 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
THE
BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?
EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?
GOD
- MAN
Is Jesus really God?
RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?
SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?
TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.
SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.
FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?
GUIDANCE
How does God guide?
REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.
BORN
AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?
SAVING
FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven
ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?
TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?
MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.
THE
CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the
new millennium.
PURPOSE
How
can I find a great purpose for living?
IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of
God.
SELF-ESTEEM
How
can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.
LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.
THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.
Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.
Repentance is not something we can do unaided
C. S. Lewis explains a dilemma we all face:
Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it.
|
"
the barrier to repentance for many people is not that we cannot
leave our sins; it is that we do not want to"
|
The only person who could do it perfectly would be a perfect person - and he would not need it. However, God does not expect us to do it on our own. It is interesting that three times in the New Testament we are told that repentance is something God gives (Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25). He made our reconciliation with him possible by giving us his Son to bear our sins. He gives us his Holy Spirit to first give us the desire to repent and be reconciled, and then the strength to do it. The Greek scholar, Richard Trent, archbishop of Dublin, defined repentance as "That mighty change in mind, heart, and life, wrought by the spirit of God, which we call repentance."
The influential Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, gave a useful illustration:
It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it; I can't, and it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it; I can't. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like that, and if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, I could live a life like that.
If I really want to be reconciled to God then the Holy Spirit will lead me in repentance. As he comes into a person's life he begins his work of transformation. I can remember explaining the gospel to a young wife and asking her if she wanted to commit her life to Jesus. She said she did, but she had a problem - she hated her husband and did not see how she could change that. Discussing the issue with her, I asked, "Do you want to love him?" Her immediate response was, "Yes, of course." On that basis, I suggested we bow our heads and that we ask for God's forgiveness and for Jesus to come into her life and to give her that love, which she did.
Maybe the barrier to repentance for many people is not that we cannot leave our sins; it is that we do not want to. We need to hear the warning of George MacDonald, the Scottish writer, who said that we are condemned not for the wicked things we have done, but for not leaving them.
 |
 |
What is Repentance and why you can't get to heaven without it
Repentance may involve restitution
Repentance is not something we can do unaided
