Happy Monday to you!
Repentance is an important aspect of Christianity. To repent means to feel contrition and to turn away from sin. You may have stolen an object that did not belong to you or demonstrated hatred for someone that is different from you. You may have told a lie or assaulted someone physically. The aforementioned acts are a few examples of sin.
Sin is a tremendous burden that destroys lives. In our own human strength, we fall prey to sinful thoughts, speech, and behavior. It is the Spirit of God that makes us aware of the impropriety of our human nature. The Holy Spirit convicts us when we commit acts that hurt God, other people, and ourselves. No conviction that we have ever experienced comes from our nature. In fact, left to our own fleshly devices, we would only engender harm. Thankfully, in Jesus Christ, we have the liberty and the power to do what is right.
Our lives do not have to remain vessels for unrighteousness. Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross to pay the price for our sins. He bore all of our unrighteousness so that we could live freely. The apostle Paul reminded us in his letter to the Romans that "the wages of sin is death”. When Christ rose again, He rose with power. That exact power is available to all those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. When we are tempted to sin, we have that power to help us to endure and overcome temptation.
Our society encourages us to fulfill the desires of our flesh. Many of you know that the pursuit of pleasure is hedonism. However, Christ calls us to seek the highest pursuit and that is a relationship with God the Father. A relationship with God the Father provides peace and joy that you can never experience through any other source.
So what does all this have to do with repentance?
If you have given your life to Jesus Christ, you must not continue to fulfill the desires of your flesh. In other words, you should no longer steal. You should no longer lie. You should no longer assault others. You should no longer be proud, envious, or hateful. You have to fight against the predilection of your flesh to do evil and make the difficult choice to do good. Of course, repentance is challenging. There is always something that is trying to pull our hearts and attention away from God.
When choosing righteousness becomes painfully difficult, remember that Jesus understands. Jesus is the one who will strengthen you and guide you away from sin. So, stop relying on your own strength. In moments of intense temptation, call on Jesus and ask Him to help you. Trust me. Jesus will not only answer your plea; He will also increase your resolve to stand firmly against all manner of unrighteousness.
I hope this helps you in your walk with God.