Within The Struggle: Real Repentance; Brokenness & Forgiveness

By Gracie

By The Grace Of God M/M

1 John 1:8-10 "If we say that 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 us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

Acknowledgment & confession bring repentance. Repentance brings brokenness and forgiveness.

It is not a cheap thing to obtain forgiveness - it cost Christ His life blood. It broke His heart, literally. Repentance is about our being broken over our sin; as He was, in carrying it for us. Christ’s heart was broken for us. His life-blood was spilled for us. What makes us think for one-split-second-of-a-moment that we should not be broken in response to such a great thing as this? What is holding onto your sin costing you? No matter what road we choose there is a cost.

If you are not a born-again believer, not coming to the cross that brings forgiveness will separate you for eternity, from Him. Trust me this is not a cost you want to pay. Salvation was purchased through Christ meeting the requirements of God in His sinless perfection, the shedding of His blood in death and His bodily resurrection. He did for us what we will never be able to do for ourselves. And because of this, God extends forgiveness to us through the free gift of salvation. This is a choice each of us must make. Deuteronomy 30:19 "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live!"

Being broken allows God’s mercy and grace to be released in the loving act of forgiveness. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve; hell, and Grace is getting what you don’t deserve; heaven. We cannot be forgiven by the shed blood of Christ unless we are born-again. John 3:3-7 "Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'’ His mercy & grace reveal themselves in various other do and don’t deserve ways, for believers & unbelievers alike, but these are the very basic beginning acts of mercy and grace within the new believers life.

If you are born-again, repentance is the life-long re-occurring process of being broken, of learning to die to self and being molded into the image of Christ. These are the things that keep us in right relationship with God. All too often this process is approached without reverence, without really letting the Holy Spirit search our hearts and without a willingness to be broken. We may acknowledge & confess, but we still fight to maintain our dignity & self-righteousness. When sin is found, we are not broken by it, we try to find ways to justify it. Or, if we do get a glimpse, we rationalize the truth away from us, because the truth hurts and denial is our real comforter and friend, not the Holy Spirit. Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."

Even though salvation is a free gift given by a loving holy God, it is not without cost, condition or requirement. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation. Titus 3:5 "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us," But it does cost us to accept and receive this gift...our lives, our hearts, our very soul, all of us in exchange for all of Him. Yet these things do not earn us anything. This is kinda like the cart & horse thing, can’t have one without the other, yet it is important what the order of our understanding is. The cost of extending forgiveness for God was His son Jesus. For us, the cost of receiving forgiveness begins by exchanging our denial for our acknowledgment, our pride for our confession and our rebellion for our repentance. We can’t earn salvation by working for it or by being good enough, but to accept it, to receive it, and to let it mold us into the image of Christ...will cost us our obedience unto repentance. The cost is in our attitude of gratitude for just being given the opportunity to receive what we could never earn. Our understanding of that should create in us an awesome gratitude that seeks to take the only thing we have - our lives - and cast them before the throne, knowing that even that is not enough to show how in-His-debt-grateful we are for the great love He has given us at such great cost.

Betsie tenBoom, said, "There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still". She found relationship with God to be so deeply intimate, changing and restorative, that she was able to express with great understanding, deep love & immeasurable gratitude, who He is, what He did & how He relates to us, even though she lay dying in a Nazi concentration camp. Would any of us be able to testify with such profound knowledge, understanding, wisdom and love - who He is - while in the midst of our trials, tests & struggles? To experience that depth of relationship with the Living God cost her all she had to give Him, her life for His...and the plan began in eternity past, was birthed through a lowly Manger, revealed at the foot of alonely Cross and is fulfilled in the glorious Resurrection...