Repentance that Leads to Salvation

Many disagreed with me on my post about living a life of repentance. The Bible doesn't teach that we must lay in bed every night and try to remember every single sin we did that day and ask for forgiveness. There is nothing in the Word of God that commands we do this type of thing since every single one of our sins was forgiven the first day we repented {turned away from our life without God and turned to Him and His ways}. All of our sins {past, present and future} were paid for and forgiven at the cross and we received this forgiveness the day we repented and believed. This isn’t something I have made up; it’s in the Word of God. Read Romans 6. Paul tells us multiple times that we are freed and dead from sin. It's all been forgiven! Spend your time in bed at night praising the Lord for the great work He has done in you.

The day after that post was published, Ken and I read this in Charles Spurgeon’s Morning Evening ~

The verse was from Isaiah 44:22, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, they transgressions and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee.” Spurgeon wrote, “Let our joyful eye dwell upon THE NOTABLE ACT of divine mercy-"blotting out." God Himself appears upon the scene, and in divine benignity, instead of manifesting His anger, reveals His grace: He at once and for ever effectually removes the mischief, not by blowing away the cloud, but by blotting it out from existence once for all. Against the justified man no sin remains, the great transaction of the cross has eternally removed His transgressions from him. On Calvary's summit the great deed, by which the sin of all the chosen was for ever put away, was completely and effectually performed."

The moment we repent and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior “we are washed, but we are sanctified, but we are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” {1 Corinthians 6:11}. The writer of Hebrews then writes, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God” {Hebrews 6:11}. Once we repent by turning away from a life without God to a life with God, we are free and dead from sin. We are new creatures in Christ and walk in newness of life.

I love what one person commented on my repentance post. “I agree that we don't need to confess sins for forgiveness. For myself, I just find myself agreeing with God when He puts his finger on an area of sin in my life. And, now, instead of wallowing in guilt and shame, I can thank Him and praise Him because I know that when He does that, He's going to bring me into more freedom in that area in my life. And, His grace is sufficient for me in those weaknesses. The realization of those truths make me a much more cooperative child as He is working in me to will and do of His good pleasure as opposed to feeling guilty, ashamed or fearful of His response or how He thought/felt of me. How can you run to a Father when you feel those things? But, it's much easier to run to the Father and trust Him when you know that your sin has been fully dealt with and hurled to the depths of the sea. Love the book of Hebrews, so much of it speaks to what we're talking about here."

Hebrews 10:14-18: "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, 'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,' he also adds, 'I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.' Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin."

Does this mean we are free to sin? NO, as Paul said, "By no means! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" He knew that there would be some that would say that we could magnify the grace of God if we kept on sinning and he spoke very clearly that this grace was not a license to sin. So, while we remember that we are forgiven of all of our sin and that it has been fully dealt with, we also remember the truths that we have died to sin and are alive to God. If you are a new creation in Christ, you do not want to sin. You have the life of Christ in you. You may stumble, but you will not ever be "at home" living in sin the way you were before becoming born again. {Thank you to whoever wrote this wonderful and encouraging comment!}

Jesus paid for every sin one of your sins at the cross. You are completely forgiven of every single sin you have committed and will commit, the moment you believe. You are now a new creature in Christ! Now that you are a believer, repent {which means to 'turn away'} from all sin in your life and begin living like the saint God calls you. "Go and sin no more!"

Finally, here is another entry by Charles Spurgeon from Morning Evening. {I encourage all of you to have this convicting and encouraging devotional!}

Come, my soul, think thou of this. Believing in Jesus, thou art actually and effectually cleared from guilt; thou art led out of thy prison. Thou art no more in fetters as a bond-slave; thou art delivered now from the bondage of the law; thou art freed from sin, and canst walk at large as a freeman; thy Saviour's blood has procured thy full discharge. Thou hast a right now to approach thy Father's throne. No flames of vengeance are there to scare thee now; no fiery sword; justice cannot smite the innocent. Thy disabilities are taken away: thou wast once unable to see thy Father's face: thou canst see it now. Thou couldst not speak with him: but now thou hast access with boldness. Once there was a fear of hell upon thee; but thou hast no fear of it now, for how can there be punishment for the guiltless? 

He who believeth is not condemned, and cannot be punished. And more than all, the privileges thou mightst have enjoyed, if thou hadst never sinned, are thine now that thou art justified. All the blessings which thou wouldst have had if thou hadst kept the law, and more, are thine, because Christ has kept it for thee. All the love and the acceptance which perfect obedience could have obtained of God, belong to thee, because Christ was perfectly obedient on thy behalf, and hath imputed all his merits to thy account, that thou mightst be exceeding rich through him, who for thy sake became exceeding poor. Oh! how great the debt of love and gratitude thou owest to thy Saviour!

"There is therefore now no condemnation."

Romans 8:1

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, 
when sorrows like sea billows roll; 
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, 
It is well, it is well with my soul. 
Refrain: 
It is well with my soul, 
it is well, it is well with my soul.

 My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! 

My sin, not in part but the whole, 
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, 
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!