- Oct 11, 2020
- 4,742
- 1,779
- 39
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Messianic
- Marital Status
- Celibate
Repentance is possibly the most difficult thing to maintain doing throughout your whole life. At least that is the way I feel about it.
Luke 13:1-5
"At that time, some people came and reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And he responded to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well. Or those eighteen that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed—do you think they were more sinful than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.”"
John Calvin, though I do not agree with him on everything said, "Repentance is not the start of the Christian life; it is the Christian life."
Further, we see John the Evangelist say, "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Acts 3:19-20
"Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah."
Paul then talks about "being saved" not a "one and done" sort of thing.
And not to mention Job, who suffered so horrendously who, by all appearances, was a "righteous" man. In fact, the only thing he did to deserve his ill will was that he was a righteous man. Yet we see even Job had something to repent of. He very well could have said, "Is it not enough that I have suffered unjustly?" But he does not do that. He humbles himself, having seen the Lord.
But repentance is not easy. It is not automatic. At least true repentance is not automatic. It is, or can be, very painful. It is denying yourself. It is denying all you are, all you have strived to be, to be contrite in heart. It is not simply confessing your sin in some sort of passionless mechanical thing. It is coming to the end of yourself. It is the knowledge that you are not God. That you are weak. And even that, "Yes, God, I messed up. Again."
BDAG Lexicon says one definition of repent is, "feel remorse, repent, be converted." But do we feel this way about our white sins? The sins that everyone else does and does not question? And that is why repentance is hard. It is not only the big mess-ups that we make that require us to repent, but it is that we tell our wife that she looks pretty when we don't like her outfit. It is when you don't speak up when people are doing their daily gossip and you remain silent and don't tell people what they are doing is wrong and damaging. It is when you have assumed you know what position your political opponent has without asking first. And every time we do one of these white sins, Christ requires us to come to him penitently and with remorse for them. It is knowing that even these white sins are whip marks on Christ's body. They are things that Christ bled and died for. And how much do we take God's forgiveness for granted? Does not Paul say, "Examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith,"? That is why repentance is hard.
Luke 13:1-5
"At that time, some people came and reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And he responded to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well. Or those eighteen that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed—do you think they were more sinful than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.”"
John Calvin, though I do not agree with him on everything said, "Repentance is not the start of the Christian life; it is the Christian life."
Further, we see John the Evangelist say, "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Acts 3:19-20
"Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah."
Paul then talks about "being saved" not a "one and done" sort of thing.
And not to mention Job, who suffered so horrendously who, by all appearances, was a "righteous" man. In fact, the only thing he did to deserve his ill will was that he was a righteous man. Yet we see even Job had something to repent of. He very well could have said, "Is it not enough that I have suffered unjustly?" But he does not do that. He humbles himself, having seen the Lord.
But repentance is not easy. It is not automatic. At least true repentance is not automatic. It is, or can be, very painful. It is denying yourself. It is denying all you are, all you have strived to be, to be contrite in heart. It is not simply confessing your sin in some sort of passionless mechanical thing. It is coming to the end of yourself. It is the knowledge that you are not God. That you are weak. And even that, "Yes, God, I messed up. Again."
BDAG Lexicon says one definition of repent is, "feel remorse, repent, be converted." But do we feel this way about our white sins? The sins that everyone else does and does not question? And that is why repentance is hard. It is not only the big mess-ups that we make that require us to repent, but it is that we tell our wife that she looks pretty when we don't like her outfit. It is when you don't speak up when people are doing their daily gossip and you remain silent and don't tell people what they are doing is wrong and damaging. It is when you have assumed you know what position your political opponent has without asking first. And every time we do one of these white sins, Christ requires us to come to him penitently and with remorse for them. It is knowing that even these white sins are whip marks on Christ's body. They are things that Christ bled and died for. And how much do we take God's forgiveness for granted? Does not Paul say, "Examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith,"? That is why repentance is hard.
