Lent May Be Giving a License to Sin to People More Than They Think
If Christmas and Valentine's weren't the only hypocritical times of the year, I could also say Lent is another. As a former Roman Catholic who is now a born again Christian, I have often noticed how Lent had made me a hypocrite. In a sense, Lent has become the season to pretend to repent based on my experience. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent and I could start to talk about how more often than not, it might be giving a license to sin. Considering today is Ash Wednesday, I feel like this message would be meaningful to my readers.
I have observed how some of my worst enemies whose salvation I am praying for are at their best behavior during Lent and at their worst behavior for most of the year. It's no wonder why 1 Timothy 4:1-3 warns about doctrine of devils. These doctrines of devils have speaking lies in hypocrisy, having one's conscience seared with a hot iron, enforced celibacy and commanding to abstain from certain foods. I have found these in a Roman Catholic translation of the Bible called the Good News Bible. Remember that a Latin Vulgate Bible started the whole Reformation which had ended the Dark Ages. Later on, Calvinist translators would bring the King James version of the Bible to the hands of the people.
I could remember how as a Roman Catholic, I didn't really like to read the Bible at all. I found it boring as ever. I found it useless because aside from the fact I was not saved, there was the priest to interpret it. I didn't even realize that the enforced fasting during Lent is not only not in the Bible but it's also hypocritical. The Pharisees more often than not would look sober and let everyone know that they are fasting. They made manmade rules and rejected the full authority of the Word of God. Mark 7:8-13 is clear with the fact that the Pharisees rejected the Word of God to keep their own tradition. Paul warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, 3:16 of being careful of tradition received not by their pen or epistle.
How has Lent become a license to sin? Works salvation promotes a license to sin than it does inhibit it. Although they teach that salvation can be lost by a mortal sin but it can be gained again through the confessionals and other sacraments. Likewise, it seems to be in the mindset of people that you can sin all you please - just don't forget the sacraments and Lent. In the idea of Lent, people do more than just receive a ash cross mark from the Roman Catholic priest. They believe their hearts are ready to receive God and that it is repentance. They may believe that they have their sins forgiven through the priest. However let the days of forty end and they return back to their wanton lives.
Repentance and penance are two different things. Penance is defined as voluntary self-punishment as an outward expression of repentance. This penance is like the penance of Ahab. After Elijah had declared that Ahab was doomed, the wicked king merely put on display. The fruits of Ahab's penance were shown later when he condemned Micaiah the prophet of God and still took heed to the prophets of Baal. He also had intentionally defrauded Jehoshahpat whose son Jehoram married his Feminazi daughter Athaliah. Repentance on the other hand is derived from the Greek word called "metanoneia" which is a change of mind which begets a change of purpose. Biblical repentance is a repentance of one's sin which leads to a repentance of one's unbelief.
Why is Lent just penance and not repentance? I have observed how often repentance is twisted by the Roman Catholic institution. Instead of asking genuine sorrow and contrition, one only recites the Act of "Contrition" in the confessional after which the Pharisee gives instructions saying, "Well my son/daughter, pray five Our Fathers and Ten Hail Marys" or something similar to that. Likewise, the penance here is expressed by one's ash mark showing one is repentant of sin. While good works do show the fruits of repentance, an ash mark does not. An act of goodness is not a good work unless its sole purpose is for the glory of God and that it sprang out from a genuine conversion.
Why is there no real repentance in Lent but only penance? I do not see any repentance if one abstains from any meat from Ash Wednesday to Black Saturday. The command to "make this sacrifice" during Lent is nothing but hypocrisy. One can see how more of then than not that this fasting might just be as good as an act. One may be obligated to fast and do that obligation but maintain a mean character towards others. One may observe the Roman Catholic ordinances concerning Lent for forty days and still be mean even during Lent and after Lent, return to one's sinful living. One may show a judgmental behavior towards people who eat meat during Lent. The very command to abstain from certain foods during Lent is a doctrine of demons, it is speaking lies in hypocrisy and having one's conscience seared with a hot iron. This is nothing but outward display like Ahab's false repentance.
While the Roman Catholic way of observing Lent says they are getting their hearts ready for Christ, actions will speak louder than words. I don't see any repentance in praying the Rosary, going to Mass, abstaining from meat and walking while kneeling. Some people may pretend to do good works but they are not good works. All they are doing is nothing but vain prayers. If they were getting their heart ready for Christ, do they even know the real problem with sin? One does not get a heart ready for Christ through ritualism. Ritualism is nothing but vain salvation because it does not truly address the sinfulness of man. How many people I have met are religious but live rather foul lives. There is really no transformation because no conversion took place.
