Confession – Forgiveness – Repentance

Confession – Forgiveness – Repentance

Confession:

a written or spoken statement in which you say that you have done something wrong or committed a crime. To declare ones sin the presence of God.

Forgiveness:

An act of God's grace to forget forever and not hold people of faith accountable for sins they confess; to a lesser degree the gracious human act of not holding wrong acts against a person. Forgiveness has both divine and human dimensions. In the divine relationship, it is, first of all, the gracious act of God by which believers are put into a right relationship to God and transferred from spiritual death to spiritual life through the sacrifice of Jesus. It is also, in this divine dimension, the ongoing gift of God without which our lives as Christians would be “out of joint” and full of guilt. In terms of a human dimension, forgiveness is that act and attitude toward those who have wronged us which restores relationships and fellowship.

Repentance:

A profound change of mind from sin-centeredness to God-centeredness.

Confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action.

Repent:

To consciously turn from sin to God, to be sorry for what you have done and to resolve not to do it again.

This whole idea of repentance from sin is important if one truly cares about their relationship with God and others.  Sin separates us from God and causes pain to our loved ones, ourselves and others. Sometimes we may be unaware of some sinful behavior we have engaged in. Gossip, misinterpretation of God’s Word, ignoring God’s will and anger can fall into this category. For this reason we must always ask God to make us aware of the things that we do that either violate His principles, moral code, transgress His will or cause hurt to others. Once we become aware of our sin we must confess, acknowledging the violation there of, ask for forgiveness, and then repent so as not to fall prey to the same sin again. This is a somewhat simplistic approach. There is much pain, struggle and wrestling with God that sometimes goes along with the process.

The question I ask myself is, why would God bless me if I refuse to repent from a known sinful behavior that I am currently engaged in? The bigger question is why God wouldn’t discipline me in order to help me become aware that there are consequences to my sin. God’s discipline has helped lead me on that road to repentance. For this reason I believe God loves me and cares about me enough to use discipline to get my attention which I believe always leads to the greater good no matter how painful it is at the time. The Bible helps us understand God’s intent in this area:

Hebrews 12:4-11 NIV

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Romans 8:28 NIV

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I believe we need to trust God to lead us down the right path no matter how painful it may be. It is for our own good in light of eternity. Scripture tells us it is wise to trust God’s leadership:

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  

Once we acknowledge our sin and ask for forgiveness, it important for us to repent.

Good reasons to repent from our sin?

The Bible tells us:

That our sin separates us from God:

Isaiah 59:2-3 NIV

But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

With repentance comes restoration:

Jeremiah 15:19 NIV 
Therefore this is what the LORD says: "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.

Acts 3:19 NIV 
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Sin is destructive:

Ezekiel 18:30 NIV 
"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.

Romans 1:21-25 NIV

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Jesus rebuked those who continued on with their sinful ways:

Matthew 11:20 NIV 
Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed,

because they did not repent.

Luke 11:42 NIV 
"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

Luke 11:52 NIV  
"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."

Mark 3:29 NIV 
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

Repent in light of eternity:

Ezekiel 18:32 NIV 
For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

Luke 13:3 NIV 
I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

We are commanded to Repent:

Mark 1:15 NIV 
"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Acts 17:30 NIV 
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

Acts 20:21 NIV

I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

Acts 26:20 NIV

First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also,

I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds

When becoming a follower of Christ - receiving the Holy Spirit:

Acts 2:38 NIV 
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Unrepentant sin leads to death:

Romans 6:23 NIV 
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

James 1:14-15 NIV

but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Because we live in a fallen world, and because every day there are temptations to sin, we must have help to steer us away from sin. The importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit cannot be emphasized enough in helping us turn away from sin.

