Repentance is a hard pill to swallow

Repentance is a hard pill to swallow, especially when we believe that we are good enough and will be able to stand before a Holy God expecting His acceptance on our own virtue; the self-righteous looking to be justified and have their sin excused on the evidences of their own merit; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24) – Salvation cannot be earned, it is a gift. But when a gift is given it is up to the individual to graciously accept the gift or refuse it. And then once we have it, what will we do with HIM?  Will we store the talent that accompanies salvation in a cupboard showing very little interest or will we cherish it by placing our new found reality on our prized mantelpiece for all to see? The degree of our appreciation will become evident.  

Let us now consider some deeper thoughts on our characters; every one of our lives has been filled with sinful behaviour; let me remind you that just a single breech of God’s law leaves us as offenders, tainted and unworthy to enter His world. An example that may be helpful, can oil and water actually mix? You can put them into the same bowl but they will always separate. Sin and Righteousness has the same result if put into the same sphere unless a binding agent helps them unite, they will always be detached. Jesus is that binding agent!  Why, what qualifies him but disqualifies us? It is easy to give an accurate answer to this question, but will it be believed? Only by some! He lived a sinless life! He never breached God’s law thus making him worthy to come face to face with Jehovah, the great “I AM”, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The bible is clear on our condition and has ruled everyone under the curse of sin; its spell needs to be broken. It is a simple phenomenon to understand but without God’s intervention it will continue to elude the gainsayer.

I have the HIV virus; it did at one time totally control my body and in 2001 almost brought me to the point of death. I needed some assistance, hence anti-retrievals did the required job and today I still breathe the air from this world. Once death finally kicks in we all move into another reality, the sphere of the spiritual realm where there are a different set of requirements which will determine our final destination. To enter the city that is filled with happiness, a land that is encapsulated with delight. Aces and pain a forgotten memory. A place of total utopia with all its inhabitants having the same word role off their tongues, Shangri-La! However we will never reach that place on our own merits and the sooner we come to this realization the better it will be for us even down here on earth. It allows us to view our life with the eyes of faith, the only remedy for true hope. If we deny God provision it is no different to slapping someone in the face for their act of kindness. If we deny the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice but look to our own morality to find vindicated we will be found wanting. God dwells in unapproachable light, all that teaches us is that He is a consuming fire and if we want to come into His presence we need a fire-proof jacket, which is Jesus Christ. Jesus died and bore the brunt of God’s judgment in my place; He died for my sin so that I could find forgiveness in Him. This truth applies to all of creation, to every person that has ever breathed oxygen. In other words we must be covered by His sacrifice if we are to find God’s validation. I hope that it is now clear to understand and that all understand that if we approach God on our own terms, finding justification by what we do, we will never cut the mustard. Does a fireman move into a blazing inferno without a fireproof jacket?  Jesus alone can vouch for our acceptance into heaven and the way for this to happen is to realise our sin and ask The Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us for all of our transgressions. It is the only true way to find justification that will be considered by the only true living God.

The sooner we learn total dependency on God’s provision the happier we shall be. Independence is one of our greatest enemies. Here is the point the Apostle Paul presses home when he speaks about boasting in his infirmities. What is the author’s intention with statement? Let’s examine it in context and then unpack the lesson so that we may all gain from what he has to say about suffering with benefits. The reimbursements of suffering, really! This is the climax of his intended thrust and it is up to us to make it our own and be strengthened in our faith, or we could turn a blind eye to the medication in front of us and ignore the instruction. We have the choice; “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15) 

   

What then does suffering have to do with repentance is my question? Well it’s all actually intertwined and when we see the beauty of those two facets to our lives latent in harmony I believe we will be content and have peace with God regardless of our predicament. This then is the lesson! Without repentance we will never understand the need for suffering and vice-versa. Suffering and repentance share the same closest and yet at times they act out a little differently to what we would like. However they are part of God’s arsenal in combatting sin. But for us to learn the value of this warning we must not see suffering from our own stupidity as God’s intervention as suffering for the sake of the gospel; “But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" (1Peter 4:15-18) - Take note that when we suffer in ministry, whatever that may entail, we must make every effort to work with the talent God has given us and apply ourselves to it. Peter puts it like this; “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit…” (1Peter 3:17-18) - Christ suffered for us to bring us to Him and it will never be by any other means.

The world teaches an “eye for an eye” mentality but in Christ we are commanded to turn the other cheek. We often find justification in what we do; society has taught us that this is our democratic right, really! It is impossible to avoid this type of breach in our lives; we are challenged by it on a daily basis. “We have rights you know”! Carnality will always have a valid point, nevertheless if eyed through the judgments of the Spirit of God and when we find grace to walk in the Spirit we will not succumb to our old sinful patterns, hence repentance is needed at the conception of our salvation and every other day after it. The way we think about things need to change. This is where we see true Christianity differentiate itself from the Pseudo-Christian camps of the world; whereby allowances are claimed by leading authorities to breach the Word of God. To be told that everything we have been taught needs the action of repentance is a hard pill to swallow, but a pill that has to be swallowed if we are to reap Gods intended rewards.

Signing off

Tyrone