 21). We are “being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” 1 Pet. 1: 23. The ‘New Birth is essential for us to have a pure heart (Matt. 5: 8).
All these changes are promised to the humanity that meets the demand of the true Savior, which is ‘Repentance or Regeneration!’ This erroneous practice of baptizing children blotted out the design of God for Christian growth and maturity!
The teachings of our Lord and the Apostles and the position of the Neo-Pentecostals on Repentance are like two poles (North and South). This trend not only destroyed the Biblical concept of Church growth, but also altered the purpose of God in man’s redemption!
Results of this Unwarranted Baptism
1. This ineffective practice of baptizing children destroyed the spiritual growth of the church members! They are sort of ‘spiritual dwarfs!’ None of them ever grow in the Lord the way the Lord intended them to grow unless somewhere along the line they repent and receive the remission of sins! Today, more than 60% of the church membership of the Pentecostal Churches is comprised of the aforesaid group and they have no interest to grow in the Lord! They will try to meet the ‘status-quo’ and can’t meet the demands of Christ at all! Whereas a truly born-again person will have a greater interest in knowing the Word!
2. This practice created a mongrel (mixed) group within the Pentecostal churches, like the Samaritans of Christ’s time. The Samaritans claimed that they are the real recipients of the oracles of God! In actuality, they haven’t received anything from God!! The real Jews were the only race that received the oracles of God!
3. Since the followers of this erroneous teaching were forced to practice religion with no true conviction or true repentance, the ‘character formation’ Jesus taught in the Beatitudes in Matt. 5: 3-12, cannot be obtained by them at all.
The process of ‘becoming a new creature’ will become impossible in their life. Bible says: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (II Cor. 5: 17). In totality, Jesus Christ cannot and will not implant the ‘Divine Nature’ in their hearts because no new birth took place in their life! The word ‘new’ in this verse shows the new nature and the word ‘old’ shows the old unregenerate nature of a man! The old must go and the new must come into effect! It implies that Salvation is for the ones who have a history of a dark past (living in darkness). Then Christ came and rescued (delivered) them from the powers of darkness and has translated them into His Kingdom (Col. 1: 13)!
So Salvation is deliverance from a hopeless condition to a hopeful life! Salvation is deliverance from a despicable life to a glorious life!
4. Most of these ‘underage kids’ that have become part of the local churches through a man-made bridge, even if they are grown in years, in most cases, will act like ‘seven and eight year old brides’ of some countries!!
They cannot grow to the full potential Christ intended for them! With the majority of these people, they cannot function as Christians who entered through the ‘narrow gate!’ (Matt. 7: 13-14).
This group who practice this type of ‘false religion’ never preaches the ‘Fundamental Doctrines’ of the New Testament Church such as ‘Repentance,’ ‘Sanctification,’ ‘Separation’ or ‘Holiness’ or any of the demands of the Holy Writ!
5. This group of church members is incapable of assimilating the deeper teachings like the gifts of the Holy Spirit, spiritual maturity and so on! No spiritual cravings can be cherished in the life of most of these people due to lack of interest! (1 Cor. 12: 1-11; 14: 1-39). Prematurely born Christians cannot show ‘the genuine Christian love’ to other true believers or to the Lord himself that is described by Jesus and His Apostles! Instead, most of them have a great love for their own denominations!
The proponents of this erroneous teaching are pregnant with another heresy: Salvation is progressive in nature! Even if they don’t understand anything at this age, ‘one day they will become true Christians’ is a teaching so prevalent in Episcopal churches (Churches involving or recognizing church government by priests, bishops, etc. They also practice ‘infant baptism’).
If this heresy was a common teaching among the Apostles, Apostle Paul would have addressed the Colossian believers something like this: ‘to the saints and the faithful brethren and the children in Christ which are at Colossae!’ (Colo. 1:2).
6. The proponents of this false teaching have a propensity to limit the greatness and authority of Christ and His vicarious death!! Not only that, this false teaching casts doubt on the method of Salvation God planned before the foundation of the world. It can also undermine the very citadel of all Christian principles!
7. Baptizing children early in life, without true repentance will also root out their interest in ‘personal evangelism!’ The reason behind it is this: Jesus hasn’t done anything for them!! It is also due to a feeling that ‘they didn’t have any sin in their life’ to confess to Jesus and that feeling puts them in a very difficult position! They were not sinners to begin with! Many from this group claim that their life from their infancy to the time of their baptism they lived like ‘angels,’ and they were also pure and holy! They were taught that the only requirement in their life to become Christians is to stand up and say in the Church they are ready to take baptism!
