Repentance

Being fully aware of what repentance means is not only important but indispensable because repentance can’t be avoided by anybody.

 

“Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them- do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13.4-5

 

Repentance is a present of God by which the guilty disposition can reach humbleness.

 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6.23

 

How wonderful it is while it is said in the Old Testament that if you sin, you will die but the New Testament’s message is if you confess your sins you will save your life.

 

Many people believe (and mislead themselves) that all of their sins are forgiven and their paths are straight lead to heaven. They say that Christ died on the cross instead of them, He washed away all of their sins and they don’t have to do anything else because their salvation is sure, hallelujah!

 

This interpretation is deadly wrong that is enough for me to believe that Christ died instead of me so I am saved.

 

People who believe in this are not motivated with seeing inside themselves or recognizing their sins, so they don’t have repentance. THE FUNDAMENT OF CONVERSION IS REPENTANCE! Without sincere repentance there is no salvation.

 

“Repent, then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Acts 3.19

 

It is a fully misunderstood interpretation when people believe that Christ died instead of me. No, He died FOR ME!!!

 

It is an enormous difference. If He died instead of me, why should I carry my cross too?

 

Christ suffered for us and said that the disciple can’t be better than his Master. Repentance goes with suffering. If He suffered, we must suffer as well. But our suffering is caused by confronting with our sins.

 

A man without repentance feels no remorse which could urge him for repentance. If Jesus died instead of me why should I have repentance?

 

This is BLIND FAITH! This makes the people who believe like this loveless, arrogant, conceited and disrespectful towards people who have a different view.

 

Love is unknown for this kind of disposition and salvation is a vain illusion and an intense self-cheating.

 

This kind of way-of-seeing totally contradicts with the Holy Bible’s teachings.

 

“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes or daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed, “ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith, I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says: “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. “James 2. 14-26

 

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness knowledge.” 2 Peter 1.5

 

“Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6.28

 

They believe that repentance is if they go to the priest and say the Lord’s Prayer. This is shameful mainly for the churches which deform the Word so much and let the spirits live their lives in delusion.

Blind leads sightless.

 

The top sin of nowadays churches is that the priests endowed themselves with such a power that the repentance is only possible throughout them for their believers. When a believer goes to confess his sins it is motivated with his habit, and in a better case, with his remorse.

 

After confessing his sins, the priest exempts him from the consequences of his sins at the cost of a ridiculous punishment (for instance: beads, 10 Lord’s Prayers). And the believer leaves the church with clear conscience, since being aware of absolving; he feels he discharged his debt. Then he continues where he finished because there will be confession tomorrow as well.

 

Here, not God’s law works above the believers but the priests have domination over them.

 

It fully suits to the priests of nowadays churches that Jesus says about scribes and Pharisees atMatthew 23.2-36.

 

In this situation it is absolutely impossible to get to repentance which is only possible to get to through a deep and sincere connection with God. In other words, your sins are forgiven. Go and don’t ever sin!

 

In the shine of things which has come to light, there are priests who give absolve despite being in need of having the divine repentance.

 

A man living in sins, whether he is a priest or a believer, can’t make connection to the God’s Holy Spirit.

 

Saul as well was anointed by God but he became unmerited to it so he backed himself out of the divine grace.

 

Everybody only can give from their own treasures, good from good, bad from bad.

 

A man who says he loves God but hates his fellow man is a liar and has no truth in him.

 

Instead of repentance the churches are trying hard to conceal their sins which have come to light, rather than exclude the sinners from the church as the Holy Bible says. They move the sinners somewhere else by giving them elbow room for further infringement of the law.

 

And this clearly leads to disagreement!

 

Jesus says: someone who is at variance with himself is lost.

 

 REPENTANCE is valid for the churches as well not just for the person.

