“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
I John 1:9
Allow me to challenge you today with what should be a pretty basic principle for followers of Jesus Christ but one which, nonetheless, we need to often remind ourselves of. When we sin, when we are less than perfect, when we ‘blow it’ we need to confess our sin, repent from it and move on with God.
Some mistakenly equate the act of confession as repentance.
Confession is not the same as repentance.
Many people confess their guilt when they are caught but when another opportunity arises to commit the same sin they gladly jump at it.
Repentance is more than simply acknowledging your mistake.
It is a 180 degree turning away from it.
You not only recognize your wrong but you declare, by your actions, a turning away from sin and turning toward righteousness.
Does this mean I earn my righteousness?
Absolutely not!
To say otherwise is to trample underfoot the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
What my repentance does declare is that I now reckon myself dead to sin and what once held an attraction for me no longer does due to the transforming work of the Spirit of Christ in my life.
Living a holy life, growing in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is a process.
By holding on to sin and not confessing and repenting and moving on is to spend some more time in the wilderness of immaturity and unnecessarily prolonging the process of perfecting you for God’s purposes in your life.
Keep the fellowship with God’s Spirit active and engaged by confessing and
repenting when He makes you aware of some sin that needs to be dealt with!
I John 1:9
Allow me to challenge you today with what should be a pretty basic principle for followers of Jesus Christ but one which, nonetheless, we need to often remind ourselves of. When we sin, when we are less than perfect, when we ‘blow it’ we need to confess our sin, repent from it and move on with God.
Some mistakenly equate the act of confession as repentance.
Confession is not the same as repentance.
Many people confess their guilt when they are caught but when another opportunity arises to commit the same sin they gladly jump at it.
Repentance is more than simply acknowledging your mistake.
It is a 180 degree turning away from it.
You not only recognize your wrong but you declare, by your actions, a turning away from sin and turning toward righteousness.
Does this mean I earn my righteousness?
Absolutely not!
To say otherwise is to trample underfoot the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
What my repentance does declare is that I now reckon myself dead to sin and what once held an attraction for me no longer does due to the transforming work of the Spirit of Christ in my life.
Living a holy life, growing in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is a process.
By holding on to sin and not confessing and repenting and moving on is to spend some more time in the wilderness of immaturity and unnecessarily prolonging the process of perfecting you for God’s purposes in your life.
Keep the fellowship with God’s Spirit active and engaged by confessing and
repenting when He makes you aware of some sin that needs to be dealt with!
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