A greater percentage of these type of Christians are not effective soul-winners! Since they did not have any sins in their lives, they feel like Christ hasn’t done anything for them; therefore, they don’t have anything to share with others! Yes, they have nothing to share about Jesus! A woman who carried a baby in her tummy for nine months and went through the labor will love her child more than anyone else in the world! A truly born-again person will definitely love his redeemer and Savior without any reservation or outside interference! You cannot stop them from sharing what Christ has done for them. Just like a new-born baby breathes the fresh air from the atmosphere as an inborn necessity for its survival, a new-born Christian will shake the world with the joy of his salvation! These people in this group never learn how to love their Savior enough with all their heart! They will pay their tithes; they will teach at the local Sunday School, they will preach and teach; but not with enthusiasm or religious fervor and wouldn’t dream great things from the Lord or for the Lord due to lack of that great faith Jesus is expecting from His followers! Their faith lacks in many areas in their Christian life! A Christian who has gone through the process of true “Repentance’ and experiencing the true remission of sins” (Lk. 24: 47) will have a heart-felt desire to go to the ends of the earth to share with the world what Jesus has done for him, like a bird in captivity for so long, finds it’s freedom so quickly whose excitement will cause it to fly to the unknown!
On man’s side ‘repentance’ is the only condition (prerequisite) the Bible demands from a sinner for his Salvation (Matt. 4:17; Matt. 1:15). The rest of the work for man’s Salvation had already been accomplished on Calvary by Jesus Christ! When a sinner repents, “He is delivered from the powers of darkness (Satan), and is translated into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ” (Col. 1:13).
The Eternal Effects of this Erroneous Teaching
If you baptize underage children that are not able to acknowledge the importance and meaning of repentance, the consequences are beyond measure!
1: They will not be able to enter into the blissful place as the bridegroom comes to meet His Bride. Then He will shut the door against them! (Matt: 25:9).
2. Without true Repentance or born-again experience that individual has nothing to share with others to win them for eternity! They cannot experience a burning passion for souls! In Daniel 12: 3 we read, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.” They will not develop any seriousness to reach out and minister to others without the indwelling Christ. If there is no indwelling Christ, there is no indwelling Spirit! This is the case of the ones that don’t have conviction, confession, or acknowledgement of the Lordship of Jesus in their life!
3. They act like children who are born prematurely! Though they act like repentant believers and move like they are doing great. So far NO one knows who went to heaven and who hasn’t!
4. It is religious abuse when we baptize under age children (in a way it is forcing religion without freedom to choose the path they ought to go). It is like giving a ten year old girl to a grown man to be his wife!!
5. They do not have, not only much interest in knowing the truth, but have no interest in defending the faith (doctrines) that was once delivered unto saints(Jude 3)!
6. They won’t tend to develop any significant interest to know which is right and which is wrong!
7. For lack of understanding of the true Word, they show a tendency to assimilate anything from the world into their life as well as into their church! This is true with ministers and believers as well!
8. In most cases, they cannot comprehend the importance of the Christian doctrines that demand Holy Living. Truly, the presence of the ‘indwelling Christ’ and His influence which is the Holy Spirit is enabling a penitent Christian to live a righteous life!
9. A penitent person usually won’t flip in the days of trial or opposition. But many impenitent will give up what he has and will become a looser! “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he no root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the Word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word, and he becometh unfruitful” (Matt. 13: 20-22). This is also true with the ones that are prematurely come into the ‘Kingdom of God.’
10. In the case of a pastor, he won’t show any interest for the teaching of the doctrine of Separation which the Bible teaches or total obedience to the Holy Word!
11. Since they prematurely entered into church and its activities, those ministers, most of them, will not preach or teach the Doctrine of Repentance. The Bible says: “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning in Jerusalem” (Lk. 24: 47).
12. The unrepentant child who receives baptism will never experience a call from God for the ministry! Then, how in the world do they go to a Bible College or attend a Seminary? It is just the human feeling that is going to be their guide!! Even if he somehow gets into the pastoral ministry, he is never going to be a voice for Jesus! They won’t show any exhilaration to reach the world with the Power of Pentecost (Holy Spirit).
13. If there is no indwelling Christ, that individual will never be able to experience the ‘true’ ‘Baptism in the Holy Spirit! The Bible is the sole basis for Christian living and practice. In his prayer for the Ephesian believers, Apostle Paul said, “That the Father would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with the might by his Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all fullness of God” (Eph. 3: 16– 19). Would this be applicable to these underage children who are ‘made’ partakers of the church activities!