The problem of works salvation is that as long as your good works exceed the bad, you are okay with God. However the Bible has warned about that only one sin is enough to condemn the person to Hell. The soul that sins, it will die that means, both the robber who stole gold and the robber who stole brass are going to Hell for their sins before a holy, righteous God. Reading through Romans in context, one can see the whole problem of man. Romans 3-4 expressly talks about sin and salvation. Romans 3 deals with the problem of sin and the guilt of man. By God's Law, a person is really guilty and can do nothing about his or her sinful state. All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. James 2:10-11 says that even if yo try to keep the whole Law, you break it at one point, you have broken it all. Romans 4 declares that salvation is in Christ. The whole picture is that the Law shows us our sin and the need for the Lord Jesus Christ. God's holiness is sinless perfection which man cannot attain.
John 5:40 did not say, "You cannot come." but rather, "Ye will not come." and that is the problem of man. Remembering the rich young ruler, he lied when he said, "All this I have done since childhood." which was the evidence of self-righteousness. He sought to justify himself and refused to acknowledge his sinfulness. When Jesus told him that he must sell all he had and give it to the poor, his self-righteousness was exposed. He thought he was good enough but when he knew God's righteousness demanded more, he left. The problem was not only trusting in his riches but also in himself. Many times, people get rich by their own hand that they get arrogant. Likewise, they think that God will certainly reward them if they are good enough. However the only way a person can pay for his or her sins is by spending eternity in the burning Hell.
So often that people say that I am teaching a license to sin when I preach salvation is by faith alone. Yes, salvation is by faith alone but never by a faith that is alone. Even before the Reformation, that was the Biblical stand. James 2 talks about the interrelation of faith and works. It does not teach salvation is by faith plus works but that genuine faith begets works. If James taught that, he would have not warned about James 2:10-11 that we all fall short of the glory of God. The stand was indeed that while good works are not necessary to be saved but they are indeed the necessary fruit of one's salvation. Titus 2:11-14 shows that God's grace is life changing and not something you can use for lasciviousness. Jude warned against using God's grace for sin. If a person is truly saved, then they cannot live like the rest of the world because salvation results to a changed life.
When a person truly understands the implications of sin God's way and not by the way of Lent, he or she sees nothing he or she can do can save him or her. Instead, he or she comes to the realization of the heavy burden of sin. That's why I endorse preaching by using the Law to reveal people's sins. The Law reveals the person's sinfulness and the need of the Savior. The Word of God can only grow when the rocky soil of sin, the thorns of sin, the hardness of sin is attacked. Only when a person realizes the heaviness of sin and that how offensive it is will they truly be surrendered to Christ. Surrendering to Christ means acknowledging one's guilt and helplessness, which one can only be saved by Christ's saving power. He or she then does good works as a result of that salvation as a work is never good except it be done for the glory of God. Works salvation is self-glorifying, salvation in Christ seeks to glorify God.
I have observed how some of my worst enemies whose salvation I am praying for are at their best behavior during Lent and at their worst behavior for most of the year. It's no wonder why 1 Timothy 4:1-3 warns about doctrine of devils. These doctrines of devils have speaking lies in hypocrisy, having one's conscience seared with a hot iron, enforced celibacy and commanding to abstain from certain foods. I have found these in a Roman Catholic translation of the Bible called the Good News Bible. Remember that a Latin Vulgate Bible started the whole Reformation which had ended the Dark Ages. Later on, Calvinist translators would bring the King James version of the Bible to the hands of the people.
I could remember how as a Roman Catholic, I didn't really like to read the Bible at all. I found it boring as ever. I found it useless because aside from the fact I was not saved, there was the priest to interpret it. I didn't even realize that the enforced fasting during Lent is not only not in the Bible but it's also hypocritical. The Pharisees more often than not would look sober and let everyone know that they are fasting. They made manmade rules and rejected the full authority of the Word of God. Mark 7:8-13 is clear with the fact that the Pharisees rejected the Word of God to keep their own tradition. Paul warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, 3:16 of being careful of tradition received not by their pen or epistle.
How has Lent become a license to sin? Works salvation promotes a license to sin than it does inhibit it. Although they teach that salvation can be lost by a mortal sin but it can be gained again through the confessionals and other sacraments. Likewise, it seems to be in the mindset of people that you can sin all you please - just don't forget the sacraments and Lent. In the idea of Lent, people do more than just receive a ash cross mark from the Roman Catholic priest. They believe their hearts are ready to receive God and that it is repentance. They may believe that they have their sins forgiven through the priest. However let the days of forty end and they return back to their wanton lives.
Repentance and penance are two different things. Penance is defined as voluntary self-punishment as an outward expression of repentance. This penance is like the penance of Ahab. After Elijah had declared that Ahab was doomed, the wicked king merely put on display. The fruits of Ahab's penance were shown later when he condemned Micaiah the prophet of God and still took heed to the prophets of Baal. He also had intentionally defrauded Jehoshahpat whose son Jehoram married his Feminazi daughter Athaliah. Repentance on the other hand is derived from the Greek word called "metanoneia" which is a change of mind which begets a change of purpose. Biblical repentance is a repentance of one's sin which leads to a repentance of one's unbelief.
