Today I’d like to make the case to you for the concept of daily repentance. As Christians we know we must be born again of the Spirit to share in the inheritance of Christ.
We must be truly born again. We must be a new person. And as a new person in Jesus Christ we have the holy spirit within us. The Holy Spirit within us guides us into all purity and holiness.
But we live in a sinful world, where it’s common that we dirty our robes by stumbling into sin.
So the goal for the believer in Jesus is to repent quickly whenever we stumble into sin.
Jesus was always very firm on the concept of repentance. It says in Matthew 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
And the Apostle Paul echoed that concept when he said on mars hill, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” -Acts 17:30
The goal then is when we become a follower of Jesus Christ, that we repent, we turn away from sins in our lives. We confess them to God, turn our back on them, and we stop sinning.
Just like Jesus said to the man he healed, in John 4:15, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”
We stop sinning. But for many believers we have certain sins that we need to repent of, but maybe we haven’t done that yet. And yes, it’s a process. God doesn’t remove everything all at once. But when the Holy Spirit is convicting us, we must repent.
How do you go about repenting exactly? Maybe you have a problem with stealing. You quietly steal here and there. Most people don’t know about it. But you do. Maybe you smoke cigarettes. You keep it quiet but here and there you smoke. Maybe you gossip. You gossip about people, here and there, most people don’t know about it. That’s how sin is. We keep it secret.
One of the best things you can do is sit down with another Christian or your pastor and confess the sin. It loses a lot of power when you share it with someone else.
Get some counsel on how to get free from that sin.
But you go to God in prayer and you say Lord, I confess my sin. I sinned recently Lord by masturbating, or by stealing, Lord convict me of my sin. We ask for conviction from the Holy Spirit. Then we say Lord, we repent, we turn away from that sin. We turn our back on that sin. We renounce that sin. We cast that sin off. We repent away from that sin, and toward you God. Please cleanse us from that sin with the precious blood of Jesus, in Jesus name, amen.
We receive his grace, his forgiveness, then we get to work, making sure we don’t commit that sin again. Whatever it takes.
If there is a secret sin in your life right now you should be very concerned.
Let’s consider a scenario, say I’m a Christian believer who is living in secret sin of slander. I’m quietly slandering others that I don’t like. I’m not repenting of it. The Holy Spirit is insisting that I do, but I’m refusing, and hardening my heart. Then I’m killed in a car accident. I’m telling you the truth, that person is going to hell, they died in unrepentant sin. They are going to the lake of fire to endure permanent torment in fire and sorrow.
If you are living in secret sin, smoking, drunkenness, fornication, pornography, you are in danger right now. You need to repent right now. Today. Seek the Lord, to be forgiven anew, and repent of that sin today. Or you will go to hell. Plain and simple.
God has truly transformed us into new people. But the crazy thing is it happens over and over again. I get to watch as God reshapes me over and over again. He continues to mold us and shape us into his kingdom soldiers.
We need repentance. True repentance, deep repentance. We needs tears before the throne of God. I lament for my the state of my soul. I lament for how easily I do stupid things that God calls sin. I lament for any bit of sin in me. I want holiness. Make me holy Lord! Make us holy as you are holy!
We need a time of fasting, prayer, and confession of our sin. We need extended times of openly forgiving those who have hurt us. We need a time of repentance, to confess that we've set God off to the side of our lives, when He should be the center.
It's not to make us feel bad. It's not to hurt our feelings. No. This is about being transformed by God. This is about God clearing away things in us that need to go, so that we can grow in his grace and become all that He has called us to become.
What we have failed to realize in our lost generation of passivity, lukewarmness, and tolerance of sin is that the sins we don't repent of are deadly, and they will take us away to hell. We have a very cavalier attitude toward sin in our modern time. We just promote 'grace, grace, grace' and we don't even teach our people about heaven and hell and the reality of the coming judgment.
If we have sins in our lives that we haven't repented of, do you think God will hold us guiltless? No, he will not. God loves us incredibly, so very deeply, but God cannot allow sin into heaven. Sin is what pollutes the Earth. He has died for us to cleanse us of sin, so we may live in holiness.
Ephesians 5:6-8 "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord."
We have a lot of preachers today who don't talk about sin and accountability. It's just grace through faith, that's all, and it's true we receive salvation by grace through faith. But they leave out the repentance. We have to repent, which means to turn away from sin, and live pure lives. Don't let anyone deceive you with hollow words.
Galatians 6:7 "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap."
But if we persist in unrighteousness, if we continue to gossip, if we continue to commit sexual immorality, if we continue to slander others behind their backs, and curse, and mock, and get drunk, and indulge in lustful thoughts, we will not be entering the kingdom of God. We will go before God and he will say, "I never knew you, you worker of lawlessness. Depart from me." Now that would be a very, very, very bad day.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’"
I don't share this to scare anyone, or to hurt anyone, or to be mean or judgmental. But I have to share the truth. We take sin too lightly! And we are in need of a great cleansing in the church. Please take some time to repent of sin. Live in holiness. Reject the enemy and the ways of the world. Embrace Christ, all of Christ. That is the way of love! We must unhook the plugs of this world that pour sin into our souls, and plug into the Holy Spirit, so that we may walk in purity, as Christ walked.
This should be our daily practice. At the end of each day, get down on your knees before God, and ask Him to search you, and put all your ways before Him. God will walk you through the past day. Take an inventory, and repent of any sins you committed that God shows you. Be zealous, be quick, and turn away from sin.
Fight against it tooth and nail. Fight until you're exhausted. Fight until the flesh cries out for satisfaction, and refuse to give in! Fight for your soul, fight for your life, fight for eternal life! We must be Holy as God is Holy! That is our calling. That is our life. And God will help us. Jesus loves us so much. He will be here everyday to help us live holy, though the enemy attacks, and the flesh is weak in temptation, the Spirit is strong in us to resist. Stand firm in the faith. Put on the armor of God each day in the morning. God will help us. Let us live a lifestyle of repentance. Let us unplug from the world, and plug into the kingdom of God! God be praised for the victory. Amen.
1st Peter 1:13-23 "Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."
