Chapter 3: Repentance

Chapter 3: Repentance

Q: How shall a man be just with God?
Q: How shall the sinner be made righteous?
A: It is only through Christ that we can be brought into harmony with God, with holiness;
Q: but how are we to come to Christ?
--Many are asking the same question as did the multitude on the Day of Pentecost, when, convicted of sin, they cried out, "What shall we do?" The first word of Peter's answer was, "Repent." Acts 2:37, 38. At another time, shortly after, he said, "Repent, . . . and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." Acts 3:19.

Repentance includes sorrow for sin 

and a turning away from it.

*Multitudes sorrow that they have sinned and even make an outward reformation because they fear that their wrongdoing will bring suffering upon themselves. But this is not repentance in the Bible sense. They lament the suffering rather than the sin. Such was the grief of Esau when he saw that the birthright was lost to him forever.
--But when the heart yields to the influence of the Spirit of God, the conscience will be quickened, and the sinner will discern something of the depth and sacredness of God's holy law, the foundation of His government in heaven and on earth. The "Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," illumines the secret chambers of the soul, and the hidden things of darkness are made manifest. John 1:9.
-*-The prayer of David after his fall, illustrates the nature of true sorrow for sin. 

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to

 Thy loving-kindness:

According unto the multitude of Thy tender

mercies blot out my transgressions. . . .

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my

sin is ever before me. . . .

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. . . .

Create in me a clean heart, O God;

And renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Thy presence;

And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation;

And uphold me with Thy free spirit. . . .

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, 

O God, Thou

God of my salvation:

And my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy

righteousness."

Psalm 51:1-14.

-They think that they cannot come to Christ unless they first repent, and that repentance prepares for the forgiveness of their sins. It is true that repentance does precede the forgiveness of sins; for it is only the broken and contrite heart that will feel the need of a Savior.
Q: But must the sinner wait till he has repented before he can come

to Jesus?
Q: Is repentance to be made an obstacle between the sinner and the Savior?
A: The Bible does not teach that the sinner must repent before he can heed the invitation of Christ, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.
--Jesus has said, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." John 12:32. Christ must be revealed to the sinner as the Savior dying for the sins of the world; and as we behold the Lamb of God upon the cross of Calvary, the mystery of redemption begins to unfold to our minds and the goodness of God leads us to repentance.
--Christ draws them to look upon His cross, to behold Him whom their sins have pierced, the commandment comes home to the conscience. The wickedness of their life, the deep-seated sin of the soul, is revealed to them.
--The same divine mind that is working upon the things of nature is speaking to the hearts of men and creating an inexpressible craving for something they have not.
--Through influences seen and unseen, our Savior is constantly at work to attract the minds of men from the unsatisfying pleasures of sin to the infinite blessings that may be theirs in Him.
--The exceeding sinfulness of sin can be estimated only in the light of the cross. One ray of the glory of God, one gleam of the purity of Christ, penetrating the soul, makes every spot of defilement painfully distinct, and lays bare the deformity and defects of the human character. It makes apparent the unhallowed desires, the infidelity of the heart, the impurity of the lips. The sinner's acts of disloyalty in making void the law of God, are exposed to his sight, and his spirit is stricken and afflicted under the searching influence of the Spirit of God. He loathes himself as he views the pure, spotless character of Christ.
"There remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength." Daniel 10:8.
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Jeremiah 13:23.
--God does not regard all sins as of equal magnitude; there are degrees of guilt in His estimation, as well as in that of man; but however trifling this or that wrong act may seem in the eyes of men, no sin is small in the sight of God. Adam and Eve persuaded themselves that in so small a matter as eating of the forbidden fruit there could not result such terrible consequences as God had declared.
***We can do nothing of ourselves. We must come to Christ just as we are.
-*-Beware of procrastination. Do not put off the work of forsaking your sins and seeking purity of heart through Jesus. Here is where thousands upon thousands have erred to their eternal loss. I will not here dwell upon the shortness and uncertainty of life; but there is a terrible danger—a danger not sufficiently understood—in delaying to yield to the pleading voice of God's Holy Spirit, in choosing to live in sin; for such this delay really is. Sin, however small it may be esteemed, can be indulged in only at the peril of infinite loss. What we do not overcome, will overcome us and work out our destruction.
--Even one wrong trait of character, one sinful desire, persistently cherished, will eventually neutralize all the power of the gospel. Every sinful indulgence strengthens the soul's aversion to God. In all the Bible there is not a more fearful warning against trifling with evil than the words of the wise man that the sinner "shall be holden with the cords of his sins." Proverbs 5:22.
--When Satan comes to tell you that you are a great sinner, look up to your Redeemer and talk of His merits. Acknowledge your sin, but tell the enemy that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners". 1 Timothy 1:15.
*The merits of His sacrifice are sufficient to present to the Father in our behalf. 

--Those to whom He has forgiven most--

--will love Him most.--