The Holy Spirit helps us become aware of our sin:

John 16:8 NIV

When he (Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

The Holy Spirit helps us avoid acting on our temptation to sin:

Romans 8:12-14 NIV

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Galatians 5:16 NIV

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Romans 8:5-8 NIV

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

To live a life set apart to God we must take to heart the work of Jesus which helps us put everything in perspective:

Hebrews 12:2 NIV

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

John 3:16-17 NIV

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

God really does want us to live a holy and pleasing life before Him. In essence, our spiritual condition, when controlled by the Holy Spirit, is a pleasing offering to God:

1 Peter 1:15 NIV 
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;

Ephesians 1:4 NIV 
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Romans 12:1 NIV

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Romans 8:6 NIV

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;

Romans 14:17-18 NIV

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Repentance, properly defined, is necessary for salvation. Biblical repentance is changing your mind about Jesus Christ and turning to God in faith for salvation:

Romans 10:13 NIV

for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 

Romans 6:22 NIV

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

God is gracious in His offering to save us from our sin. He even provides the help necessary to keep us from acting on the temptation to do so. We in turn need to seek God for the strength and desire to live a life set apart to Him. We cannot do this in our own strength. We need help from the Holy Spirit. There are however, steps we must take to reconcile with God. When it comes to sin we must confess it, ask for forgiveness, and then repent. This way God, who knows our heart, receives us in the way that pleases Him.  Because we live in a fallen world we will always struggle

with our own sin and the effects of sin coming from others. But when we focus back on the Christ who paid the price for our sin, we are reminded that we have a gracious, loving and merciful God who cares about our spiritual condition. With this in mind there is a lot to be thankful for. God leads us to repentance for very good reasons. This is so we can live the abundant life He desires and calls for His children to live, restore our broken relationship with Him and others, honoring Him by putting Him in His rightful place as Lord over our life. Our hope is in God for all these R’s: reconciliation, rebirth, restoration, renewal and righteousness.

Titus 3:4-5 NIV

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

Romans 5:17 NLT
For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:10 AMP

 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin’s dominion) through His [resurrection] life.

God has a great plan for our lives:

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Some really Good News about God’s desire for us:

2 Peter 3:9 NIV

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Just Sayin………………..Dave     

What Do You Believe?

Presupposition: An assumption, conjecture, speculation or something supposed without proof;

What do you believe?

Was all creation just a cosmic accident or did a designer, God, create all there is?

 The Bible says this:

Romans 1:20 NIV

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

The Bible says that there is clear evidence that there is a Creator. The Creator, God, exists even though we can’t see Him. God has given mankind the privilege to observe the wonders of nature, the universe, the beauty and awesome physical evidence of His complex design down to the core of our DNA structure. Each human being has a unique design and through this design we can see that God has clearly revealed Himself. However, even with this clear revelation in conjunction with His inspired Word, people still reject Him.

The Apostle Paul goes on to tell us in the Book of Romans the reasons why people reject Him.

Romans 1:21-23 NIV

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their

thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise,

they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal

man and birds and animals and reptiles.

It seems that human beings have a tendency to be foolish. I myself have acted many times as a fool,

a stupid, stupid man, a jerk, an idiot………..you get the idea. The fact is, I earned these titles by insisting on viewing life through limited perspective and struggling to do life in my own way. Even though I inherently knew right from wrong, I chose to renew my yearly membership in the Frank Sinatra “I did it my way” club. You would think after a while of hitting my head against the wall I would find a new role model.  After about 40 years of roaming through the desert (sound familiar), I began to allow the Holy Spirit to gain a significant foothold in my life, making room for Him to influence and change the course of my life forever. I had realized I had come to the end of my rope with my misguided wisdom and that I needed to turn completely to the One who had promised to reconcile me back to God and save me from spiritual death. Jesus is now intimately connected to my life and He is the one who fills me with inspiration and hope while continuing to be Lord over my life.

