Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Repentance

"Jesus announced that His mission was to "call … sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13).

Such an experience is a personal change of mind, a turning around to go in the opposite direction. It includes deep heart sorrow for sin, a sense of shame and self-abhorrence for a life of rebellion against one's Creator and Redeemer.

As such, it can be a cataclysmic upheaval of soul.

The nearer we come to Jesus, and the more clearly we discern the
purity of His character, the more clearly shall we see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the less shall we feel like exalting ourselves. There will be a continual reaching out of the soul after God, a continual, earnest, heartbreaking confession of sin and humbling of the heart before Him. (Acts of the Apostles, p. 561).

Further,
--without a preparation for His coming on the part of a unique people, He cannot come.
--Therefore, until He comes, the sleeping saints of all ages are doomed to remain prisoners in their dusty graves.
--Somehow, the vicious circle must be broken.
--Repentance is the vital factor.
--The key to unlock this log-jam of last day events is the heart-preparation of a people."
BiblicalRepentance Ch.2