CAN YOU REPENT?
Even if you have been in the Church for 30 years, you still need to repent. Before Passover is a good time for us to examine ourselves for sin... We need to search deep inside and see if we have sin living in us that we need to get rid of.
Not only during the Days of Unleavened Bread should we search high and low for sin in our lives but we should do it often. No one is perfect, so we all need to repent and to change our ways for the better. But, it is hard, isn't it?
Due to our human nature, we can't seem to see our own sins as well as we can see other people's. It is sort of like the principle of not being able to smell your own breath. We just don't have a clear awareness of ourselves that others have. One way around that would be to ask others to tell you what your weaknesses and flaws were, but most people wouldn't want to hurt your feelings by being that brutally honest.
Most of the time when people are that honest with us, we get mad. We are rarely even honest with ourselves. Before we can repent, we have to set our personal pride aside. We have to be able to accept something painful about ourselves. We must confess and acknowledge our sins, before God can forgive.
Psalms 32:5
"I acknowledged my sin to thee, and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. RSVWhy is it important to repent? Because God will eventually punish all unrepentant sinners harshly, and God says that He will blot sinners out of His book. (of life.)
Exodus 32:33-34
"The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin." NIVReally, God doesn't want to punish us, all He really wants from mankind is that we repent of evil and sin.
1 John 1:8-10
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. RSVIf you are not sure what your sins could be, think about where you are most selfish. That is where most sins reside in us. Go through the Ten Commandments one by one and examine yourself and see where you may be falling down. If your conscience bothers you, that is another place to look closely. But, don't feel bad when you find some sin, be happy. You are getting ready to clean up a messy place in your life. You will feel better for it, now and forever.
Especially before Passover it is essential to do this kind of deep examination and repentance. 1 Corinthians 11:28-31 says,
"A man ought to examine (test) himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment (possible condemnation) on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged (examined) ourselves, we would not come under judgment (possible condemnation).
We need to periodically examine our selves for sin. Repentance might be hard to do, but it is far less painful than the long-term consequences of not doing it. Can you repent?
Online sermon: Obedience
ONLINE STREAMING SERMON: God and Repentance
Sermon given by James E. Throgmorton
Copyrighted by the Churches of God Can You Repent?
2007