Many underage children who claim that they became recipients of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, will never show any progression or sequence with that blessing. It is like they have no interest to obtain the gifts of the Holy Spirit as part of the “unsearchable riches of Christ” the Father intended for his heirs! They show deficiency to be ‘fervent in spirit!’ (Rom. 12: 11). ‘Glowing with zeal’ for Christ and His Kingdom is an alien thought for many of them!
Most of them from this group would never show any interest in winning souls for eternity! They have nothing to share with others because Christ has never done anything for them! Jesus said: “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, ye shall be my witness unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1: 8). What if a child claims that he or she got filled with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues as the initial evidence; and shows no interest in witnessing to others about his/her Salvation experience, what do you call this ‘spirit?’ Is it the true Holy Spirit? Not only that, based on their claim that they have the Holy Spirit in their life, after a few days or months it become extinct from their day to day life!
14. Many of these underage children, even when they come to years, tend to lean on their own understanding while the Holy Spirit is available as their Guide!
15. Many from this group cannot experience the fear of the Lord due to lack of the presence of the true indwelling Christ! The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom” (Pro.1: 7; 9:10).
17. They cannot express genuine love to Christ. “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul” (I Pet. 1: 8-9).
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (II Pet. 1: 10).
Do not be Entangled with Modern Tricks
Through film shows many are added to the local churches. In reality, the film that depicts the ‘Passion of Christ,’ (or any other film that depicts the Suffering Jesus) is only addressing the emotions of the viewers. Subsequently, those who watch the seen of ‘bleeding Jesus,’ will affect the emotions of the viewers. They will raise their hands and say they want Jesus in their life according to the expectations of the organizers! This is not real repentance! These types of programs are detrimental to the God’s plan for man’s Salvation. Here we are not giving an opportunity for those people to hear the truth of the Gospel. Without telling them what Salvation is and the blessings of eternal life, how are they going to earnestly covet for Life Eternal! Also the preacher must say what happens to those who are unwilling to obey the Gospel. In actuality, we must also present the audience with the result of rejecting the Gospel message, namely the “lake of fire” which is the eternal punishment!
But we must not ignore the commandment of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Jesus also said “Go ye therefore, teach all nations, and baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Jesus wants us (His servants) to teach nothing but whatsoever He commanded us! Since we removed many things from His teaching but added so many things that are relevant to our taste, then do you think our Lord’s presence will be in our churches? It is time for a clean up; your life is about to be over with! Christ’s coming is approaching us sooner than we expect! If you are a Bible believing Preacher (Pastor) or a leader of a Pentecostal denomination, I warn you that you may loose your eternity with Jesus if you fail to preach “The Full Gospel” that Jesus and His Apostles preached!!
Who Must be Born Again?
Right before His ascension, Jesus said: “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Lk. 24: 47).
Repentance brings a radical change in the life of a sinner which revolutionizes his whole being, contradicts and overcomes his old fallen nature. The only way to put away the old fallen nature in human life is through true repentance! The Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3: 23). When a person comes to the age of accountability, he must repent and receive the remission of sins from our Lord Jesus Christ!
God wants all men be made partakers of this new life (I Tim. 2:4). He demands all men to repent and turn unto to Him. “ Now God commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; where of he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).
At the very moment Repentance takes place in the life of a man, the power of the risen Christ begins to work through the whole man! Then Christ will become the object of his faith! Then and there, God the Father will become the object of his adoration!
Jesus emphasized the importance of ‘Repentance’ in his story of Rich man and Lazarus in Lk.16: 30. In the same story, Jesus himself inculcated the same principle (Lk.16:31), where he says ‘Repentance is persuasion.’ According to the general tone of this story ‘faith’ of the sinner is implied! No matter what, we must secure our everlasting Salvation!
When Christ shall sit upon his throne of his glory he shall judge the world! At that time he will say unto them on the left hand (the impenitent): “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt: 25: 41). If they are going to be cursed, the preachers that are not preaching this truth are definitely going to be cursed too (Acts 26:18; Gal.1:8)!
How to experience Rebirth NOW?
If you are one of the products of this false teaching and received baptism at a younger age, and now you came to the age of accountability, I request you to ask the Lord for forgiveness and acknowledge His Lordship in your life. At this time you will have to put your entire ‘trust’ in Him! Otherwise your faith is in vain!
