I'll answer the question before I start:
6 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.
4 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,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 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.
7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
Do you see that? Foundation of repentance.
Some people treat repentance like it's some kind of currency and when you tell God you're sorry for life as you go through it and the things you do wrong, then it re-ups your chance to get to heaven. They'll teach that if you have unconfessed sin your life, you are on the way to hell until you confess it.
Confession and repentance are NOT the same thing. Christ is the currency to heaven and he paid it once, which makes the rest of that passage scary as hell. Winning souls is also currency in heaven. Not winning souls to your church, but winning souls to Christ.
What is true repentance to me? The preacher said that the Lord our creator looked down and there was not ONE righteous man to work righteousness for him, so he sent his own arm, Christ. The book of Isaiah explains the relationship between God and Christ. Christ was the arm of the Lord, the same one who parted the seas so Moses and his people could cross over. When I heard what Christ suffered just because I couldn't be good enough to keep him OFF that cross, I repented of being a sinner. It was a realization that broke my heart because I'd fallen in love with that man who died so that I could have eternal life and all I'd have had to done was be perfect and then the Lord could have used me instead of Jesus. I wouldn't have been able to go through all that Jesus went through, but who is to say a regular person would have had to? Therefore, true repentance to me is sorrow that stays with you your entire life, that's why it's called a foundation. No building can stand without one and when it comes to mankind, the sort of foundation you build upon determines what you are building. If your salvation depends on confessing your sins diligently, then you have the wrong foundation. How do I know? Because the scripture says that the Lord knows our hearts. You don't have to feel grief when you confess your sin and I fully believe some people don't. The grief of repentance is more likely to lead you away from sin in the first place. See the difference?
Knowing who Jesus is doesn't save you either. Even the devil knows and confesses who Jesus is. There is a difference between a head knowledge and a heart conversion. The heart conversion is where you are born again, it's where you repent with the knowledge that you can never, under your own power, save yourself. It's the place where you start caring about something more than yourself, namely, other people.
This blog won't keep people from quoting that if you ask for forgiveness the Lord is trustworthy to forgive. Once again, I say, he knows the state of your heart and mind.
There is a cult that teaches that you have to confess your sins to those you have sinned against. They have found their loophole. They just jokingly tell you ahead of time what they are about to do to you and you laugh it off because normal people just don't act like that. Then once it's over you're like, "I know that didn't just happen." One day they are going to find out that God is not a joke and confession without repentance is useless. For them confession is currency. They think they are giving God something and he owes them something back, points for good behavior.
The Bible says there will be people reminding him one day of all they had done for him. These same people minimize what he did for them. You can't tip the scale on Christ, he never owed us anything, he does not need us, we are the ones who need him.
Have a nice day.
