What Scripture Says
"Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all, by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30,31)."...but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3; note same condemnation for all).
"Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death" (2 Corinthians 7:9,10).
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7).
Sinful Nature Requires Repentance
We are all born with a sinful nature. With such a nature, we cannot enter into righteous, acceptable fellowship with God and others. To walk in the righteousness of God, the Bible says that our sinful nature with its lusts and affections must be put under subjection. Otherwise, we will be controlled by it (Romans 6:6; 13:14; Galatians 5:16).Yielding to our sinful nature and being controlled by the fickle dictates of natural thinking leads to "works of the flesh" that are physically, emotionally and spiritually destructive. These include immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, etc. Such works of the flesh, if not repented of, result in spiritual death (Galatians 5:19-21; James 1:15).
Any attitude or action which is contrary to God's ways, is sin (1 John 5:17; Rom. 14:23; James 4:17). Many sins do not seem to be sin such as incorrect responses to our circumstances and relationships, anxiety, worry, fear, suicide (realizing that God is the final Judge in these cases), bitterness and resentment. Also included are occult practices such as fortune-telling, horoscopes, numerology, astrology, and the like.
The Bible also tells us that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Sinful attitudes may result in physical sickness. You must take seriously the fact that God is holy and righteous and, therefore, cannot look upon sin.
God said that you must be born again of the Spirit of God (John 3:3,5). This means turning your life over to Jesus as Saviour and Lord, in repentance and faith that He will forgive and cleanse you from all sin (Romans 3:23; 10:13; 1 John 1:8,9; John 1:12).
When your old life is exchanged for a new nature in Christ, through repentance and faith in Him, you will need continuous spiritual nourishment. In order to receive this, you need to be in a church where you can grow spiritually. It's also important to: 1) read the Bible daily during a quiet time, and 2) pray unceasingly.
As You Pray
Repent of your sins such as lust, pride and the desire to have your own way. Ask God to forgive and cleanse you for your unrighteous way of life. Surrender yourself completely to Jesus by asking Him to be the Lord of your life. In other words, commit yourself totally to Him.God works through everything that happens in your life to draw you to Jesus so that you might repent and be saved (John 6:44,45; 14:6; Romans 8:28). Thank and praise God for forgiving you and setting you free.
Suggested Reading
Read Repentance by Basilea Schlink, Search For Significance and Search For Freedom by Robert McGee.Psalm 51 Example of true repentance
Exodus 9:27-35 Example of sincere repentance
Romans 5:12-19 Sin and death
1 John 3:4 Sin is against God
James 4:17 Knowledge and sin
Matthew 15:18-20 Evil words and thoughts defile
Romans 3:23 All have sinned
1 John 1:8,10 Sin confessed is forgiven Crossroads is happy to help. In fact, that's the whole reason we exist as a ministry. The daily 100 Huntley Street telecast and the 24-hour-a-day Telephone Ministry line are here for the same reason. You may want to call us as you are reading this: 1-866-273-4444
God loves you and we love you! Please give us the privilege of doing our best to help more. For further ministry, you may contact the Crossroads Ministry Centre by writing to:
Crossroads Christian Communications Inc.
Attn: National Ministry Centre
PO Box 5100
Burlington, Ontario L7R 4M2
