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How long does it take to repent to the point that God sees it as repenting?

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murjahel

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Oct 31, 2005
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The woman caught in adultery did not verbally repent, but must have in her heart, for Jesus said 'neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more', He did not say 'repent' for it must have been done already in her heart..

the thief on the cross was told 'today, thou shalt be with me in paradise' and likely had many sins for which to repent... for the words used by the gospel writers to desribe him indicate great sins for him... so Jesus saw a repentant heart, and did not ask him to verbally list his sins ....

so.. it is a heart thing, a choice to be sorry for sins, and to change one's heart and mind from justification of the wrongs, to seeing them as wrong...
 
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ChristianGolfer

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God knows our hearts so it doesn't take any time at all for Him to know whether our repentance is genuine.

That being said, it's important to remember that as Christians our relationship with God is not the only thing that matters. Our relationship with other people matters too.

So while God may know that our repentance is real because He knows our hearts, other people cannot know immediately. That is why we have to show fruit in keeping with repentance. Because other people can only see the fruit, not the root. And sometimes that will take a while.
 
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gideons300

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Simply Put said:
Days, weeks, months ?
Click to expand...
In my previous life, where I tried unsuccessfully to overcome my addiction to pornography, repentance was not my problem. I shed many a tear after I would fall again and I truly believe that each time I repented and turned from my sin, God accepted it and forgave.

But it did nothing for my situation. Satan still had my number, and even if I did well for a few days, or even a week (which was rare indeed), I still had no peace, for I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be tempted and fall again. So what was missing? I had not learned how to close the door behind me and remain SAFE.

Unfortunately, the danger of sin in a believer's heart is not that it cannot be repented of. It can, and we are taught clearly that Jesus can forgive us an unlimited number of times. Amazing grace! But we are also taught there is still a great danger for us if we do not learn the secret of 'closing the door'. We must:

"Beware, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God."

What is that danger? It is that our hearts can eventually become hardened to our continued sin, and after a while, our repentance is simply a going through the motions, but there is no more heart-felt hatred of the sin, no realizing that we are taking advantage of God's grace, and no true intention to turn form that sin, for deep within, because we believe it impossible to ever truly defeat it, since no one is perfect and we are only human, we arrive at an uneasy agreement with our flesh. As long as it stays "little sins" and does not get out of hand, then it is actually ok when we fall and no more tears are shed at all.

This is a dangerous place to arrive at, for it is here we have arrived at that state the Bible talks about when it warns us:

"Beware, let your hearts be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."

My fear is that multitudes are in this spot right now. It really does not matter what sin it is, or how large or how small it is. Sin is sin, and Jesus died to free us from all of it. So the question is not "How sorry must we be for God to accept it?". The question must become for us:

"How do I close the door that allows the temptation to creep back in and cause me to fall over and over again to the point my heart gets hardened?"

I can attest after 38 years of trying and failing to stop my addiction that trying harder is NOT the answer. I failed miserably, and even the times when it seemed I walked in victory, it was a white knuckle victory at best, and there was no rest for my soul.

The answer is simple but I never saw it until God appeared to me four years ago and pointed me clearly to the answer, an answer that has worked for me and for any and all who long to obey their God. We have not done what we must do AFTER we repent. We have not believed.

Our shield of faith is not hoisted, the walls of protection are left as rubble, and any time satan wants to, he can come in and cause us to fall......again. Are we not tired of the endless "sin-repent-sin again" cycle in our lives? Must we remain "healed only slightly, saying 'peace, peace', when there is no peace", no protection from the one who hates us? Is there an answer to set us free indeed as Jesus clearly promised us?

In these last days, the church of God is about to be taught how to close the door behind them and to lock satan out, and to lock us IN. We are about to discover the safety of our salvation and the sanctifying power of our God when HE is allowed to become the potter in our lives.

The word tells us clearly:

"The name of the Lord is a strong and mighty tower, and the righteous runs in and is safe."

That verse is about to be fulfilled before our eyes. We are about to learn how to light our lamps by believing we are really new, light in the Lord and thus finally become empowered to "walk as children of light". Ever since the grievous wolves crept in after Paul's death, the church has been taught that we become light by a lifetime of trying (and failing) to walk as children of light, and by that reversing of the order, we place our ability to walk in holiness square on OUR shoulders, and the result is a church of the overcome, rather than the overcomers. But thank God, a HUGE change is on the horizon.

God is awakening us in these final hours, and urging us to repent AND then believe His promises. He has spoken. Our shield of faith WILL quench all the fiery arrows of the enemy. Our God will NOT allow us to be tempted above our ability to resist them. Sin shall NOT have dominion over us any longer.

Let us finally get to the root of what we need to repent of. It is not sexual sin, nor pornography. It is not addictions to alcohol or drugs or cigarettes. it is not worldly compromise, overeating, gossip or unforgiveness. It is UNBELIEF. We have limited the Holy One of Israel and the promises of God. amazing as they may be, have not yet profited us, not being mixed with faith in them that hear them.

The church of Jesus Christ is awakening. Satan is trembling, for his lies are now being exposed. May we all put on strength and walk as overcomers, coupling the blood of the lamb with the words of OUR testimony. We are new. We are light. We are overcomers. Let us believe our God and live.

Blessings,

Gideon
 
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