Repentance From Dead Works

King James Bible Daily Devotion – Learning Scripture One Day At A Time
Date: Thursday, August 20, 2015
Chapters: Jeremiah 33-35
Message Title: Repentance From Dead Works

Hello My Friend,

Repentance, a change of mind, a deep regret over sin or a decision made, a conversion from sin to God. When John the Baptist was baptizing people in the Jordan, it was a proclamation that they were repenting of their sins and turning to God. Today, when we accept the Lord, Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we proclaim that we are repenting of our dead works for the remission of sins and turning to Christ. Salvation is a gift given only by the grace of God through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Good works are not necessary to keep our salvation, but they are necessary to maintain a good relationship with Christ. “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 shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” - Hebrews 6:4-6.

Judah had been taken over by the Babylonians, most of the Jews had been taken into Babylon, those remaining scrambled to figure out what to do. They go after Jeremiah as the cause of the problem, and here he is sitting in a jail cell wondering whats going to happen. It was then that God spoke to him about restoring not only Judah, but all of Israel, this time promising many things, including a nation rebuilt and reigning under the throne of David. “And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;” - Jeremiah 33:7,8,15-17.

The Branch is the Messiah, Jesus Christ Himself, He executes just judgment, it is only through Him that we are called righteous. You see, once we accept Christ as our Saviour, God no longer sees a sinner, He sees a saint, one of His saints. Why? God looks at us through His Son, not us. If Christ is in us, He sees His Son in us, hence His righteousness, hence, The LORD our righteousness. “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” - Romans 5:19-21.

With Jews left in Jerusalem trying to salvage what's left and get God to repent of the judgment, you can imagine what was going on. No, they were not repenting, instead they were rebelling. In the one instance that they did repent of their sins they were found out to be lying in order to get the judgment lifted. This was in regards to the law of a servant, the law stated that anyone owing a debt paid it off working seven years as a servant, after seven years they would be free. However, many were not set free and still working, when told about this sin they let the servants go free, only to force them back into servitude after things started easing up for them. God comes to them with a greater judgment.

“Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.” - Jeremiah 34:17-20.

People think they can get around the Law, which is the Word of God, by making different versions of the Bible, making up their own laws, or simply using their salvation as a means to justify their actions. Now, what many people do not understand is that this judgment was not upon those who already repented or their sin and turned to God, they had already been taken into Babylon. This judgment was upon those who claimed to know God, priests, princes, and even other prophets, these all rebelled against the Word of God and were defying it. Those who go against the Word of God will have God to answer to. “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” - Galatians 6:6-8.

God uses a variety of methods to try and get people to repent and come to Him, when those methods do not work, that is when His judgment comes. God used the obedience of a family that would not go against the commands of their father, to shame the Jews into repenting. “Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered. And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.” - Jeremiah 35:16-19.

Do you know how many people pray and obey a set of rules made by man concerning God in hopes of reaching God? Millions, and millions die and end up following these rules because they did not put their faith and trust in the one and only person who could save them. The obedience of many unsaved people to the moral laws laid down by men of the world should put to shame many professing Christians who are disobedient to the Word of God. Yes, we are saved by the grace of God through our faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Saviour, no we are not exempt from the judgments caused by living in sin, if we do not repent of them and return to Christ we will suffer needlessly here on earth. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” - 1 Peter 4:17-19.

Today's Prayer: God, Thank You for sending Your Son to make the ultimate sacrifice for us, with His sinless death, burial, and resurrection You not only gave us a way to be saved from death and hell, You accept us and make us one of Your own. Only by believing in and trusting Jesus as our Saviour are we saved, and not by any works that we do. Lord, I know that I am only saved by Your grace, but I want to live my life in obedience to Your Word so that I can be the example and testimony that You need to bring others to Your Son. Lead me and guide me, show me the way You want me to walk, reveal to me any sin that hinders my walk with You, give me Your strength and power to repent of it, let me not get caught up in dead works, but work only to glorify You. I love You Lord and ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

Subscribe: Daily Devotion
Ready To Follow Jesus?: God's Price
Visit Our Website: I'm Following Jesus
Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus
Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.