Repentance

There are numerous was of describing sin, but they all boil down to one nearly inescapable conclusion. All sin is a result of pride. It is idol worship and the idol being worshiped is self.

We ignore God’s will because we place more value on what we want than on what God wants. We break God’s law because we think we have more understanding of God’s creation than He does. We ignore God because we actually think or feel that He is powerless to do anything about it. We sin because we do not feel or think that doing the right thing is worth the effort.

Few of us would state it in such bold terms, but the truth remains. When we sin against God we are placing ourselves before Him in our hearts and minds. We are removing Him from the pre-eminence in our hearts that He, and He alone, deserves.

He created us and everything that keeps us alive. Our heart beats and our lungs draw air only at His will. We are prospered or cast down at His whim. There is nothing that we can do to make God do anything. We have absolutely no power or authority over Him.

He has promised us so much and in return all He asks is that we turn from serving ourselves and place our faith in Him and serve Him as only He deserves. It only gets complicated when we place ourselves in the way.

That turning away from ourselves is repentance. Only when we turn away from our service to ourselves can we truly serve God. None of us can serve two masters. Scripture tells us that we will only love and be loyal to one and that we will despise the other.

We cannot serve both ourselves and God. It is simply not possible. We must turn from ourselves and seeking our own will and turn to Jesus and seeking His will.
 
Back
Top