“Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation” – 2
Corinthians 7:10
Being sorry for something I have done is not enough. Repentance means turning away from my sin,
not merely being frustrated and sorry that I continue to sin. Conviction of sin is a supernatural act of
the Spirit of God bringing an awareness of the truth of our sin … all sin
separates us from God. Sin is to the
sinner like drugs are to the drug addict.
The Christian who sins knows it’s not good, it’s contrary to his new
nature, but something drives him to want to cling to that sin. The Apostle Paul
described his struggle with sin this way.
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold
as a slave to sin. 1 do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do
not do, but what I hate I do.” – Romans 7:14-15
The sinner may ask God to forgive him, but really all he wants is
relief from the conviction and consequences.
He has not abandoned what it is that draws him to that sin. This is a spiritual struggle. (Ephesians
6:12) That spiritual struggle manifests
itself in our flesh – through physical actions and our thought life. So what can we do? We know that sin is
stronger than our will to not sin. The Apostle
Paul gave us the answer. It’s Jesus! The Way and Truth and Life.
“I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one
who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner
man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against
the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my
members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this
death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the
one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other,
with my flesh the law of sin.” – Romans 7:21-25
The danger for us is our tendency to become complacent about the
sins we struggle with. Even
accepting. That is not the life we have
been called to.
“ So ….. let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin
which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is
set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who
for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2
Being sorry that I sin is only the first step to repentance. Repentance
is living in a new way and I cannot do that without the power of the Spirit of
God and a decision to go another way.
Lot’s wife left Sodom with her husband but she left her heart in
Sodom. Even though she went through the
motions of obeying the Lord, her heart was still devoted to what she had
left. God says don’t look back, but
often our heart wants to. We cannot life our new life apart from the power and
presence of God and with a heart devoted to Him.
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