Repentance – The Key to Forgiveness

    One of the most precious promises that all Christians can lay hold on is found in 1 John 1:8-9 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 

    There is no one who can rightly claim that they do not sin and have no need of forgiveness. Only someone that possesses a pharisaical attitude can even think it. An excellent example is described by Jesus in Luke 18:10-14: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
   
    One expressed a self-righteous attitude seeing himself as having no need of drawing upon the grace and mercy of God. He instead was commending himself to God while looking down on the tax collector with contempt. The other not only realized his sinful condition, but knew he was not worthy of forgiveness in himself but only through the merciful grace of God. If anyone thinks they are beyond sinning, consider the words of 1 John 1:10, “If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him (God) out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.”

    There is a prerequisite to acquiring forgiveness from God. Acknowledging and confessing our sin or sins must be accompanied by true repentance. Repentance is the determination, accompanied by sorrow, that with God’s help we will not walk down that road again. We set out on a new course which is 180 degrees in the opposite direction, which is the way of righteousness.
   
    How important is repentance? It is of prime importance. John the Baptist when he was preparing the way for the Lord came preaching the message of repentance. In Luke 24:46-47, Jesus told his disciples, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
   
    Repentance is just as crucial today, maybe even more so, for the day in which we live is beginning to resemble Sodom of old. Even our country is on the slippery slope that leads to destruction. In Acts 20:20-21 Paul says, “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” Repentance is the first step towards a relationship with God and with our Lord Jesus Christ. Acknowledging one’s need for forgiveness and recognizing our need for the grace and mercy of God will start one off on an adventure down the road to righteous living that will yield blessings beyond which one can possibly imagine. This will stop our descent down that slippery slope of sin. 
    Acts 17:30-31 tells us, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.” If it is God’s command that all people need to repent, how do those in the world know this if they are not told? How often do we, in our sharing God’s word with others, make this command known to them? Are we hesitant in this area because we do not want to offend them, thinking they will turn us off if we even infer that they are sinners? The Apostles certainly weren’t concerned about this. They told it like it is and only the hard-hearted or the self-righteous took offense. You might find it very interesting to take out your Bible and concordance sometime and look up just how often the call for repentance was preached.

                                                     E. Weeks  ©CDMI


The Pharisee

    The Sunday School teacher was teaching about the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. “The Pharisee, she said, despised people he felt were inferior to him. The words he prayed weren’t a prayer at all, but were words of self-congratulation. He didn’t ask God for anything, but instead he bragged about himself for not being like that sinner over there, a tax collector. He spoke of all the good things he did that were superior to others.” The teacher explained that this Pharisee had a lot of pride in himself and that God hated pride. In comparison the tax collector prayer was asking for forgiveness.

    After pointing out the humility shown in the prayer of the tax collector, the teacher told the children that God was pleased with him. Feeling that the point of the parable was made, the teacher ended by saying:

“Children, let us now bow our heads and give thanks to God that we are not like that Pharisee.”
                                                                                       Author Unknown