Nobody said it would be easy to become a believer in Jesus. The Holy Bible is rife with suffering. These prosperity preachers today who preach that when you give money to his or her particular ministry and God will bless you, are lying. What would Jesus do? Would Jesus hoard money for a rainy day? Jesus came down from his Rich Heavenly Throne to serve humanity, and he came a basic man without a halo (as depicted in many churches).

Another thing these prosperity churches teach is a false gospel. The gospel plus works means that Jesus died in vain. The word repent has been corrupted by man, because repent in today’s dictionaries means to ‘feel sorry’ or ‘turn from sin’, but the Holy Bible has many accounts of the word linking repented with God. Some example,s

And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart – Genesis 6:5

And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them – Judges 2:18

And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people – Exodus 32:14

metanoeó: to change one’s mind or purpose

Original Word: μετανοέω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: metanoeó
Phonetic Spelling: (met-an-o-eh’-o)
Short Definition: I repent, change my mind
Definition: I repent, change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God), repent.

Today, the word has been corrupted. For example dictonary.com lists this

See more synonyms for repentance on Thesaurus.com

When Jesus preached:

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel – Mark 1:15

Jesus is saying change your mind (stop the self-righteous works because I am the way the truth and the life) and believe in me.

It is physically impossible to stop sinning after we have been born again, and he who says he has no sin is a liar and the truth is not in him, so where are these perfect ministers of righteousness who have this Christlike heart?

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us – 1 John 1:8

Why are these ministers not in hospitals healing the sick, giving the blind back their site, causing new limbs to grow for those who have lost them. These ministers of righteousness who preach a difficult gospel are the enemies of Christ. The apostle Paul says that those who add to the gospel are accursed.

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed – Galatians 1:8

The gospel of Christ is simple. He made the way possible for us to return to the Father, as Jesus lived a sinless life, and His righteousness satisfies God the Father, so through Him we can have eternal life. He died for us, was buried, and resurrected three days later.

And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day – John 6:40

Sometimes I can get so hung up on the things i am doing for God, not forgetting how much I need HIs saving grace, for without His sacrifice, I would have no chance of going to heaven because I’m not a good person. The sobering truth is that nobody is good in the eyes of God, without the righteousness of Jesus Christ on his or her soul account.

However, when we have been born again and acknowledge that we need a saviour in Jesus Christ, then the works we do for God and others, do account for something. We accrue rewards in Heaven.

Some days I can pray, some days I can’t. Prayer is entering into a battle field. It is a battleship field for souls.

It is a daily battle as I’m still stuck in my fleshly body. Even the apostle Paul struggled with doing the right thing because of sin within. He admits this.

14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? – Romans 7:14-24

God knows we are imperfect, which is why He made the way possible for sinful man to return to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. Suffering in this life is always for our benefit, as horrible as it is in the moment, and can bring us into a stronger relationship with God, as we come to depend on Him.

Back onto these ministers or righteousness,  those who say we have to stop sinning before Jesus will save us. The truth is not in them because they say they have no sin. They are depending on their own righteousness to earn them eternal life, without understanding that Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world. Yes, the Holy Spirit gives us strength to overcome sin through grace, but I’ll be honest and say that every day I fail. The Holy Spirit makes the work of God easy, but when I try to do it through my own strength I fail. Every day I need to confess my sin to God, but thank God that Jesus is my righteousness, that He forgives me, that His blood washes away my sin. I’m not afraid to say that I fail in my walk with Jesus every day.