It's a word that I hear quite often in preaching and teaching the Bible. It's a word that seems to strike fear into the hearts of many, and one that seems to get used quite often to frighten people who may or may not believe in the saving work of Jesus. It can be spoken like thunder from heaven, or as a gentle whispered invitation. It's the word repent.
From a somewhat literal standpoint, the word repent means to turn away from something. If you are driving 75 in a 65 MPH zone, and you decide to slow down to the speed limit, you repent of your speeding. You turn away from the activity that was against the law. That's a very basic definition of the word, but a good one from which to begin.
As we read through the Bible, we come across a lot of things that God talks about when it comes to the things we do in life. God created us to live according to a certain design. As our creator, He knows best how we should live, and what is good for us in our lives. And so, as we read through the Bible, we find God describing the way He created us to live.
The problem is, we cannot do that. None of us is perfect. God tells us that this came into being because of the entrance of sin in the world. All of us are afflicted with that deadly disease, and none of us can surgically remove it from anyone else, or even ourselves. But what that means is that we're going to have an impossible task when it comes to living according to God's design.
As we read through the Bible, we see quite a few instances of how God says we should live. We also realize that we aren't doing that. And that's where this word finds some kind of hold on us. We realize that we are living contrary to God's will and design, and so we seek to turn away from that wrong way of living, trying to return to God's preferred "right" way.
That's a fairly narrow way to understand this word. It happens as we come across behavior after behavior in our life that is contrary to how God created us to live. We're constantly uncovering ways that we do not live according to God's will and design. We cannot fully repent and return to the way that God designs.
That's where this word also has a much larger focus. But that will be the topic for tomorrow's blog.
From a somewhat literal standpoint, the word repent means to turn away from something. If you are driving 75 in a 65 MPH zone, and you decide to slow down to the speed limit, you repent of your speeding. You turn away from the activity that was against the law. That's a very basic definition of the word, but a good one from which to begin.
As we read through the Bible, we come across a lot of things that God talks about when it comes to the things we do in life. God created us to live according to a certain design. As our creator, He knows best how we should live, and what is good for us in our lives. And so, as we read through the Bible, we find God describing the way He created us to live.
The problem is, we cannot do that. None of us is perfect. God tells us that this came into being because of the entrance of sin in the world. All of us are afflicted with that deadly disease, and none of us can surgically remove it from anyone else, or even ourselves. But what that means is that we're going to have an impossible task when it comes to living according to God's design.
As we read through the Bible, we see quite a few instances of how God says we should live. We also realize that we aren't doing that. And that's where this word finds some kind of hold on us. We realize that we are living contrary to God's will and design, and so we seek to turn away from that wrong way of living, trying to return to God's preferred "right" way.
That's a fairly narrow way to understand this word. It happens as we come across behavior after behavior in our life that is contrary to how God created us to live. We're constantly uncovering ways that we do not live according to God's will and design. We cannot fully repent and return to the way that God designs.
That's where this word also has a much larger focus. But that will be the topic for tomorrow's blog.
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