A Journey Of Repentance Part 2 – Surrender Series

A Journey of Repentance Part 2 – Surrender

Romans 6:2-14 February 13, 2005

Intro:

Last Sunday I invited you to join me on a journey of repentance. Today, aside from being the day before Valentine’s day, is more importantly the first Sunday in the season of Lent, the period of time we set apart to prepare us for celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And so we are going to press the pause button on our series of sermons on a Christian view of issues in our society until after Easter, and continue down this Lenten road together.

I felt like God was starting something last week. It felt like we touched on something that the Holy Spirit wanted to explore with us further, like this was a path we need to travel down together, because it is a journey that leads to life, it is a path that leads us to wholeness and healing and freedom and forgiveness.

Defining Our Terms:

A little girl had great desire to join the church and the Pastor asked if she had experienced a change of heart. She answered "Yes."

"Were you a sinner before?"

"Yes."

"Are you a sinner now?"

Again she answered, "Yes."

"Well then, what’s the difference?"

After a brief moment of thought she said, "Before I was a converted to Christ, I was a sinner running after sin; now, I am a sinner running away from sin."

That is a pretty good definition of repentance. Let me give you another one: “that inward change of mind, affections, convictions, and commitment rooted in the fear of God and sorrow for offenses committed against him, which, when accompanied by faith in Jesus Christ, results in an outward turning from sin to God and his service in all of life.” (C.G. Kromminga, “Repentance”, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology.)

At the heart of the word “repentance” is the idea of change. Of heading one way, then stopping and heading the other way. And that is one of the reasons why this Lenten journey of repentance is a difficult one – it is about us being changed from our sinful actions and tendencies toward Godliness. And if, after this 40 day period of Lent, you are not changed, it has been a complete waste of time. A total failure. If we have not turned from sinful ways, if God has not been allowed to take great control of us and change us, then we have not discovered repentance.

Sin IS a Big Deal:

Last week we began the journey by gathering around the Lord’s table and remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection for us. The point there is to bring us back, to have us once again stand at Jesus’ feet while He suffers and dies for our sin, so that we are reminded that sin is a big deal. Sin destroys, sin brings death, sin kills our souls and deadens the life that the Holy Spirit longs to fill us with.

I remind us of this because while we know it in our heads, for many of us that fact does not translate into reality. Yes, we know sin is bad, but somehow we act as if it really isn’t any big deal. A little lie, no harm done. A measure of pride, well I did deserve it. Entertaining a lustful thought, no big deal because it is only in my head. Internet pornography, sharing personal things about others, being greedy and covetous, well, they don’t really hurt anyone, everyone does it, I’m only human, I deserve the bit of pleasure, I won’t get caught and even if I do I won’t get in trouble.

Every word of it a lie. A lie designed to keep us enslaved to sin. And yet, the truth is this (Rom 6:2-14): “We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin– 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.