I repented as Jesus instructed me to do.And as Peter instructed.
Then...... were you saved by what Jesus did AND by what you did? He did his part.... you did yours? By His Cross and by your repentance?
IF that's true, IF that's your position, then....
1. Is Jesus THE Savior? Or is He X percent the Savior and you are X percent the Savior - neither THE Savior but both PART Savior?
2. Does Jesus actually have some role OTHER than being the Savior? Might He be the one who makes you salvation POSSIBLE, the "Possibility-Maker?" He "opened the door" to heaven for you but you actually are the one who goes through it? Or is He the Enabler, giving more than sufficient strength for us to be saved but we gotta sufficiently "tap" it?
OR..... Are you saying that Jesus gave you faith, life, the Holy Spririt, salvation..... and THEN (in response, as one now alive and believing) you repented?
OR.... are you saying that Jesus' divine miracle of pure grace GAVE you the "free gift of faith, it's not your doing but the gift of God" and that that's somehow associated with repentance but that repentance is not at all the cause of it?
Matthew 3:2
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
IMO, it's already been soundly shown that these two premises are false.
1) It is NOT true that the word "AND" mandates a sequence of chronology. That's illogical and a violation of very simple grammar. The word is "and" not "then." This premise is founded on deleting the word quoted and replacing it with an entirely different word nowhere found in the sentence. ANY false idea can be defended if we delete the word actually there and replace it with an entirely different one. I don't deny that justification is ASSOCIATED with dozens and dozens of things ('and') I only question if OUR performance of all those dozens of things is what causes justification (making Jesus irrelevant and meaning we are justified by our words, not Christ's.... justified by our performances and accomplishments rather than by Jesus').
2. That being called means THEREFORE we must be able to respond to that call.... and if it's done, its our doing. I gave the example of Lazarus being raised from the dead. Consider that the dead are also told to be absolutely perfect - can dead people be morally perfect simply because God tells them to be?
???????????
- Josiah