So what is this repentance thing anyway?

    " LORD, I bow before you on bended knee, in humble reverence
     I give to you my broken spirit and contrite heart
     I repent of all my worldly sins and surrender to your total will for my life 
     And for the glory of your Kingdom
     By your sovereign gift of grace and mercy my sinful heart is washed clean."
                                                             TGarafola

     Acts 2:38 NIV … "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”
     1 Corinthians 6:20 NIV…you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

If you’ve every heard a pastor or faithful follower of God speak, you might have heard them talk about repentance. It’s easy enough to Google, but what exactly do people mean when they tell you that you need to repent and most importantly, what does God ask of you?

Repentance is just the act of acknowledging our wrongs and asking for clemency. Whether it’s asking for forgiveness for hurting a family member or asking for tolerance for being late to work, everyone repents for something sometime throughout his or her life.

What’s different about repentance when it comes to God? The Lord laid down the law early in mankind’s existence.  Because human beings are completely fallible and we tend to want to do things our own way, especially when it comes to the laws of God, we sin.

Even the most well versed, faithful believer needs to repent for his or her choices. It's especially so when we first come to the Lord because it’s all about acknowledging to God that we’ve sinned against Him. We're also asking for His forgiveness and love.

How do we know that God demands us to repent? It’s written in the scriptures, many times. The Lord commands us to acknowledge our sins, ask for His forgiveness and then sin no more. Remember, God has loved the human race since our first days and even now, he still loves us. God has never wanted any of us to perish, which is why He offers us His grace. It is by that grace, His forgiveness, that our eternal souls are saved.

Many of us fall away because we make the choice not to believe. We are thinking, feeling, free willed beings that ponder the reality of God and any ‘religion’ that demands you to believe without question, should make you question why you're following that ‘religion’. He made us this way because God doesn’t want puppets. He doesn't want blind submission, He wants us to learn and grow. 

The past is just that, the past. What is important is that we do return to Him and accept His Son, the Christ Jesus. Understand, Christ was not a prophet or a mad man. He is the Son of God and He will return to cleanse this world of its wickedness.

     Acts 17:30-31 NIV “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but       
     now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a 
     day when He will judge the world with justice…”

Quite frankly, I think the reason why the word repentance is such a turn off to so many people is because it forces us to admit and accept that we error and sin just as much as the next person. Honestly, it’s not easy to believe in a being that we don’t see with our own eyes and we can’t define by man-made science. It's simple to discard the fact that God is real because He forces us to defy our self-serving nature and beliefs.

There are a lot of bad people in this world and many bad things happen to the good people in it. There are many who do atrocities and call it out in Gods name but that is not the nature of our God. These days and the many to come will test our faith. As believers in God and Christ Jesus, we must continue spreading the word of God and helping others come to the truth.

We all must continue to repent for our sins and seek forgiveness everyday. We should all try to live a righteous life and continue to grow in our faith.  

Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a respectful reply or comment.

If you haven’t accepted Christ as your Savior, today is a good day to do it. Pray your own prayer or pray …

“My God, thank you for loving me even though I am a sinner. Thank you for your Son, Jesus, who died on the cross for those sins. I can build a relationship with you because of His sacrifice. I repent for my sins; I seek your forgiveness and your everlasting love. I pray now that you accept me and take me into your loving arms. I am your child Lord, guide me and help me grow. I entrust my life in your capable hands and look forward to the day that I sit beside you in heaven. In your mighty name I pray, amen.”