Why Turning From Your Sins Cannot Help Save You

Acts 3:26, “Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”

Acts 3:26 simply means that God sent His only begotten Son to SAVE US FROM OUR SINS. Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” The Bible is not teaching in Acts 3:26 that turning away from the act of sinning is required to be saved. That would be WORKS! That would be KEEPING THE DEEDS OF THE LAW for salvation. Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The LAW and the GOSPEL are two keys—the law is the key that shuteth up all men under condemnation, and the Gospel is the key which opens the door and lets them out. Acts 3:26 simply means that Jesus has the key to open the door, to free men from the condemnation that their sins bring upon them! Let's read our intriguing text passage again, shall we:

Acts 3:25-26, “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”

Carefully notice WHO does the turning... JESUS! Contrary to the Lordship Salvation heresy which demands that YOU turn from your sins to be saved, the Bible teaches that JESUS came to save us from our sins. The man who repents “TOWARD GOD” (Acts 20:21), has turned his back against his sin. That doesn't mean he is going to forsake them, it simply means that he has recognized his sinnership as a guilty sinner under the condemnation of God's law, and as a needy sinner he turns to Christ to be saved by faith alone.

Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

It is very important to learn in the preceding Bible passage, knowing that the purpose of the law is not to convince men to forsake living in sin; but rather, to BELIEVE the 'Good News' (Gospel) of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen to be forgiven of your sins.

Having said all that as introduction, the reason why turning from your sinning cannot help save you is simply because:

1. No matter how much you try to clean up your life, you cannot undo the sins you've already committed. According to James 2:10, even committing one sin is enough to send a person to Hell forever, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” What in the world makes any preacher think that God requires a lost sinner to forsake their sinful behavior to be saved, when even one sin is all it takes to go to Hell forever?
2. Another reason why turning from sin cannot save you is because no one has ever turned from their sinning. The very idea is absurd. You may self reform your behavior enough to hide your sins. That is, you can possibly live above reproach. However, you cannot live above sinning. The horrible false idea that you can turn away from your sinful ways is a giant fallacy. At best all you can do is become a better sinner! I am astonished that most preachers today foolishly embellish God's simple plan of salvation, complicating it by ADDING things which God does not require (e.g., turning from your sins, inviting Christ into your life, becoming a Christ follower, water baptism and inviting Jesus into your heart). You may do all those things and never be saved at all.
3. Nowhere does the inspired Word of God teach that you must turn from your sinning to be saved.

Jesus told us to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES in John 5:39. The issue is not what you think, what I think, nor what any other human thinks; the issue is what saith the Scripture?

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