Your sins are forgiven.
Summary: Forgiveness and repentance go hand-in-hand. We cannot understand one without understanding the other.
To forgive someone means to lift the burden of their debt from their shoulders (O.T. Hebrew: nāśā’) or simply send it away (N.T. Greek: aphiēmi). But is it more complicated than that?
On the surface, the answer is “No.” Forgiving someone is very simple. Whatever they owe you is forgiven. It is no longer owed. It is like the debt has evaporated into thin air.
Nice!
So I’m forgiven. Now what?
What happens after being forgiven is important. Let’s say I have a gambling problem, and I accrue a lot of debt. I owe so much money that I cannot pay it back, even if I sold my house and everything I own. I go to the guy who took my I.O.U.s and confess that I’m in trouble. For some reason, he decides not to kill me, and he forgives the debt. I leave a free man.
Gambling is an addiction similar to drug addiction. People who suffer from it have trouble giving it up. It is like a little worm in the brain that twists and turns, causing an itch that only gambling can satisfy.
What if I take my new freedom from debt and use it to get back into debt again so I can gamble some more? How does that make the first guy who took my I.O.U.s feel? Does he look smart for having given me a break or does he look stupid?
Nobody likes being made to look stupid!
We Christians like to talk about “repentance” a lot. Yet, I wonder if we really understand what it means.
If I am forgiven a gigantic gambling debt, the expectation is that I will use the forgiveness to change my life for the better. Nobody forgives something if they expect you to go back and do the same stupid thing all over again.
Maybe I try and pay off the debt, or at least part of it. Perhaps I show my gratitude by doing something for the people who forgave the debt. It could be enough to start a new life that doesn’t involve going back into debt. The one thing I can’t do is go back and make things right. The debt, in this case, is simply too big for that to happen. So repentance doesn’t mean that I pay off the debt. On the other hand, a repentant person doesn’t turn around and head right back into the casino.
Repentance is a change of heart. It is an acknowledgment that what we had done was wrong. It is a desire to do better. The hope that given a chance, we can learn from our mistakes.
When we come to God for forgiveness, we admit that we have screwed up. God offers us a fresh start. A chance to have our debt lifted from our shoulders and sent far away. Now what? Do we do more of the same, or do we change our ways?
Application: Think about what we owe God.
Food for Thought: What does repentance look like for a Christian?
What does repentance look like for a Christian?
Great question Jeff. I’m still learning so much from the bible, places of biblical knowledge, groups that help me understand more about God and other wise brothers. So I can’t wait to read everyone’s comments.
Tim,
Good morning! I have another analogy for you.
Every year our house is plagued with box elder beetles. Mostly they stay outside but every once in awhile one will find their way in. The other day one not only found their way into the house but it dropped into the can of soda I had been drinking.
When I picked the can up and took a drink, my mouth immediately knew something was wrong. I didn’t know what, but without hesitation I spit the pop out of my mouth. It was then that I figured out why. I had a mess to clean up but that was okay.
I think repentance is like that. Things we used to think were okay are now like that bug. Now that we know better, when we spit it out. We don’t have to understand what it is or even be able to explain why.
So maybe I can’t explain what repentance looks like either, but I know it when I see it. I see it in you and other believers who turn their back on the old and embrace the new. (Mark 2: 21-22)
Thank you Jeff.
True repentance turns us to Christ. It’s a 180 degree turn, not a 360 or two 180s (repenting from our repentance.) Of course, I still deal with my flesh which I’m not supposed to, and don’t have to, let win. Romans 6:11-18
Ah…
Spoken like a true engineer.
It’s always nice to discuss these things with someone who has a degree.
🙂
Repentance for a Christian, who already knows Christ and has the Holy Spirit indwelling them (as opposed to unbelievers who need repentance that leads to salvation) means to let Jesus be Lord and submit to Him in all things. It means to lead a life of obedience to His word and obedience to our Lord (Luke 6: 46).
We do not want to go back to our former way of life but rather be transformed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2; Galatians 5: 16 – 26; Romans 12: 1 – 2). It means to chose to love God and others and use our freedom to serve others (Galatians 5: 13 -16.
In other words, repentance means a change in Who we live for. We stop having ourselves as the center of our lives and we live for Christ (Galatians 2: 20).
Thanks Rich!
Changing who we live for is a BIG THING. It changes everything! Well said!
01-07-2023, What does repentance look like for a Christian
Sin includes willful going against what we know is right and accidentally going against the divine order of things. When sin is not confessed, it is a slow but steady drain that sucks the life out of us. It will erect a barrier between the Father and us and we have to get rid of revealed, known sin, eliminate the spiritual garbage in our lives if we really want to be free in Christ. God has given the Holy Spirit to identify sin in our lives and guide all who will listen.
John 16:8-13
Repentance literally means to change our mind, our hearts and is seen as we turn our back on and walk away from revealed sin. Our confession and turning is not for God to find out something He already knows. Confession and turning is for all being made whole and fit as we deal with revealed sin.
Repentance is a way of life for a believer. God fully understands our weakened state and if He were to open our hearts to the full magnitude of our sins, I believe we might flame out. God has His priorities for each of our lives as we thoughout our lives become the instrument of righteousness He has planned for us. God reveals, we respond in His power over and over, it is called the process of sanctification which will be fully completed by God when we leave these bodies. Today we are positionally perfect, and humanly imperfect.
For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Romans 7:19
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9
Ron,
Thank you for your thoughts today. I like the way you describe sin as a barrier between us and our Maker and how confession and repentance bring down that wall.