 

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain, their teachings are but rules taught by men.” Matthew 15.8-9

 

With this way-of-seeing they will get a huge surprise when at the end of their lives they see that the place where they are does not resemble at all to the “Kingdom of Heaven”. This is why we need to understand and feel the essence of repentance in the light of the Holy Bible. We will be able to leave the sin behind and turn away from it if we experience God’s endless grace, not for the force of the law or because of the fear but because of the love to the Lord and to the truth.

 

It is an enormous difference between guilty conscience and repentance.

 

Guilty conscience is kept alive by fear; while repentance is awakened by the knowledge of our Creator’s clemency in our soul.

 

The repentant spirit is sorry for the thing he “caused” and is not afraid of the punishment.

 

Let’s place the real repentance and the thing the world calls repentance next to each other:

 

The believer gets to know the Christian love and faces with his sins and gets to humbleness.

The hypocrite with a bad grace worries in his fear from the punishment (doesn’t know God) and when his conscience calms down and exempts himself, sins again.

The true wants to free himself from the essence of the sin that is against the divine love. The layman parts with some sins but the ones he is really stuck to and he doesn’t want to face with them, he keeps them.

The repentant is sad in his heart, the hypocrite’s face is deformed but his sorrow doesn’t get to his soul’s root.

The converted spirit grieves although there won’t be an act from his sinful intention because he feels he has already done it spiritually.

The evil got on the surface and suffers from his scandalous acts which are clearly seen for many others.

The person who has desire to God feels that he did harm to the “law” of love, the hypocrite complains of the torments of the consequences of his acts.

The sincere, after understanding there is no eternal damnation, recognizes that he did harm to the grace which can absolve him.

The man who is blind in God doesn’t rip his heart or face with it spiritually but he mortifies the flesh, keeps fast and does penance.

Sorrow doesn’t strangle the believer because his faith in God reminds him to the promises and forgiveness of the Father.

The hypocrite, in lack of faith, doesn’t turn to God with humbleness but in his desperation.

The real sin-confessor finds the mistake in himself, the layman makes apologises and finally finds the reason of his act in somebody else.

The heart of the true says that is his tongue.

If the hypocrite confesses his sin, he loves that in the future too.

A Christ-follower sees his deficiencies, prays and extols God and doesn’t have aversion to God.

The faithless sees no further than the end of his nose and begs autotelic for ending the object of his fear and he feels the things happened to him are lawless and he accuses God.

The converted dies for sin and gets a flesh-heart.

The layman, although he doesn’t really sin, he doesn’t turn away from it, he loves it in his soul, he doesn’t want to lose it and he guards his stone-heart.

 

Actually for feeling real repentance I must be converted. I must get to know the real essence of God, the Christian picture of God.

 

Repentance itself is a miracle! This state itself is the state of REPENTANCE.

If we repent spiritually our sins and we turn away from them, they will be repealed.

 

There are many people who can’t accept this but how could they? The earthly disposition claims its punishment and is unable for forgiveness. Facing with our sins can’t be over without pain but what is this torture to the thing that our soul can win through it?

 

It frees from a huge load, gets strengthen and becomes saturated with faith.

 

At first we must forgive for ourselves in our soul. The more the Christian-disposition grows in us, the more we become distant from the sins in our souls. Though we can fall into sins unconsciously but we don’t love it any more. It is much more important to turn away from the sins in spirit than leave them consciously with force.

 

TO LOVE SINS IS WAY WORSE THAN TO COMMIT THEM.

 

People who love sins but hypocritically or physically don’t commit them; for them it is only the question of time when their wickedness comes to life in their acts. The spirit if he could do (wouldn’t be afraid of the consequences); it would punish, steal, torture and kill.

When a man like this doesn’t feel limits, the pent up grown and overcome guilty intention manifests itself physically and he commits it in his earthly life.

 

I must be away from sins not only with my consciousness.

 

A man whose eyes gets open by God’s Word, admits that sins mingle in every of his acts so he doesn’t extol himself and gets to real humbleness.

 

To get to this humbleness and repentance, everybody needs confrontations according to their own dispositions.

