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Repentance from sin is a changed lifestyle |
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Holiness and Revival
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Written by Francois Carr
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In South Africa we are currently living in a very exciting time as we see God drawing thousands of people to attend the services of Angus Buchan in stadiums, the women conference (Esther) and men’s conference (Daniel). Churches and ministries launching several projects, reaching out to the needy, influencing people, and short term missionary outreaches to all nations. Churches (some) are filled with people wanting to do something for the Lord.
However, at the same time we’re facing a period of moral and spiritual decline that is perhaps more rapid and widespread than ever before in our history. In a passage describing the difficult times of the last days (2 Timothy 3:1-5), the apostle Paul speaks of persons who have a form of godliness but deny its power. Timothy and all those who read the epistle are warned to avoid such persons. Some of the sins mentioned by Paul are: lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, etc.
All of this is clearly visible in the attitudes and behaviour of non-Christians, some families, communities, governmental leaders and even the lives of Christians and churches. We are bombarded with various types of entertainment and even sinful practices in all shapes and sizes throughout the multimedia influencing our lives and enforcing unholy living. It seems to be a breeding ground for the flesh and sinful practices. Commitments and promises are made to God and to one another but are not kept.
Many Christian people think that as long as they go to church on Sundays, they can, for the rest of the week, live in any way they wish. They are trying to worship God while holding on to the sins and ways of this world. It is not unusual to see professing Christians making sinful activities and attitudes part of their lives. It is rare to see them decisively casting such things away.
When we move away from God, we tend to put a substitute or idol in His place. When we no longer turn to God, we replace Him, His purposes and His ways with something from the world. The fact is God’s people are rather known for what they turn toward than for what they turn away from. One good way to determine things that have become substitutes for God is to ask yourself whether or not anything is causing you to forget God.
“It is a sad fact that in normal times Christians hold on to those things that revival will snatch away from them.” Brian Edwards
Something is terribly amiss among God’s people. I believe that God, in His holiness, is grieved by our lack of holiness. In a time when worship and family life have been redefined for personal conveniences, we would easily assume that as long as God does not execute a judgment against us, then things must be okay. As long as we do not feel bad, it is not that bad – as long as they feel okay about it, they can continue doing it. Could it be that we as Christians, although we confess and follow the Lord, we have lost our fear of God? When we do not fear God, we do not fear sin or its consequences. We need to look at sin, not from a humanistic viewpoint, not from the teachings of our spiritual leaders or doctrine but from God’s perspective.
God has a perfect plan for fullness of life for us. God’s Word has an answer for us. God has revealed Himself and His ways as He has worked with His people down through the ages. He has spoken very clearly about His expectations and standards. He has revealed principles and described examples. He stands ready to pour out times of refreshing on the dry and thirsty ground of our lives. But He is waiting on His people to pay the price of surrender and obedience to His will and His ways. He is waiting on a people to repent and return to Him with its whole heart.
Confession of our sin is not enough. It simply means that we are agreeing with God that we have committed a wrong. We need to repent from our transgressions and trespasses. When we repent and return to God our lifestyle and behaviour will reflect the change. To repent means we change our minds, hearts and actions.
Change of mind
We must agree with God about the truth that He just revealed to our hearts. We must agree that what we have done is wrong. If we want to argue, analyse or justify whether or not we have done wrong, we haven’t repented yet. We need a change of mind.
Change of heart
We must agree and realize that our sins have broken the heart of Jesus. Instead of explaining, justifying and even enjoying our sins, we must come to the place where we grieve over our sins. As Christians we turn away from God when we have a change of heart – by leaving our first love. Once we have returned, we will be prepared to obey again. We need a change of heart.
Change of action
Repentance indicates turning away from our sins and lifestyle wholeheartedly towards an intimate love relationship with God. Too often we try to walk as close to the world as possible without sinning. We flirt with temptation when we should flee from it. It requires a radical putting away of the sin, getting rid of all idols, tearing down all strongholds and removing ourselves from all sinful or tempting situations. But it requires a change of will, actions and deeds. We must change our lifestyle and live life in the fullness of God, as God intends, because we have radically repented.
Repentance cannot be considered genuine unless there is outward evidence – a change of mind, heart, and action that leads to a change of behaviour. It will and must show itself. To change repentance from simply confessing to a changed lifestyle or behaviour you need to:
- Study, fill and renew your mind and heart with God’s Word consistently.
- Be sensitive to the prompting or conviction (of sin) by the Holy Spirit.
- Immediately respond to Him in obedience.
The role of repentance can be seen in every revival that took place in the history of the Church. Maybe it is time for Christians and churches to take the next step and go beyond confession, and committing themselves afresh unto the Lord in order to experience a changed lifestyle due to a thorough repentance. No more lip service, but heartfelt repentance.
Is God calling you to turn away from any particular sin in your life? Responding to God is more important than whatever you were planning on doing next. If God is speaking, the time to respond is now. Remember, He loves you and wants to bless you with fullness of life. Change your life today by changing your mind and your heart, and start to do something about it. The time is now. |
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