Steps to Christ: Repentance (Chapter 3)

Aswe start today, I wanted to point out that I am also shooting acompanion video blog to go with these comments below.  You can see itat YouTube: VagaBondservant. 

Okay peeps… so this chapter is a long one, but soooo good!  My hope isthat you are truly following along with reading the entire chapter,even before you come to this site.  And PLEASE if you have any commentsor points of clarification, don’t hesitate to ask by clicking thecomment link below or by emailing me directly at matthew@matthewgamble.com.

So Ellen states right off the bat, “How shall a man be just with God? How shall the sinner be made righteous?  It is only through Christ thatwe can be brought into harmony with God, with holiness; but how are weto come to Christ?  Many are asking the same question as did themultitude on the day of Pentecost, when, convicted of sin, they criedout, ‘What shall we do?’ The first word of Peter’s answer was,‘Repent.’ At another time, shortly after, he said, ‘Repent . . . and beconverted, that your sins may be blotted out.’ “ (Acts 3:19)

Repentance is actually a gift from God.  It means a turning away from. I remember when I first started following the teachings of Jesus.  Iwas so overwhelmed at times because at the core of my being I was soselfish (still am in some respects!).  All I was into was worldlypleasures and worldly gain.  As I started growing closer to Jesus andunderstanding Him more, I was more and more convicted of sin in mylife.  Simply put, Jesus invited me through the Holy Spirit convictingme, to turn away from sins in my life.  He didn’t leave me hanging todo it all on my own, however.  He led me and is still leading me tobecome more like Him and less like sinful self. 

What it comes down to is a simple yielding of myself to Jesus.  Ellenstates, “But when the heart yields to the influence of the Spirit ofGod, the conscience will be quickened, and the sinner will discernsomething of the depth and sacredness of God’s holy law...” What doesthis yielding look like?  The Psalmist David writes, “Have mercy on me,O God, according to Your loving kindness.  Create in me a clean heart,O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51). 

“A repentance such as this,” Ellen writes, “is beyond the reach of ourown power to accomplish; it is obtained only from Christ...” That beingsaid, go to God and ask from Him the gift of repentance.  Later shestates, “Ask Him to give you repentance, to reveal Christ to you in Hisinfinite love, in His perfect purity.”

At the end of the day, I believe that all Jesus is trying to do is helpeach one of us come to the place where we recognize our deficiency andlearn to TRUST Jesus wholly and completely.  If you’ve ever wonderedwhat the Bible is about, what going to church is all about, what payingtithe is all about, what singing songs of praise is all about, in myhumble opinion it all comes down to God wanting to teach us to TRUSTHim with everything and in so doing stop putting our faith inourselves. 

Lastly, remember that “It was sinners that Christ came to save.  Wehave not to reconcile God to us, but--O wondrous love!--’God in Christis reconciling the world unto Himself.’ “ We simply must come to theplace where we cry out to God like blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:47-48) andJesus will be faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Remember that in Revelation 3:19, the Bible tells us that because Jesusloves us, he will rebuke us and discipline us, so be excited andrepent!  Repentance is an invitation that God gives us and is GREATNEWS! 

Blessings,

Matthew
from da porch