Ungakwazi yini ukubethela uJesu futhi futhi umbeke ehlazweni obala? Lithini iBhayibheli? KumaHeberu 6:6 sifunda ukuthi ungabethela uJesu futhi futhi umbeke ehlazweni elisobala futhi kusukela eBhayibhelini; the Word of God is the truth, this is the truth. People can say all kinds of things and substantiate their opinion on the basis of their own experiences, imizwa, and emotions. But in the Church, it’s not about people’s feelings, imizwelo, opinions, findings, and experiences, but it’s all about what the Bible says. Since the Church is the Body of Christ and founded on the Word of God instead of the experiences, opinions, imizwa, imizwelo, and words of people. God wants you to get to know His will, through His Word, and accept and follow His will. So that you, as a son of God (both male and female) shall walk after His will and through your obedience and life exalt Jesus Christ and glorify the Father instead of putting Jesus Christ and the Father to an open shame.
The basis of repentance
On what ground do people repent and come to faith in Christ? This question is crucial and determines the walk of a person for the rest of his or her life. Ngeshwa, many believers, including believers, who have a leadership position in the church, come to faith in Christ for the wrong reasons and because of that they put God and His Kingdom to an open shame.
They defile the church by their own way of free-thinking, doctrine, and speech, and their way of living and believe that by doing humanistic deeds (charity works) they make up for it.
But they are rebels of God’s Word and don’t walk in love, because they don’t submit to God and His Word, but adjust His words according to their will and opinion.
They pull on the emotions and feelings of the people and manipulate people and win people over, making them believe that they are speaking the truth and walking on the right path of life.
As long as believers remain carnal and live after the flesh instead of the Spirit, they shall be influenced by the knowledge, wisdom, and words of the world.
They shall be influenced and misled by izimfundiso zamanga and allow the knowledge, wisdom, and works of darkness into the church.
Because of this behavior, many churches are no longer founded on the true Foundation; iZwi, but on a human foundation; the words of people(Funda futhi: ‘Jesus Christ thrown out of the church‘ futhi ‘Ibandla lakhela phezu kwemibono yabantu‘).
Faith has become more an addition to life and a way to become prosperous and successful in life on earth, instead of being the life of people and people have completely consecrated their lives to God and a change of life (indlela yokuphila) has taken place.
Today, in many churches the roles have been reversed. Instead of people having a fear of God (awe for God) and being devoted to God and serving God, God has to serve the people. God has to adjust to the time and the will of people, instead of people adjusting themselves and their will to the will of God and His eternal Truth (Funda futhi: ‘Ingabe uNkulunkulu uzoshintsha intando Yakhe ngezinkanuko nezifiso zabantu?')
True repentance
There are many reasons why someone repents and come to faith and visits a church, like tradition, the pressure of surroundings, social aspect, for the blessings and prosperity, the promises, asylum, ukuphulukisa, signs and wonders, fear for hell, njll. But there is only one reason, whereby one comes to true faith in Jesus Christ and will stand in the faith in Him and that is through a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and the conviction of the sinful state of fallen man.
The conviction of sin by the Word and the Holy Spirit and your filthy state as a sinner is the only thing that will cause true repentance and a change of life.
Because without a conviction of sin and a conviction of your sinful state as a sinner, you won’t feel the need to change your life and remove sin.
You shall not see the necessity of salvation, repentance, and regeneration. Because you are not convinced that you are evil and you don’t consider the things, which are defined in the Bible as sin, as evil but as normal. You consider sins as something that is just part of humanity and the time we live in.
Because of the fact that the basis of repentance is not right, it often happens, that after a while believers fall away from the faith and return to the world and because of that reject Jesus Christ deliberately.
The good fight of faith
Ngikulwele ukulwa okuhle, Sengiyiqedile inkambo yami, ngigcinile ukukholwa: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing (2 UThimothewu 4:7-8)
Many are not able to finish the good fight of faith for a lot of reasons. One of the main reasons is that they love themselves more than they love God. They don’t hate their own life after the flesh, but love their own life and therefore they are not prepared to lay down their own life after the flesh and/or the attraction of the world is too strong for them.
Therefore it’s important to count the cost, before making a decision to obey and follow Jesus Christ and make Him the Lord of your life (Funda futhi: ‘Count the cost').
Crucify Jesus again and put Him to an open shame
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 (amaHebheru 6:4-6)
Lithi iZwi, that it’s impossible for people, who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, but have left the Way deliberately and have fallen away from the faith deliberately, to renew them again unto repentance, since they crucify to themselves Jesus, the Son of God again and put Him to an open shame. And this is not written before, but after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Funda futhi: ‘Ilahlekile olwandle lomusa‘ futhi ‘Once saved, always saved?‘).
Therefore let us fear God (have great awe of God) and be serious with the Kingdom of God and guard ourselves against apostasy from the living God and a return to the state of perdition. And instead of putting God the Father, UJesu Kristu, and the Holy Spirit to an open shame, let us honor and glorify God with our lives.
‘Yibani usawoti womhlaba’
