REPENTANCE

“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation…” (2 Corinthians 7:10)

The Holy Spirit will always lead you toward God and repentance through His Son, Jesus Christ. When you are controlled by the Holy Spirit, any sin will create sadness in you and a change of heart.  This change, from one of pride to one of humility, is the first sign of repentance.

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Webster’s dictionary defines repentance as remorse or contrition for past conduct or sin.  Repentance means turning away from self and toward God.  God Himself ordained the process of repentance to Solomon in the Old Testament.

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“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”  (2 Chronicles 7:14)

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Repentance is an action on man’s part.  God will not respond until you act first.

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The first act of repentance is humility.  Humility casts off the plaster shell of self-righteousness and pride.  A humble spirit says that you are not proud of your past transgressions and that you are willing to change.

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The second act of repentance is prayer.  Prayer is coming before God, thanking Him for His provisions, asking Him to show you His perfect will for your life, and trusting Him for guidance.  When you pray, you bring all your cares and worries before a loving and merciful God.

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The third act of repentance is to seek after God.  God wants you to search for Him as you would for something valuable that you lost.  Seek God first and He promises to show you the way.

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The fourth act of repentance is to change your ways.  You must be resolute not to continue in your sinful lifestyle.  When you sincerely change your ways, you turn away from your old sinful- self and toward your new Christ-centered self.

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When you humble yourselves before God in prayer, seeking Him, and promising to change your ways, you have crossed the chasm from sin to salvation.  You have gone from reviled to reconciled.  You have acted and repented.

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God promises to respond to ALL who repent to Him by hearing them, forgiving their sins, and healing their land.  When life gets tough, get back to the basics of repentance and watch God in action.

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Additional References: 1 John 1:9, Acts 3:19, 2 Peter 3:9