Thursday, December 19, 2013

Repentance - Turning to God or Turning from Sin?

Repentance is turning from our ways to God's way, from ourselves to Him.

Repentance does involve turning from sin because sin is "my way, my choice, my actions, my path and my decision." Can repentance ever not involve turning from sin? Of course not - that is immoral and absurd. Repentance has always been, throughout the entirety of God's dealings with the human race, turning from sin to God. Can repentance simply be "turning from sin", turning from ourselves? To what? To self-improvement?

It is twofold, as 1 Chronicles expresses so eloquently, turning from our wicked ways and seeking His face".

Seeking His face involves admitting that "my ways" are inadequate. That I need Him.

We need Him, because our sin and our actions cannot be dealt with by us. We need His intervention. If there was not problem with our actions, if we were perfect, we would not be needing His salvation in the first place.

He saves us from sin.

He makes us a new creation, removing the body of sin, the person who has sinned and will continue to sin, from us. He has done this. He is doing this each day. And, His work in us will be finished when we see His face.


No comments: