(Scratchy!) Notes from a sermon preached by Peter on Repentance
Repentance is not about feeling sorry for your sins. It is about turning around, turning from self, turning from God. John the Baptist had this message: Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. There needs to be a change in the way we live.
For the early Christians, repentance was to begin a path of discipleship.
We often misunderstand it as feeling sorry for sins, naming sins, asking God to forgive our feelings of guilt, and having faith Jesus has done this.
If you look for “repentance” in Paul, you hardly find it. But in Acts Paul often preaches on it. Is this because when he explains what has happened to us he talks about the cross –all that is between us and God is broken, smashed, by the power of the cross. The cross breaks the power of the forces of evil. The cross transforms our bondage into freedom. The cross gives a basis for victory. The cross not only cleanses but frees us.
There are two compelling ways of speaking about being a Christian.
Repentance and discipleship.
Sin and faith.
We hear sin and find ourselves counting specifics. Baptists have been influenced by the Catholic sacrament of penance. Confession, listing sins, removing sins. The heart of repentance somehow became feeling sorry. And feeling sorry became more important than a change of direction.
Regret isn’t enough. We need real change to take place. The problem is this requires shame. Guilt doesn’t seem to bother us, but shame does. We need a deep sense of the gap between our lives and God. We need to rediscover repentance (in a world of confident, positive thinking).
Don’t let church become a group of people just trying to cheer themselves up. We need to be people committed to a change of direction.
Repentance is not about feeling sorry for your sins. It is about turning around, turning from self, turning from God. John the Baptist had this message: Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. There needs to be a change in the way we live.
For the early Christians, repentance was to begin a path of discipleship.
We often misunderstand it as feeling sorry for sins, naming sins, asking God to forgive our feelings of guilt, and having faith Jesus has done this.
If you look for “repentance” in Paul, you hardly find it. But in Acts Paul often preaches on it. Is this because when he explains what has happened to us he talks about the cross –all that is between us and God is broken, smashed, by the power of the cross. The cross breaks the power of the forces of evil. The cross transforms our bondage into freedom. The cross gives a basis for victory. The cross not only cleanses but frees us.
There are two compelling ways of speaking about being a Christian.
Repentance and discipleship.
Sin and faith.
We hear sin and find ourselves counting specifics. Baptists have been influenced by the Catholic sacrament of penance. Confession, listing sins, removing sins. The heart of repentance somehow became feeling sorry. And feeling sorry became more important than a change of direction.
Regret isn’t enough. We need real change to take place. The problem is this requires shame. Guilt doesn’t seem to bother us, but shame does. We need a deep sense of the gap between our lives and God. We need to rediscover repentance (in a world of confident, positive thinking).
Don’t let church become a group of people just trying to cheer themselves up. We need to be people committed to a change of direction.
