I am wondering: if for a person to get saved, is confession the only thing that a Christian would have to do in order to seek forgiveness from God?  Do they have to rectify or make amends with their wrongs, too?  What if someone is in the process of being evil because they have committed a crime that someone else is receiving the punishment for (such as sixty years in prison) and they won't confess that they were in the wrong.  Do you think the Lord will forgive them when they had every opportunity in their life to confess their wrong and let the other person go free but failed to use the opportunity?  Shouldn't we be confessing our sins when it’s not convenient for us?  What do you think?  Please get back to me.

Sincerely,
Walk The Walk

Dear Walk The Walk,

God does require more of us than just to confess our sins.  God requires us to do several things to become a christian:

1. Hear God’s Word (Rom 10:17, Rom 1:16)
2. Believe God’s Word (Mk 16:16)
3. Confess Christ as Savior (Matt 10:32)
4. Repent of our sins (Acts 3:19, Acts 17:30)
5. Be baptized for salvation (Acts 2:31, 1 Pet 3:21)

Only after you have done all five of those things are you forgiven of your sins.  See our post “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” for more details.  Now back to your question.

One of the things God requires of us is repentance.  Repentance is more than just confessing your sins; repentance means ‘to change your mind’.  When someone repents of something, they not only feel sorrow, but they also do what they can to change their life.  In your example, a truly repentant person would confess their sin to the proper authorities, so that the innocent person could be set free from jail, and they could shoulder the burden of their own punishment.  When we repent, we “turn again” to start a new life (Acts 3:19).  Repenting doesn’t mean we will never sin again, but it does mean we have a different attitude toward sin.  When we repent of wicked behavior, we change our lifestyle to no longer include that behavior (Acts 8:22).  Repentance always involves works that are “worthy of repentance” (Acts 26:20).  Serving God is not merely lip service, but action (Jas 1:22).

In Revelation, it says that murderers, idolaters, people who practice magic arts, and adulterous people will be left outside the gate.  Could you please explain to me that verse?  Because I may be taking it wrong… to me it sounds like that even though I ask for forgiveness, I will still be left outside of the gate. Thank you so much again and may God bless you!

Sincerely,
Seeking Grace

Dear Seeking Grace,

You will be left outside the gate unless you are washed in Christ’s blood.  The verse you refer to is Rev. 22:15.  The verse before it (Rev 22:14) references the contrast – those let in will be the ones who have washed their robes.  Everyone has sinned (Rom 3:23) and is dead in those sins, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus (Rom 6:23).  If you are in Christ, you will be allowed into heaven.  So the question is, how do we get into Christ and receive the gift of eternal life?

We are saved by God’s grace, and we receive that grace through faith (Eph 2:8).  Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6).  Faith is defined as ‘belief to the point of action’.  Imagine a child that climbed a tall tree and got stuck.  The child’s father comes out and says, “Jump down, and I will catch you!”  How do you know if the child has faith in their father?  You know they have faith when they hear what he says and trust the words enough to jump out of the tree into their father’s waiting arms.  Faith comes from hearing God’s Word (Rom 10:17).  The Bible is God’s message to mankind; it is His roadmap for our salvation (Rom 1:16).  When we hear what God says and then act upon those words, we have faith (Jas 2:18).  It is only in our actions that our faith is alive (Jas 2:17).  See our post “What Must I Do To Be Saved” to learn what God says we must do to become christians.  Take the Bible and except no substitute.

What happened to the souls of the people who died before Jesus died for our sins?

Sincerely,
Ancestral Angst

Dear Ancestral Angst,

Jesus’ blood covers the sins of the faithful who came before Him and the sins of the faithful who came after.  Abraham went to Paradise, and his sins were forgiven (Lk 16:23).  When David’s son died, David understood that when he died, he would go to heaven and be with his son (2 Sam 12:23).  Moses and Elijah both appeared with Jesus at His transfiguration, making it clear that they, too, were in heaven (Matt 17:3).

When Jesus died on the cross, He spilt His blood once and for all (Heb 9:12).  Jesus’ redeeming blood redeemed both those who would come after Him and those who lived before the crucifixion (Heb 9:15).  Jesus’ blood flows in both directions.

      If we are saved by grace, where does faith, God's love, and mercy fit into the plan of God?

Sincerely,
Pulling Together The Pieces

Dear Pulling Together The Pieces,

In Eph 2:8, it says that we are saved by grace through faith.  God’s grace makes it possible for us to receive salvation.  ‘Grace’ means ‘gift’, and God gave us the gift of salvation when He sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins (Col 2:14).  However, God also said that in order to receive the gift of salvation, we must place our faith in Jesus.  Jesus is the doorway to God’s grace (Jhn 10:7-9).

God’s love and mercy are why He sent Jesus to die for us – God loved us even while we were sinners (Rom 5:8).  Jesus’ death purchased our salvation and made God’s grace available to all (Tit 2:11), and faith is how we have access to that grace.  And last, but not least, God shows us how to have a living faith by giving us His Word (Rom 10:17).

    I know you probably hear this a lot.  In 1986, I know without a doubt, Jesus saved me.  I had no fear of dying.  I prayed to Jesus all night that night to just take me on home.  I was that positive where I was going, no doubting, not even scared.  But after about a year, I got out of church, got married, had children, then went back to church, got to witness my wife getting saved, and stayed in church.  After that, not to give the devil any praise, I got to doubting my salvation so bad it got me out of church again, this time for about 20+ years.  Now we are back in church, but I just don't seem to have the assurance about being saved like I did when I first got saved… or did I get saved at all?  The devil still makes me doubt now and again, but I still keep going.  I see a lot of people shouting in our church, but I don't feel the need to shout like that.  It’s tough; I just want to feel what I felt when I first got saved, no doubting, no fear, full of confidence, knowing where I would go if something happened to me.  My mind is just back and forth, back and forth.  Our preacher says things like, “You feel in your heart before you do in your mind.”  I don't know what that means.  Thank you for your time.  God bless.

Sincerely,
Unstable Soul

Dear Unstable Soul,

It sounds like you are using your personal experiences and feelings as the judge of whether or not you are saved.  This is a very common thing to do, but it isn’t the correct gauge of our salvation.  Some people feel confident that they are saved when, in fact, they are lost (Matt 7:21-23).  Others’ hearts condemn them while they are actually saved (1 Jn 3:19-21).  It is our adherence to God’s Word that saves us (Rom 1:16), not how we feel about the issue.  If you are doing what God says you must do to be saved, then you can have confidence regardless of how you feel (see “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” for further details).

This church you are attending is emphasizing feelings over faith.  Faith is a concrete thing that is objective, not subjective.  Faith comes from hearing God’s Word and then living by that Word (Rom 10:17).  We can find true confidence when we can read from God’s Word and then see that our life matches it.  This preacher is teaching the opposite.  Time to find a church that gives you book, chapter, and verse to place your confidence in.  We know of many congregations like this all around the country.  We’d be happy to get you in touch with someone locally if you’d like.  Our email is askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.