Repent!
We are glad you are reading what the Lord has given us to share with you today. Repentance is an important subject for us. Without it, there is no forgiveness of sins. Holy Spirit give revelation and the strength to stand strong in the days to come. Eric
Wherever you live in the world today, people are seeing wickedness and evil creeping or rushing into the hearts and minds of the nations. Many of the nation's leaders and citizenry are falling into and accepting the deception of calling that which is good, evil and calling that which is evil good. Isaiah 5:20, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." According to the Hebrew definitions of the words used in the phrase, 'those who call' is not simply conveying those who use their voice to speak, but also includes 'to say in one's heart or to think' What is the result for those who have given into and accepted this wickedness as correct or right? "Woe to those." 'Woe’ is an interjection expressing dissatisfaction and pain. 'Woe' conveys grief, alarm and impending judgement.
To accept the transposing and flipping of the truth for a lie ultimately brings judgment upon that one. Nowhere in God's Word is there a provision or even an intimation to make or accept this moral inversion. The Word of God is very clear and it does not relinquish the definition of good and evil to humans.
Let's biblically define 'good’ and ‘evil’ to begin. Psalm 100:5 reveals, "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." 'Good' towb in the Hebrews means: pleasant, agreeable, beneficial, beautiful, best, better, bountiful, fair, favor, fine, gracious, joyful, kindly loving, merry, pleasant and precious. 'Good' is rooted in the character of God, who is the ultimate standard of goodness. Psalm 92:15 declares, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him." Goodness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and as such, it is produced in believers by the Holy Spirit. Goodness reflects the character of God.
"'Evil' is the lack of goodness, either morally or physically. It is that which contradicts God's nature or harms His creation. It is anything contrary to the holy nature and will of God." (gotquestions.org). Evil is sin.
"Those who fall into evil behavior usually start slowly, such as refusing to glorify or give thanks to God." (gotquestions.org). However, those who start slowly can end up with God giving them over to a depraved mind. (Romans 1).
Mark 7:20-23 reveals, " He went on: "What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come--sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person." A lack of godly qualities in one's life then, would spawn evil or sin.
The enemy of God and all His children is the devil. 1 John 3:8 (ESB) reveals, "The one who practices sin (evil) is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start."
God's solution for every individual in every nation who has given themselves over to the devil's wiles, schemes and lies is for them to come to repentance. Repentance is a turning away from evil. The repentance which is needed to take place in the nations begins with the family of God. (the church or believers). 1 Peter 4:17a reads, "For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household;" God's purifying work begins among those who bear His name.
Both John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed the necessity of repentance. Along with Jesus' declaration, He added, "and believe the Good News (the gospel)." (Matthew 3:2 and Mark 1:15c). Both used the word metanoeo for 'repent' The use of the word metanoeo indicates there is to be a turning from sin, all self rule and outward religion to wholehearted obedience to God.
Repentance is having a change of mind. It involves a decision you make to not continue doing those things which displease your Creator and which are evil. Really, repentance is a choice you make to agree with God about sin and instead of remaining in it, turn to Him.
Repentance includes sorrow over sin but it is not the same as simply having shame or regret. See, you can feel really bad about it but still continue in sin, justify it or simply try to keep it hidden.
That is why the Scripture distinguishes the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow brings death (2 Corinthians 7:10). It leads to despair, excuses or self-pity. Godly sorrow moves you to repentance and God.
When you truly repent, you will not only turn away from wrong, you will turn back to the One who was wronged, God. All sin is against God. Unrepented sin will bring judgment. Romans 6:16 reveals, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"
Besides the need for repentance personally among believers, there is a need for national repentance. God's hand of judgment is upon the nations who have rejected or turned away from Him.
"The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, those who are in rebellion against God." (Proverbs 3:33). "Righteousness exalts a nation while sin brings discipline. (Proverbs 14:24).
We see that sin is a serious issue with individuals and with nations. Achan's sin was responsible for the defeat of the Israelites in battle and the loss of his entire family. (Joshua 7).
God reveals His heart for the nations in Jeremiah 18:7 and 8, "If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned." God judges a nation because it is evil.
We also see the solution He has given for national sin issues in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." Believers, each member of the family of God, (His people) have an enormous responsibility to humble ourselves, seek God, repent from our sins and pray for our nations.
We need to pray for a revelation of sin and a spirit of repentance to come upon our nations - so that in each one there is a national returning to God, so He can heal our lands.
When we see the many calamities coming upon the nations of the world, we need to recognize that God is calling upon the people of this earth to repentance. God is the divine sovereignty over the world, it is His creation. "In His supreme authority, He orchestrates or permits events that impact nations, as a means of judgment, correction or fulfillment of His divine purposes." (Topical Encyclopedia, Bible Hub).
Psalm 22:28 reads, "for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations." 'Dominion' is His sphere, authority and symbols of kingship - it's God's eternal reign. Daniel 2:21 reveals, "He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning." Praise God, our hope is not anchored on human institutions! He reigns, therefore our hope and anchor never fails!
I need to make one thing clear. Just as the need for faith is personal (you can't get to heaven on your mother's apron strings), there is a need for personal repentance. Ezekiel 18:30 relates that with the house of Israel, He will 'judge' each according to his ways. Personal sin in not taken away by the righteousness of the many. 'Judge' espot is defined as: to pronounce sentence for or against (condemning and punishing) according to the ways of the individual.
Isaiah 55:7 reads, "Let the wicked (hostile, one guilty of sin) forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy (compassion) on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." God desires to pour His compassion out on all of His creation, however, He is a just God. Each one of us makes the choices which determine what happens to us regarding our eternity in relation to eternal judgment from God.
Sinning will only bring the need for mercy. When we sin, we need mercy. Our sin is never hidden from God. Those things you do in secret are not 'in secret' to Him. Hebrews 12:6 reveals, "because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son."
But hallelujah! The Lord always remains ready to receive and restore His people (Jeremiah 3:12). He always grants full forgiveness through the shed blood and death of Jesus.
In John 8, we read of a woman caught in adultery, a sin that could have caused immediate death by stoning. This Biblical story teaches us much about repentance. Jesus told the woman, “Go and sin no more.” The verb used implies an ongoing action, which means, to keep on living free from sin’s domination. Romans 6:14 instructs us, “For sin shall no longer be your master.” Then He said, “Neither do I condemn you.” Our lessons: Repentance requires a decision, and that decision is to be an ongoing action; when repentance takes place, the Lord forgives.
Jesus never asks anything of us that He will not enable us to do. Our transformation is Spirit powered. Titus 2:11 and 12, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,”
Sin is not overlooked or temporarily covered however, it can be repented of, turned away from. With true repentance, we personally and as a nation will be forgiven and restored.
Repentance will hopefully (it's a choice) lead sinners to a knowledge of truth so they can escape the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:25, 26 and John 8:34).
By God's grace we can be set free from the power of sin!
We can all choose to repent.
The devil does not have authority over God's children!
No matter where you might be on the 'sin spectrum' - God's grace is always enough!
All Scripture was taken from the New International Version.