Many Christians feel that salvation occurs when you tell Jesus you are sorry for your deeds and wish to repent. Jesus demonstrated that Salvation occurs when one “enters the Kingdom.”
The phrase “enter the Kingdom” occurs at least 33 times in 16 verses in the ESV. To enter the Kingdom is to bring one’s life under the “rule and reign of God.”
Consider the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19.1-10
- Luke 19:1-10 ESV – 1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
In verse 9 Jesus delcares that salvation has come to his house. Yet when did Zacchaeus say the “sinner’s prayer” to say that he was sorry for what he has done? Zacchaeus demonstrated repentance with his heart, not because he was sorry for what he did, but by confessing to Jesus how he was going to live under the ruel and reign of God.
All Things Kingdom Related 