Sermon summary (Click on the title)  REPENTANCE - Romans 5:8  CHRIS KHOURY SERMON SUMMARY - 2 APRIL 2017

 

WHAT IS REPENTANCE TOWARDS GOD LIKE?

 

A few weeks ago Gill said we should not crash land into Easter.

Do a self examination. Asked the question, “Am I confessing with humility.”

 

DEFINITION

Dictionary says on “repentance”? ‘To turn from sin and dedicate yourself to live a changed life.’ Is that what it means to “repent towards God?” Most religious people believe this is what Jesus meant when he said, “repent and believe!” Some Christians believe that only people who repent - i.e. stop sinning - will be in the Kingdom of God.

This is precisely NOT what is meant by “repentance”!

Many believe that if you really repented you would not do it again.

So we believe, “repentance is to turn around and go the other way.”

i.e. To turn from sin and live a life of obedience.

 

SUPER - GLUE

Have you ever noticed how some sins stick like super-glue!

No matter how many times we repent, commit to stop sinning, we still do it again!

 

SPIRAL

It becomes an endless cycle of: sin - repent - commitment - failure -

Despair - frustration - lack faith - doubt our conversion -

Downward spiral and we get to the point where we are ready to throw in the towel.

To just give up and walk away because we believe we are not good enough!

You know what it is true! We are not good enough!

But thanks be to God we have redemption in Jesus Christ.

Everything that ever needed to be done for human forgiveness and salvation has already been done through the death and resurrection of the Son of God.

Jesus has personally paid the price for all our sins!

Our selfishness, self indulgences, destructive habits, rebellion,

self reliance, pride.  The list is endless!

 

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIRV)

4 But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. 5 So he gave us new

life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we

were dead in sin. God’s grace has saved you.

 

Did you get that! You were ‘dead’ in sin. I was dead, we were all dead!

The only thing dead people can do, is be dead!

Through Jesus we have been resurrected from our spiritually dead state and Christ has made us alive! This new life is hidden in Christ, when he appears again we will appear with him in glory.

 

Colossians 3:3-4 (NIRV)

3 You died. Now your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 Christ is your life. When he appears again, you also will appear with him in heaven’s glory

 

WHAT IS REPENTANCE?

When we (by the grace of God) come to see this - to believe it - you have repented! Repentance is not about straining to ‘put sin out of your life’. Its not about doing better, good behavior, commitment to not do it again. Repentance is trusting God to have mercy on you! To fix your evil heart! Jesus died for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8(NIV) 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 

When you acknowledge/ admit/ realise that you are a sinner and trust God to forgive you - you have also repented. Repentance is not meant to motivate God to forgive you. He chose to do that unconditionally.

 

REPENTANCE IS NOT:

 

• Ceasing to sin
• A promise to try harder and to never sin again
• Turning from sin and going the other way
• Trying harder to control our lives
• Straining to put sin out of our lives
• An emotional laden appeal to God designed to persuade him to forgive you

 

REPENTANCE IS:

 

• An acknowledgement of sin
• Saying “yes” to God’s gift of forgiveness and redemption that is ours in Christ
• Belief - faith - trust that through Jesus God forgives all our sins - past - present - future
• Trusting God to do what we could never do - become righteous
• An acknowledgement that we cannot fix ourselves
• To trust him, to believe him and to put yourself, your existence in his hands

 

 

CONCLUSION

Our forgiveness and salvation has already happened through the death and resurrection of the Son of God. He saves the sinner. He raises the dead. He is on our side and because he is, nothing can come between him and us - not even our wretched sins.

 

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