Repentence – Growing with Jesus: Part 3-4

Jesus Christ is ready to set us free from sin—heal us from the disease—but He does not force us to choose freedom. If we decide to hold on to sin and choose instead to not let Him set us free, what more can He do? We have doomed ourselves by rejecting His love and gift. “‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2). “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.” (Hebrews 3:7, 8).

“People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). God looks at our human hearts, with all its emotions, confusion, and conflict, and when He looks at our hearts, He sees its motives, its goals, and its desires. Bring your heart to Christ, just as it is, and pray the prayer, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23, 24). “

Many people accept an intellectual religion, or a form of godliness, when their heart has not been cleansed. Instead, let your daily prayer be, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10). Deal honestly with your own heart and life. Be as intense and determined as if your life is on the line—because the outcome of this decision and journey will determine the fate of your life. Having a false hope and nothing more will be your downfall.

Study God’s Word prayerfully. As you read His Word, through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we will begin to see the perfect standard of God. “For those who are not holy will not see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14) and without Jesus standing as our substitute with His perfect life and sacrifice, we have no hope of seeing God. Looking at God’s Word, including God’s Law, reveals our sin, and it shows us the way to be saved, and the way we can be healed. Listen to the Holy Spirit as you read God’s Word, and don’t discount His voice speaking to your heart.

As we begin to see the extent our sin, and we begin to see ourselves as we really are, we must not give up in despair. It was because of us sinners that Jesus came. It was never up to us to reunite ourselves with God—because as sinners we became unable to make that connection on our own. God, through Jesus, already has taken the first steps necessary in reuniting us back with God by coming to earth as a human so He could “[reconcile] the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:19). He goal is to persuade our hearts—the hearts of His creation—with His love. No human parent could ever be as patient with the faults and mistakes that their children make than God is with us who He wants to save. No one could plead more intensely than God could for us to turn away from our sin. All of His promises and His warnings are displays of His love for us.

When Satan tries to remind you that you are an un-savable sinner, remind him of what Jesus did for you. Admit that you sinned, but tell the enemy that “‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’—and I [may be] the worst of them all” (1 Timothy 1:15), but Jesus became human to save sinners. Jesus asked Simon a question regarding two people who owed money. One owed a small amount of money while the other owed a lot of money. The moneylender forgave them both, and Jesus asked Simon which person who was forgiven would be most grateful. Simon responded by saying, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” (Luke 7:43).

We all may feel that at times that we are ‘un-savable’, but Jesus came and died so that we can be forgiven. The value of Jesus’ sacrifice is enough to reunite us with the Father. It is when we begin to fully comprehend the love of God that we also begin to understand some of the infinite sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us, and our hearts begin to melt with compassion and repentance for our sins.


Next week we will begin the next topic that we will focus on  Confession and continue learning how we can begin and strengthen our spiritual lives by Growing with Jesus!

~Cam

P.S. If you are concerned that we will be taking four weeks for each of these topics, then fear not. I looked ahead and we just finished the longest topic that we will be looking at in this series.

P.P.S. As always, if I missed something, or if you would like to respond on this topic, join the conversation below!