The important thing to point out is that my receiving of Jesus was not based on a feeling or the running out of ideas to win the lottery. I began to read the Bible and investigate the evidence of the existence of God through scientific, archeological and spiritual avenues. My faith is not a “Blind” faith. Because of all the evidence I have uncovered, I now live with confidence in God’s power and frequently act on my belief that he will keep His promises. With help From the Holy Spirit I am able to embrace the power of God because there is plenty of evidence that He is the Creator of all things.  My belief in God is more than just acknowledgement, it has become personal and relational. God’s purpose for creation in the first place was so that He could have fellowship with us. I feel privileged and fortunate to be part of God’s family but I am saddened by the fact that there are so many people, who believe innately that there is some kind of higher power, that created the universe, yet refuse to embrace the one true God who desires to know them and have a personal relationship with them. The problem may lay in the fact that God desires that we surrender our lives completely to Him based on what Jesus did on the Cross. One of the greatest stumbling blocks for many people who are investigating Christianity is the fact that Jesus said that He is the only way in which we can receive the eternal life that God had promised. The current “new age” thinking in this matter is that all spiritual roads lead to God. The Bible states clearly there is only one way to receive to eternal life and that in through Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 NIV 
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except

through me.

There is something about our fallen human nature that causes people to deny the Lordship of Jesus even though God says specifically:

Matthew 17:5 NIV 
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said,

"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

If we were to really listen to Jesus we would know the truth and receive the right way to forgiveness and salvation.

Even for those who believe there is a God there is a tendency to shrink Him down to the point where we significantly reduce His Majesty and power. We tend push God aside allotting Him only a back seat until we need Him to intervene when life gets tough. By this action God becomes regularly ineffective and insignificant to the person who chooses for the most part to go their own way and rule their own life. In essence, the definition of sin is the person who acts based on their own will and desires in denial of God’s will and purpose for their lives.

How can we change a person’s perspective on faith and the role God should play in that person’s life?

What can we do to help those who need more proof that there is a God who sent His Son to save the world? How can we help someone to trust God completely in every area of their life?

First, we must equip ourselves with plenty of God’s truth through the understanding of His Word so we can inform others of the reasons why we believe the Gospel and why we have given our lives to fulfill the mission of the Church. Then, when the opportunity arises, share that faith, and provide some proof of the existence of God.

To help us along in this process, here are some areas we can further our investigation to help equip us with the proof we need to help others take greater steps of faith toward the God of the Bible.

The Evidence:

Historical:

•  External evidence from both archaeology and non-Christian writers confirms that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is a trustworthy historical document.

The Bible is unique:
The internal evidence test reveals the Bible's amazing consistency. The Bible contains 66 books and

was written by over 40 authors, in 3 languages, on 3 continents, over a span of 1,500 years, and covers hundreds of controversial subjects. Yet, the authors all spoke with agreement; there are no contradictions. From Genesis to Revelation, there is one unfolding story: God's redemption of mankind.

Bible Prophecy:

There are hundreds of specific prophecies in the Bible which have been literally fulfilled, in many cases centuries after the completion of the Bible. Any attempt to late-date these prophecies is impossible--there is a copy of every Old Testament book but one from before 150 BC, and hundreds of these prophecies were not fulfilled until centuries later Some prophecies fulfilled by Jesus are Micah 5:2, which revealed where He would be born; Isaiah 53 detailed His suffering, work at the cross, and resurrection; Psalm 22 is striking prophecy of the crucifixion.

Physical evidence:

Old Testament:

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date from 200 B.C. to A.D. 68, included a copy of every Old Testament book except for one. Comparison with the texts of a thousand years later shows little or no variation and change between them.

New Testament:

• There are over 24,000 old manuscripts, that is hand written copies, of portions of the New Testament (NT). Over 5,000 of these old manuscripts are in Greek, the language the NT was written in.

• There are two excellent parchment copies of the entire New Testament which date from          the 4th century (325-450 A.D.).

• Earlier still, fragments and papyrus copies of portions of the New Testament date from         100 to 200 years (180-225 A.D.)

• Perhaps the earliest piece of Scripture surviving is a fragment of a papyrus codex containing     John 18:31-33 and 37. It is called the Rylands Papyrus (P52) and dates from 130 A.D., having  been found in Egypt. The Rylands Papyrus has forced the critics to place the fourth gospel back to the first century.