Why is Lent just penance and not repentance? I have observed how often repentance is twisted by the Roman Catholic institution. Instead of asking genuine sorrow and contrition, one only recites the Act of "Contrition" in the confessional after which the Pharisee gives instructions saying, "Well my son/daughter, pray five Our Fathers and Ten Hail Marys" or something similar to that. Likewise, the penance here is expressed by one's ash mark showing one is repentant of sin. While good works do show the fruits of repentance, an ash mark does not. An act of goodness is not a good work unless its sole purpose is for the glory of God and that it sprang out from a genuine conversion.
Why is there no real repentance in Lent but only penance? I do not see any repentance if one abstains from any meat from Ash Wednesday to Black Saturday. The command to "make this sacrifice" during Lent is nothing but hypocrisy. One can see how more of then than not that this fasting might just be as good as an act. One may be obligated to fast and do that obligation but maintain a mean character towards others. One may observe the Roman Catholic ordinances concerning Lent for forty days and still be mean even during Lent and after Lent, return to one's sinful living. One may show a judgmental behavior towards people who eat meat during Lent. The very command to abstain from certain foods during Lent is a doctrine of demons, it is speaking lies in hypocrisy and having one's conscience seared with a hot iron. This is nothing but outward display like Ahab's false repentance.
While the Roman Catholic way of observing Lent says they are getting their hearts ready for Christ, actions will speak louder than words. I don't see any repentance in praying the Rosary, going to Mass, abstaining from meat and walking while kneeling. Some people may pretend to do good works but they are not good works. All they are doing is nothing but vain prayers. If they were getting their heart ready for Christ, do they even know the real problem with sin? One does not get a heart ready for Christ through ritualism. Ritualism is nothing but vain salvation because it does not truly address the sinfulness of man. How many people I have met are religious but live rather foul lives. There is really no transformation because no conversion took place.
The problem of works salvation is that as long as your good works exceed the bad, you are okay with God. However the Bible has warned about that only one sin is enough to condemn the person to Hell. The soul that sins, it will die that means, both the robber who stole gold and the robber who stole brass are going to Hell for their sins before a holy, righteous God. Reading through Romans in context, one can see the whole problem of man. Romans 3-4 expressly talks about sin and salvation. Romans 3 deals with the problem of sin and the guilt of man. By God's Law, a person is really guilty and can do nothing about his or her sinful state. All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. James 2:10-11 says that even if yo try to keep the whole Law, you break it at one point, you have broken it all. Romans 4 declares that salvation is in Christ. The whole picture is that the Law shows us our sin and the need for the Lord Jesus Christ. God's holiness is sinless perfection which man cannot attain.
John 5:40 did not say, "You cannot come." but rather, "Ye will not come." and that is the problem of man. Remembering the rich young ruler, he lied when he said, "All this I have done since childhood." which was the evidence of self-righteousness. He sought to justify himself and refused to acknowledge his sinfulness. When Jesus told him that he must sell all he had and give it to the poor, his self-righteousness was exposed. He thought he was good enough but when he knew God's righteousness demanded more, he left. The problem was not only trusting in his riches but also in himself. Many times, people get rich by their own hand that they get arrogant. Likewise, they think that God will certainly reward them if they are good enough. However the only way a person can pay for his or her sins is by spending eternity in the burning Hell.
So often that people say that I am teaching a license to sin when I preach salvation is by faith alone. Yes, salvation is by faith alone but never by a faith that is alone. Even before the Reformation, that was the Biblical stand. James 2 talks about the interrelation of faith and works. It does not teach salvation is by faith plus works but that genuine faith begets works. If James taught that, he would have not warned about James 2:10-11 that we all fall short of the glory of God. The stand was indeed that while good works are not necessary to be saved but they are indeed the necessary fruit of one's salvation. Titus 2:11-14 shows that God's grace is life changing and not something you can use for lasciviousness. Jude warned against using God's grace for sin. If a person is truly saved, then they cannot live like the rest of the world because salvation results to a changed life.
When a person truly understands the implications of sin God's way and not by the way of Lent, he or she sees nothing he or she can do can save him or her. Instead, he or she comes to the realization of the heavy burden of sin. That's why I endorse preaching by using the Law to reveal people's sins. The Law reveals the person's sinfulness and the need of the Savior. The Word of God can only grow when the rocky soil of sin, the thorns of sin, the hardness of sin is attacked. Only when a person realizes the heaviness of sin and that how offensive it is will they truly be surrendered to Christ. Surrendering to Christ means acknowledging one's guilt and helplessness, which one can only be saved by Christ's saving power. He or she then does good works as a result of that salvation as a work is never good except it be done for the glory of God. Works salvation is self-glorifying, salvation in Christ seeks to glorify God.