“And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.” 1 John 5:20b (NLT)
To hear some people talk, Christianity is just fire insurance—give your life to Jesus and get heaven instead of hell in the end.
Now when you get married, you repent of the way you have been living (as a single person), and promise to turn from that and be faithful to your spouse. That is repentance; to turn from one direction and go another. But once you have made that vow and married your spouse, it is not okay to live single—saying that all that mattered was that you repented in the beginning. Marriage may begin as an event, but it goes on as a million choices.
Of course there are times when we stray from our vows and act like single people, but repentance is what brings us back to the relationship. The relationship is what is important. We cannot keep going back to the marriage ceremony as evidence of our marriage. Marriage is based on an ongoing commitment—and that commitment can only be sustained by continued repentance.
The same is true with God. Confession and repentance are the ways we get in and the way we go on. Salvation is not some event where we made a deal with God then we will see him later. If we cannot rely upon God in this life, how could we rely upon him in the next?
The gospel is not the “great arrangement”. It is the good news of the presence and availability of life in the kingdom, now and forever. If we know Jesus now, we will be with Him forever. That is eternal life.
-Pastor Dino Griffin
To hear some people talk, Christianity is just fire insurance—give your life to Jesus and get heaven instead of hell in the end.
Now when you get married, you repent of the way you have been living (as a single person), and promise to turn from that and be faithful to your spouse. That is repentance; to turn from one direction and go another. But once you have made that vow and married your spouse, it is not okay to live single—saying that all that mattered was that you repented in the beginning. Marriage may begin as an event, but it goes on as a million choices.
Of course there are times when we stray from our vows and act like single people, but repentance is what brings us back to the relationship. The relationship is what is important. We cannot keep going back to the marriage ceremony as evidence of our marriage. Marriage is based on an ongoing commitment—and that commitment can only be sustained by continued repentance.
The same is true with God. Confession and repentance are the ways we get in and the way we go on. Salvation is not some event where we made a deal with God then we will see him later. If we cannot rely upon God in this life, how could we rely upon him in the next?
The gospel is not the “great arrangement”. It is the good news of the presence and availability of life in the kingdom, now and forever. If we know Jesus now, we will be with Him forever. That is eternal life.
-Pastor Dino Griffin
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