There is a growing mass of evidence from archaeology that the Bible accounts deal with real people living in real places. In fact, there is no known case where archaeology contradicts what has been written in the Bible. 

Scientific Evidence:

The Design and Diversity of life:

Intelligent design:   

• The assertion that the universe and all of life are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process.

Aspects of ID: 

•  symmetry, Orderliness, Discernible pattern, Predictability and consistency.

Examples of God’s incredible Design: 

• The Cell, DNA, The Human Body, The Human Eye,  The Immune System, The Brain, Species of Animals, The Universe etc. 

 

The Fossil Record:

• The Bible says God created separate species (“according to their kind”: Genesis 1). To this day  there are no transitional fossils that show an evolution from one species to another. The lack    of proof of evolution through the fossil record after scientists have inspected millions of fossils, is proof that life must have been created rather than been part of some undirected process.         Today there is no evidence that a process called macro evolution is found anywhere in nature.   So the scientific evidence actually reinforces the Bible that there had to be a Creator.

Here's one more pertinent consideration, never reported by the most devoted Darwinian: Charles Darwin's own statements of doubt about his theory. He openly acknowledged "the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe as the result of blind chance or necessity."  

With his "The Origin of Species" about to be released, he wrote to fellow British biologist George Bentham,

"Thank you heartily for what you say about my book; but you will be greatly disappointed; it will be grievously too hypothetical. It will very likely be of no other service than collocating some facts; though I myself think I see my way approximately on the origin of species. But, alas, how frequent, how almost universal it is in an author to persuade himself of the truth of his own dogmas. My only hope is that I certainly see very many difficulties of gigantic stature." (Charles Darwin)

The Scientific Laws:

• 2^nd Law of thermodynamics: All systems, if left to themselves, move from a state of order to disorder
• This scientific law is in direct opposition to the theory of evolution

The 2^nd Law In the context with the Bible:

Here, stated in a simple form, is the second law of thermodynamics. The whole creation is slowly running down. God has built a certain amount of entropy into the system, which, if not managed through the constant operations of dressing and keeping, will bring it to a state of disorganization. The Reader's Digest Encyclopedic Dictionary defines entropy as "the irreversible tendency of a system, including the universe, toward increasing disorder and inertness." The principle is that neglect of natural things is destructive.

The Bible confirms this law:

Hebrews 1:10-12 NLT

He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever.
They will wear out like old clothing.  You will fold them up like a cloak
and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever.”

Spiritual Evidence (Changed lives, Your own story):

Tell your story. Explain how your life has changed since coming into a relationship with Jesus. Try

to identify with the person you are speaking with and look for similarities in life experiences.

Build a relationship with the person. Point to the evidence that convinced you that the Bible

is God’s truth, His playbook for life and road to abundant living. Explain how you use biblical principle in your everyday life. Model a Christ-like character. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Act on your belief in God and His Truth.

More Proof:

There were over 500 witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus:

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NIV

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according

to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than

five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have

fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he

appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

So, what do you believe?

There is a lot of evidence that God is the Creator of all things.  We just touched upon a few of these proofs. What is most important to us is to know that that Jesus willingly died to pay for our sins and in doing so reconciled those that receive Him back to God. Also, the Holy Spirit indwells in those who have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior marking them with the seal of salvation that can never be taken away. This same Holy Spirit is the change agent who transforms our lives setting us apart to God while guiding our steps, counseling us and helping us understand God's truth. 

Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross we can trust God with the plan and purpose He has for our lives. Simply put, that purpose is to share our faith, love and serve God and others as well as help others do the same. What we believe matters and has eternal consequences.

John 5:24 New Living Translation (NLT)

 I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

Remember these truths from God's Word: (read - Romans 8:31-39)

If God is for us who can be against us……..nothing can separate us from the Love of God.  

Just Sayin……………..Dave