The Gift Of Repentance
By Abraham Israel
We know that in our Christian life, we cannot do anything eternally worthwhile without Jesus life and strength working in us to overcome the ugly evil trios of our self and sin, world and the evil one (John 15:5). The more we try to work our way with our own strength in our Christian life, the more we get frustrated and become unsatisfied with it.
So we must come to a mature understanding in our Christian life that repentance in itself is a gift from God to us personally. Repentance leads us to confess our sins and helps us be cleansed by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7, 9). Repentance is something that is not optional for a Christian but in the will of God it is His desire that all should repent and receive the heavenly abundant life to enjoy God's life on earth itself as He enjoys it in heaven (2 Peter 3:9; John 10:10). Repentance leads us to to more and more intimate fellowship with God but it does not qualify us for heaven because through the free gift of salvation once for all time Jesus has qualified us having sacrificed himself on behalf of our sins, and have made us perfect already in the sight of God (Heb 10:10, 14), He has qualified us to become partakers of God's nature as His dear children and thus made us already ready for heaven irrespective of our behavior which is in the process of getting transformed in to the image and character of Christ until our death which will fetch us a great eternal reward (2 Cor 3:18; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Eph 5:1).
In repentance we who have been perfected spiritually and positioned in Christ Jesus by God are being sanctified and transformed in to Christ's image which is the will of God for our lives on earth till we enter heaven to receive our reward of glorification for our maturity in Christ (Rom 8:29-30; 1 Cor 9:24-27). The first time repentance leads us to God in Christ Jesus to become a child of God and Kingdom citizens (Matt 3:2; 4:17), the other life time of repentance leads us to eternal reward in Christ Jesus (Mark 2:17). Martin Luther, the great reformer, wrote: "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ says repent, he means that the whole life of believers on earth should be a constant and perpetual repentance. Repentance and sorrow - i. e. true repentance - endure as long as a man is displeased with himself - that is, until he passes from this life into eternity. The desire of self-justification is the cause of all the distresses of the heart."
Repentance in itself is a gift from God and it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance (Rom 2:4). Repentance before salvation is telling God that I am bound to hell as a sinner, I need the Savior Jesus to save me from it. Repentance after salvation is telling to God that even though I am bound to heaven, still sin, world and the devil trips me away from fellowshipping with You and move me away from enjoying Your presence, help me by cleansing me through confessing to You that I have sinned when I sin and make me realize that I need your righteousness in Christ Jesus without which I become useless spiritually and might walk displeasing to You.
Walking with a heart of repentance makes a Christian keep himself away from deception of the evil one who makes the deceived to do his will (2 Tim 2:24-26). Only God can grant us repentance seeing our desperation and our love for Him through having a sincere desire to do His will through obeying His Word and His Spirit. Sin hardens a Christians heart and moves him in to deception if he does not choose to confess to God about it as soon as possible, so it is better to exhort, remind and empower one another daily to look to God and confess our sins for continued fellowship with Him and to live a fruitful Christian life of victory and eternal reward (Heb 3:13-15). When ever a Christian chooses to sin willfully and fall away in to the deception of the enemy of our soul Satan, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance as they are crucifying for themselves again our Lord Jesus Christ and are putting to open shame His great name before heaven and earth (Heb 10:26-31; 6:6-8). Things which are impossible with men to repent back are only possible with God to perhaps give repentance to those rebellious saints who sin, so that they might be able to continue to be enlightened to walk again with Him in His light, truth and life (Luke 18:24-27; 2 Tim 2:24-26).
May we come to realize the following if we are true Christians by acknowledging the following points as yes and amen (2 Cor 13:5-6):
A Christian no longer loves sin as he once did (1 John 2:15-17).
A Christian no longer brags about his sin as he once did (2 Peter 1:8-9).
A Christian no longer plans to sin as he once did (1 John 3:9).
A Christian no longer fondly remembers his sin as he once did (1 Cor 4:3-4).
A Christian never fully enjoys his sin as he once did (John 16:7-8).
A Christian no longer is comfortable in habitual sin as he once was (1 John 3:7-8).
May we loudly say a BIG AMEN to all of the above and glorify God!
As we as a Christian learn to abide in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, we do not sin intentionally and habitually by enjoying it but rather fall sometimes but immediately return back to God with repentance to become fruitful again to glorify God and inherit the eternal reward that God has in store for us (John 15:5; 1 John 3:6). As a follower of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, may we value the gift of repentance that God has given to us individually and not allow unconfessed sin perpetually to grieve our heavenly Father God's heart, but rather run to the father like the prodigal son to confess to Him our faults and sins to return back to the beautiful fellowship of His Presence as soon as possible (Luke 15:18-24).
"The Christian no longer loves sin; it is the object of his sternest horror: he no longer regards it as a mere trifle, plays with it, or talks of it with unconcern . . . Sin is dejected in the Christian's heart, though it is not ejected. Sin may enter the heart, and fight for dominion, but it cannot sit upon the throne." — C. H. Spurgeon
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