What is the process of repentance? Is it a prayer I say with a pastor after we have sang "Just as I am" and want to be a believer not exactly in fact it is false. Let us look at scriptures with Paul speaking to the Corinthians on the issue of repentance. " I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance, for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
Note there seems to be steps in the act of repentance, first it does take time to go through repentance another word there are no quick prayers for repentance. This repentance leads to salvation not what your pastor says is going to make a difference in coming to repentance. So there are steps or demonstrations of what is going on with your heart. First he speaks of earnestness which means that you are sincere and intense. Next it leave to vindication to clear from blame or suspicion another words make sure if you have wrong someone to get it right. The next step will deal with indignation to rid of some statement that may have cause hurt feelings with someone. Then there is fear of God which is the one who will judge you in the end knowing that you may not live later if you do not make these things right. Longing is a earnest desire. What zeal? Eager interest fervor ardent and last is the avenging of wrong, to realize that I have done something and must make it right. Note I have never understood much less read this before, because I had misunderstood what repentance is, let me explain if I use your lawnmower and mess it up and brought it back to you without telling you that I had destroy it by cutting stumps with it instead of grass and say I am sorry. This is not repentance!!! Note this seems to be our attitude toward God with the issue of sin and repentance to say we are sorry but this is not true repentance. Note my neighbor would have nothing to do with me and in fact he would not want to be my friend because I had wronged him. The only way I can rectified the situation is by repairing or buying him a new lawnmower and demonstrating that I was truly sorry for what I did. This realization of what I had done wrong to my neighbor and doing what is right allows us to be neighbors again. This is the way that we must look at the situation with God and to have a right relationship with Him. Here are other examples in scripture dealing with the subject of repentance one being Jonah Chapter 3 The story of repentance of the city of Nineveh and what happen, another is The story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10 who was a tax collector and how he rectify his relationship with Christ.
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