In Romans 10: 9 we read, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved.” We also read in John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
But NOW you can tell the Lord (who is going to be the Judge later!), ‘Lord, Jesus, I am a sinner and I ‘Repent’ of my past wrong and ask for forgiveness. I believe you died on the cross for my own sin. I also believe with all my heart that your blood is the only detergent that can wash away my sin. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. I believe in my heart that God has raised you from the dead’ (Rom. 10: 9). If you prayed this prayer from the bottom of your heart, then you are saved and you become a candidate for Eternal Life!
As soon as we obey the truth of the Gospel, i.e. as soon as we confess our sins before God, we are also acknowledging the power of the blood that Christ shed on Calvary, His vicarious death, burial and his resurrection as the means of remission of our sins!
This is the only way any of these people from this category are permitted to enter into the eternal bliss! Then and then only they become part of the family of God!! They were deceived and the curtain of that deception must be removed by the grace of God to come to this realization that they need to repent of their past sin! And the ministers (pastors) and the priests who have deceived them will “be punished with everlasting destruction (punishment) from the presence of the Lord!” Apostle Paul wrote in II Thess. 1: 7-10 with full force: “God will take vengeance on them (i) that know not God, (ii) and that “obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus said, “If you love me keep my commandments.”
No denomination has the right to ‘alter’ the eternal Word by ‘majority vote’ to hinder people from entering into the Paradise. At the same time, they have no right to disqualify any one from following Jesus, who is the way to the Father, due to the lack of adherence to their man made teachings, i.e., human traditions! No man, including the Catholic Pope has the right to alter the eternal Word and its demand!!
Similarly, if we failed to eliminate this false practice of baptizing impenitent or unrepentant children, it will root out the foundation of Biblical Christianity. Some will argue that nothing has happened so far to our churches and they are growing and going well! But the blood of the precious souls that are eternally lost due to this non-biblical practice definitely will be on their hands!
Church of England – Fearful of Extinction
Forcing Religion at the age of 14-15 without inward transformation caused the death of Christianity in England! Recently, I have read an article that appeared on the official website of the ‘Church of England’ which is their royal religion. For about 500 years they deceived many with their kind of religion that is tucked with man-made doctrines and practices. They failed to preach “Repentance and remission of sins” according to Jesus’ final commandment! The denominations and the church folk who don’t preach true repentance (regeneration) are spiritually dead! Now the Church of England is bemoaning over the wrong past and is confused! According to their website out of 50 Million only 800,000 plus people attend their Sunday services and majority of them are seniors! They are very apprehensive of their extinction within a quarter of a century! No one in this generation has a clue to resolve this problem. Their Arch Bishop and the other ecclesiastical high ranking personalities are ignorant of the truth of the Gospel. Instead of preaching “repentance and the remission sins” as Jesus commanded, they practiced ‘confirmation’ which is a sort of initiation to take part in the communion (Lord’s Table) in the church. In other words, all children that are at the age of 14 or 15 become church members regardless of their heart condition through a practice called ‘confirmation.’ They did not preach and teach ‘repentance and the remission of sins’ as a prerequisite for the entrance into the Kingdom of God! For centuries they deceived their members with this ‘confirmation’ procedure. No one knows globally how many souls from this denomination alone are eternally lost without knowing God’s plan of salvation that He portrayed in the Holy Bible! Outside of England they have about 85 million adherents according to their Church website. Instead of their members turn a deaf ear to the ‘true Gospel,’ may the God of love open their ‘spiritual eyes’ and subsequently everyone will have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, who is the hope of the world!
As a former member of The Church of England, the author of this article along with His forefathers also became victims of this deception! Though they were all educators and ministers of the Gospel, God in His infinite mercy helped them to find the true meaning of ‘Repentance’ and as a result, all of them proclaimed the truth of the Gospel!
Now it is high time to give up all man-made ideologies and other philosophical thoughts which loom over ‘the Bride of Christ!’
I envision a time and day for us to give up all heretical teachings of individuals and established denominations, so that we will have a ‘true Church and true worship’ just like in the Book of Acts! Let us proclaim the truth of the Gospel that we see in the Bible!
May the blessings of the ‘Great Head of the Church’ accompany and crown this work for His Glory!
Lord Jesus, Thou hast created us for your glory and our hearts are restless until we find the pure truth of the Gospel proclaimed to the ends of the earth!
There are more scriptural premises in the Bible relating to this subject, but if I endeavor to expound all those verses, it will take so many more pages!
I have used very simple words to make this Dissertation easy for everyone to understand, including Christians who live in the developing countries with no Theological education! This Article will be electronically transmitted to thousands in many nations!
Pastor Tom Jacob, Ph. D |