 

There are some who need only a white pill and there are some who need a serious surgery. Yet the toughest school of humbleness is due to those who are chosen as God’s tools since as a column of a building is cultivated and nicely carved, the same way their hearts are ploughed deeply with lasting furrows by the plough of humbleness. The hardest part is due to those in getting to the state of repentance who delude themselves that they are believers.

 

-          People who listen to the Word for long years but sleep during the worships,

-          people who wait for the promised miracle but don’t do anything for it,

-          people who find themselves worthy for getting every divine present,

-          people who burst into tears during a sermon or a worship then a little later they are full of hatred, and

-          people who flatter themselves that they have plenty of time to do things:

the same thing will happen to them as happened to the fig-tree.

 

“Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.” Matthew 21.19

 

Every sermon they have heard will become a charge for them.

 

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left.” Hebrews 10.26

 

Every word they nodded to without faith will call them to account.

 

It is much more important to die for sins rather than understand every secret.

 

Knowledge and evil heart with a desire to wickedness rush into its destination on a wide paved path towards the opposite.

 

But the repentant spirit gets such knowledge that is absolutely needed for him on the divine path. He gets everything he needs; he understands and feels everything that is needed to his spiritual salvation.

 

“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” 2 Corinthians 3.16

 

The earlier we are converted, the less sins we will be called to account for. So, do not multiply them!

 

The repentant endeavours, nearly violently grabs the divine promises and is filled up with the desire to freedom.

 

Let’s not trust in our repentance but in God! Because repentance is not the sea of words but the feeling of God’s holy grace, the feeling of freedom and the confrontation of all limits of these.

 

We must adore God from spirit. We must turn to Him, we must trust in Him.

 

We mustn’t take advantage of the freedom He gave us but we must show it to the rest of the spirits living in captivity who have desire to get free too. Let’s pray for strength against the guilty desires. (“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” John 17.15) Don’t be afraid what the world says if we turn away from its false treasures.

 

There are many who think that if someone doesn’t smile it is sure that he suffers. Because in the world only those are considered happy who always smile and laugh. They are blind. What is the earthly pleasure? It is a big pretence.

 

If I have desire to God, I find my pleasure in the TRUTH from which there is very little on earth.

 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs of the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5.3-4

 

Cheer up, don’t give up! Nothing is impossible for God! He showers us with His promises and if I wait for their ordered time, I will experience their fulfilments.

 

Shall we say to our fellow man that his sins are forgiven?

 

There would be many who would call us blasphemers but in the light of the above written, the answer would be: yes we shall.

 

This is not ME who forgives his sin; it is not even God since He can’t be hurt so He can’t forgive because He is not angry.

 

The people who live in God and their connection is living with the Father by Christ, they are obliged to share with their fellow men with sincere humbleness and repentance that God is the God of LOVE. Their sins are washed away by Christ’s blood if they repent their sins in spirit and turn away from them. By stepping on the Christian path and by looking for God, their sins yes indeed will be forgiven. SINS are loads, debts and spiritual death! Let’s free ourselves from them and put our loads onto the Lord if we are tired.

 

“But you, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption, bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you.” Psalm 55.23

 

According to the truth, it would be enough to read only one Word about the essence of repentance and its connection to God which is about the Lost Son.

 

Christ opened our eyes and in this Word we can wonderfully see the relationship between our Creator and the spirits who turned away from Him. This Word shows the way home by opening before us the LOVE with which the Father waits for us if we go home to Him.

 

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Jesus continued: There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his field to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son, make me like one of your hired men.’

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him, he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

But the Father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feats and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come’, he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

‘My son’, the father said, ‘you are always with me and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” Luke 15.10-32

 

Be blessed my Heavenly Father, my Almighty God for your endless grace!

Only good things originate from you! Oh my Father, please give strength against the guilty desires and give a lot of love into my heart!

In the name of Your Holy Son, our Lord, Jesus the Christ!

Amen.