Based on 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 (New King James Version)
“But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called.”
There are many people who are confused by this passage and believe that this means that when a person comes to Christ, that they must forget about the past life and remain as they are. And yes, God forgives our sins as the Scriptures say, but God also teaches through the Scriptures that in order to receive forgiveness, many things must happen for that to happen. That is, faith must always be accompanied by work so that God can see that it is genuine. Otherwise, faith and good intentions are useless if there is no tangible product.
For example, what would have become of us if God only told us that He loves us, but had not sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross? And, what would have become of us if the Lord had only told the Father that he loved Him and had not fulfilled the sacrifice of the cross? We wouldn't have any hope. But blessed be God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for all eternity that His Word is not a hollow and empty thing, full of false promises, but rather they fulfilled all things, and demonstrated them by Their deeds. God and the Son demonstrated Their love with irrefutable facts. So, can we say that faith alone, without works, is sufficient for the forgiveness of sins and salvation? No!
According to the Word of God (as we will see next), the teaching is very clear that there must be genuine repentance and conversion that not only consists of words, but of actions that demonstrate to God our repentance and conversion. And this affects both one's past life, before coming to Christ, and also, after coming to Christ. For example, the Word says this: “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:16-18. It is very clear here that we must seek judgment and restore the injured party. This means that, in seeking God's judgment, we must undo the damage we have done. That means doing justice. As part of conversion, a person must not only ask God for forgiveness, but must also try to repair the damage done, however possible. This is what true repentance and conversion consist of so that God can truly forgive. This is God's condition to be able to achieve His forgiveness. Of course, we cannot do this alone, but the work of restitution must be done as a fruit of the fact that we have given our lives to the Lord and seek to do His will. It is not about doing things alone, on our own, because those works do not save. John the Baptist also spoke about this when he preached about repentance: “Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ So the people asked him, saying, ‘What shall we do then?’ He answered and said to them, ‘He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’ Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than what is appointed for you.’ Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, ‘And what shall we do?’ So he said to them, ‘Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.’” Luke 3:7-14. So, we see clearly that the fruits worthy of repentance are about undoing or restoring the damage and about beginning to establish God's order in a person's life, that a person must begin to do the will of God, beginning with dealing with their neighbor. So, is there any room left to believe that when we come to Christ, that we do not owe anything to anyone, and even hide our past so that no one knows what we did (as many do), if God demands reparations and justice from us? Should we remain in the condition as when we came to Christ? No! We see, for example, this testimony of Zacchaeus in the Word, which further establishes this point of order that God establishes, as it is written: “Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, ‘He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.’ Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’” Luke 19:1-10. When did the Lord say that salvation had come to the house of Zacchaeus? When He entered the house? No. It was when Zacchaeus proclaimed that he would give half of his assets to the poor and that he would repay fourfold to anyone he had defrauded.
And finally, the Lord does not want our offering until we fix the problems we created. And this applies to our past life, the present, and forever, as it is written: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:21-26. So then, are you living in God’s order, or doing things your way? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.