The Call to be Repentant

Hosea 11:12-12:1, Mark 1:15, Revelation 22:14-15 

Why is repentance so important? Repentance immediately clothes us in humility. God calls us to repent because it helps us to remember how weak we really are. When you repent, you have to admit where you’ve failed, where you were too weak to resist the temptation of sin and where you were overcome with worldly desires. But, when we do repent we are not only acknowledging our weaknesses, but God’s character. When we repent often our affections are stirred for God because we are remembering the Gospel. We are asking for sanctification to come. We are remembering our need for Jesus and the salvation he purchased by his blood. 

Repentance doesn’t earn us salvation. That can only come through the work of Jesus, it can help us become holy. It helps us to be what Hosea is saying at the end of chapter 11, “but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.” We cannot be faithful to the Holy One without a deep desire to be like him. When we experience daily exposure to God’s holiness it stirs habits of repentance because we are turning away from unholy things to holy things. Repentance is not empty sorry’s, it is the active clinging to the Spirit to turn away from the unholy things, the things that do not shout God’s glory, that do not stir in us worshipful spirits. God is asking us to be faithful and to be faithful to turn away from death and run to life in Christ. 

What is holding you back from daily repentance? What shame are you clinging to that keeps you in the dark?