When we recognize the trap of Satan that has us acting in an impure manner, we must make a conscious decision to move away from that activity and move toward God. This is also a process that can be acted upon in a moment but may take some time to fully complete. This is because repentance is more than simply saying we are sorry. In fact, the word translated as repentance in the Scripture literally means, “to turn around”. It begins with a desire to be rid of a sinful life choice and ends with a deeper commitment to the will of God.
We must remember that for all of us, our outward actions are a representation of our inward will. In other words, to get to a place of moral purity, we need to do much more than simply stop the offensive activity. In fact, it is very difficult, if not impossible to stop the activity without a major change taking place in our will.
There are two starting points in this process, depending on your situation. If you have never accepted the gift of salvation offered through faith in Jesus, this is where you start. Salvation comes from an active decision to give up trying to control my own will and submitting that will to Christ.
Romans 10:9-10, 13, provide the promise of God’s willingness to accept the responsibility for directing our wills, 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” When you come to a place of agreeing with God that your sin is destructive, both in this life, and for eternity, he is ready to take it away. This agreement with God is referred to as confession or declaration. I like to visualize this act as wrapping my sin in a bundle and handing it to God for him to dispose of it. I don’t want it anymore. Add to this confession the act of faith that believes God has provided payment for your sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus. This faith is what allows us to move forward without the guilt of sin hanging on us.
Making Jesus Lord means that I release my life into his hands for his control. This is the point of starting fresh. I am no longer bound to the sin that has controlled me but am free to “repent” or turn toward God.
For those who have made a commitment to Christ but have fallen into sin, God provides a fresh start for you as well. This promise is found in 1 John 1:8-9, which is written to believers. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Two important points. Fist, God is not offering approval for our sin, but he does understand our human frailties that cause us to fall. The good news in this is that he is also ready to pick us up and let us get a fresh start. The definition of confession in verse 10 is the same as above. The result is also the same, God is ready to take that sin to set us back on solid spiritual footing. This is where repentance begins. Because it is such an important process, we will spend more time on this in the weeks to come.