Repent
To repent simply
means to change your mind and therefore your direction. As to the gospel, to repent means
to be sorry for sin and make a commitment not to sin again. Repentance is a lifetime activity
for Christians. As we come
to God, we must have repentance for our prior sins and perhaps even a
life pattern of intended sin.
While we work to grow and mature to sin less and less, we are
never perfect. Christians
must have a heart of ongoing repentance for their sins as well.
Our reaction to
our own sin must be balanced.
Because of God’s grace, we should happily rejoice that our sins
are paid for. There is no
need for glumness concerning our standing before God as a Christian. Worse still, there is no room for
punishing oneself, either physically or mentally, because of our
sin. However, repentance
does require Godly sorrow.
We must not be flippant about our sin, but truly regret it with a
commitment to avoid repeating it.
All that is bad in the world, whether physical or spiritual, is
the result of sin. We should
regret every interaction with sin as a disappointment to God.
The result of
true repentance is an increasingly Godly life. A Christian has set a new direction. That direction is toward God in
matters of morality and doctrine.
While we will have moments of weakness where we step “out of
line”, we should recognize our error, regret it and quickly return to the
proper path. A Christian’s
life will therefore be noticeably different than the world, not because
of perfection, but because of direction.
Luke 13:5
“…unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
2 Corinthians
7:10 “For Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to
be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
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803-548-7762 Update Line: 803-548-5521
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