Sunday, July 23, 2017, 3:13 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Seek the Lord.” Speak, Lord, your words
to my heart. I read various scriptures (in the ESV) on the subject of
repentance.
From Darkness to Light (Acts 26:15-20)
And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I
am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I
have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness
to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to
you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending
you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from
the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a
place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to
the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem
and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they
should repent and turn to God,
performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.
Many preachers today are teaching
that God does not require us to repent of our sins, or else they are just
deleting (or omitting) repentance from the gospel message, or else they are
teaching that repentance is simply having a change of mind in the sense of
deciding to believe in Jesus Christ. Yet, is repentance required by God for
salvation, and, if so, what all does repentance entail? What is this “change of
mind” we are supposed to have? Is it merely to decide to believe in Jesus, or
is there more to it?
Well, to repent certainly
means to have a change of mind, but it is also a change of the inner man (of our
inmost being, our hearts). This change is an indication of our acceptance of
the will of God, too, after which we should think, believe and act differently
than we did before. In the context of most biblical references to repentance,
the indication is that one leaves his former life of sin behind him, casting
aside his idols, and his rebellion against God, in order to turn to God/Jesus
to follow (obey) him in all his ways.
And, this is made clear for
us here in this passage in Acts 26 where Jesus called Paul to open spiritually
blinded eyes, turning them from darkness (sin) to the light (Jesus Christ,
truth, righteousness), and from the power Satan had over them to God, that they
may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified
(made holy, purified) by faith in Jesus Christ.
So, Paul obeyed what Jesus
told him to do (vv. 16-18) by telling the people that they must repent of their
sins and turn to God, and that their actions from that point forward should,
thus, reflect (reveal) their repentance.
Obey the Truth
(Rom. 2:3-11)
Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice
such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or
do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance
and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to
repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you
are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's
righteous judgment will be revealed.
He will render to each one according to his works: to
those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and
immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are
self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,
there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and
distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also
the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does
good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no
partiality.
God’s kindness is his grace
to us in sending his Son Jesus Christ to the cross to die for our sins. He who
knew no sin became sin for us on that cross in order that we might become the
righteousness of God. Jesus died on that cross so that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness; so that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for
him who gave his life up for us. When he died he put our sins to death with him
so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. In fact, he died that the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk, not
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Pet.
2:24; Ro. 6:1-23; Ro. 8:1-14).
So, the purpose of his grace
to us is not just so we can escape hell and have forgiveness of sins and the
promise of heaven when we die. His grace to us is to lead us to repentance. In
fact, his grace, which brings salvation, instructs (commands) us to say “No” to
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and
godly lives while we await Christ’s return. God’s grace is NOT carte blanche
(free rein) to continue in willful sin against God without guilt and remorse.
For, if we walk in sin, according to the flesh, we will die in our sins (1 Jn.
1:5-9; Ro. 8:1-14; Lu. 9:23-25).
Thus, God’s grace should lead
us to repentance, and that repentance should produce a change of heart and mind
away from living for sin and self to faith in God/Jesus Christ, to follow him
(obey him) in all our ways. Yet, if we continue living (practicing) sin, we
should expect God’s wrath and fury, not his warm acceptance with open arms into
his heaven. If we do not walk in obedience to Christ and his commands, but we
go our own way, instead, we will die in our sins, not be saved in the end. Yet,
if we follow our Lord in obedience, and we are, by the Spirit, putting to death
the deeds of the flesh, we will live with Christ for eternity.
Flee and Pursue
(2 Tim. 2:22-26)
So flee youthful passions and pursue
righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the
Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish,
ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the
Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to
everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his
opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them
repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they
may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after
being captured by him to do his will.
So, repentance is a change of heart and
mind away from sin and Satan and to (toward) God and his righteousness. And, it
results in a change of thinking, believing and behaving so that we don’t do the
things we did before. Now our desire is for God/Jesus, to obey him and to walk
in his ways and in his truth. So, it is a lot like making a U-turn in a road.
First we were going one direction, and then we changed course, we turned, and
now we are going in the opposite direction as we had been traveling.
And, it entails fleeing worldly passions
and desires and pursuing righteousness, faith, love and peace. If all we do is just
try to stop doing what is wrong, but we don’t do what is right, then we are a
lot like a thief in between jobs, because nothing has really changed. Our
character hasn’t changed, nor have we truly had a change of heart and mind. True
repentance means we leave the way we use to live behind us and we now live holy
lives pleasing to God. This is not to say we will be instantaneously perfect,
i.e. that we will never sin again (See: 1 Jn. 2:1-2), but it is saying that
being born again is a new life, not the old life slightly cleaned up to be more
presentable.
When we come to repentance, via God’s
grace to us, we come to our senses, we realize we were heading the wrong
direction, we are broken and contrite over our sins, and we follow our Lord in
the right direction. We escape (break free from) the snare of the devil, who
had taken us captive to do his will, and now we submit to our Lord, and we are
desirous to do his will. And, we continue on this path until the day we die or
until Jesus comes back to take us to be with him forever.
And, all this is made possible because
of God’s grace to us and due to his sustaining power in our lives. All glory to
God. Great things he has done in granting us repentance and forgiveness of sins
so that we can now walk in freedom from slavery (addiction) to sin, and so we
can walk in the Spirit, by faith in Christ, and according to his righteousness.
Seek the Lord / An
Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to
waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good
today,
And your soul will delight in richest
of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with
you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while He may be found;
call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in
truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will
receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.
“My word that goes out of My mouth is
truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I
desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy, and be led forth in
peace.
The mountains will burst into song…
before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”
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