Even the Saved are not sinless, that's why. Being saved means we do not have the just punishment for our sins (eternal death) to look forward to, but rather, because Jesus Christ came in the flesh, lived a perfect life, died in our place, and rose again, we have Heaven and eternal life with God our Father in store.
It is our choice, once saved, to "walk in the flesh" and sin, or to "walk in the Spirit" and win. We often choose the sin, because so long as we are still on this earth, we have a war raging between the Spirit and the flesh, and we sometimes lose a battle here and there.
BTTT, TigersEye.
Sorry, should have added ...and because we have believed these truths, confessed them openly, and they have changed our entire lives around from a focus on pleasing self to pleasing the God Who made us...
Makes a long sentence, though, don't it?! LOL.
A simple definition of "repent" is to turn. And I find it useful to compare the Christian life to sailing a sloop-rigged boat. To make it move forward, you have to actually be continually turning the boat away from the wind. Otherwise, the boat will naturally turn its nose into the wind, lose headway, end up "in irons," and flop at the mercy of the breeze.
It is certainly not a one-time process and it takes constant vigilance of the wind. It is an iterative, feedback process. In other words: Keep short accounts with God. Sense remorse for sin early and often, and seek pardon, which is amply available.
Wilkerson is exactly right. Without our repentance, we don't avail ourselves of the forgiveness and redmption God granted at the sacrifice of Jesus. WITH repentance, we can begin to forge a RELATIONSHIP with God. And it is the relationship, ultimately, that really counts. It is a mystical process through which God gradually puts a new heart and mind in us.
Another necessary ingredient, according to Jesus and Peter, is to be "baptized." I dont think they mean merely an outward ritual of water. It of course has to be a matter of the heart. But it also has to be public. God seems to demand a visible, public statement of commitment from us. At some point in one's life, there has to come a moment when you make a public declaration of faith. It's what joins you to the family of God's people.
Thus silent, inward repentance, belief and faith is necessary, but maybe not sufficient. If there is one word even more politically incorrect than "repentance" in most churches, it is the word "commitment." Another is "surrender," as in the daily yielding of our wills to God.
Sorry for the rant, but this thread hit a hot button for me. I've spent the past week fending off criticism for suggesting that the WTC disaster was, indeed, a portent for repentance. As with most of life's great events, mankind always seems to learn the wrong lessons.