The True Repentance

Описание: We are still in the fall season, although snow typically begins to fall around this time of year. It is lovely to see how the leaves fall to the ground, their beautiful colours ranging from red to yellow and brown. After leaves cover your green yard in the front and the sidewalk of your home, the gorgeous colours of the leaves become a problem. What is next? You will work hard to remove all the leaves and clean your yard as well as the surrounding areas of your home. After that, you will watch to ensure there are no more leaves or other debris in your green yard. After cleaning your yard, you will feel comfortable inviting your friends over for a BBQ and engaging in conversation. This is the same as our God, our Creator, who wants us to be His sanctuary. God is a holy God. Because of His love for us, He created us in His own image. But the devil brought sin, which destroyed that image of God in man. God is the God of love and grace. He called His people to come to Him again and receive that image once more. This is the word of repentance.

Repentance means to change your mind and turn your heart to God. It is about a complete shift in how you see yourself, your sin, and God. I can divide repentance into two parts.

The first is when a sinner is when a sinner accepts the call of God to come out from the darkness and chains of the devil. As we read in Matthew 3:1-2, God used John to call people to repentance for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. People came to him from Jerusalem, and all of Judea, as well as from the entire region of Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were all baptized by him in the river Jordan. True repentance is to be filled with sorrow for the committed sin. In 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, Paul said, “Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.” For the sorrowful, as God intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow leads to repentance and salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sorrow leads to death. In Acts 3:29, Peter called people to repent and said, “Repent, then turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” There is a promise here where repentance leads to a refreshing experience. Not shame, not punishment, but a fresh start with God. Repentance is not saying sorry to God, but to turn back to a loving Father. It is to change direction, make a U-turn toward God, and begin a new journey: to follow and walk with Jesus.

The second is the journal of holiness. God called the church to be holy, just as He is holy. In Romans 1:7, Paul wrote this letter to the church of Rome, saying, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be holy people.” 1 Corinthians 1:2, he said again, “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be His holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Jesus wants all His followers in the journey to heaven and the kingdom of God to be holy. In this way of holiness and righteousness, we face many challenges which make us sinners and fall short of the glory of God. It is why true repentance is a constant searching in our hearts, with the help of the Holy Spirit, who always reveals our sin to us. David said in Psalm 139:23, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” Then we come again to the Lord Jesus and humble ourselves in repentance, and He is ready to forgive us, wash us with His blood, and be accepted before God and sanctified. This is our lifestyle, as Christians.

1 John 1:8-9 says, 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This is true repentance and the will of God.

By Athanase Chiruza

Amen
This is our weekly live stream from Parliament Community Church in Regina, SK. You can check out our webpage at www.parliamentchurch.com