[–] 16982634? 0 points 5 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago
I think in the end sin is participating in darkness wether knowingly or not. It is giving darkness more power . They feed on it , on distruction and pain . So what ever causes those things is sin . Sin is distruction. Repentance is a change of understanding , a knowledge and a change of heart that changes your chorse, and perspective.
[–] 16982383? 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
Re-pent. To think again. It's in the word. "They pointed instead at the root of the meaning of the word repentance: meta=after; noeo=to think. Put the two together and the effect of meta was "after the fact" or "afterwards." In essence it meant to think about something later on and have a reversal of opinion about it."
[–] 16982356? 0 points 9 points 9 points (+9|-0) ago
Before you can define repentance, you must define sin. Many believe it is the transgression of the law., Which is true. There is another level under this. Deep down It is the rebellion from God the Father. God wants to be loved and worshipped and held above all things by us, his Creation. He does not want his Creation to follow lists of things to do and other things not to do. He wants me and you entirely to himself. God is love. His character is love. His entire plan for man is based on His never ending love for you and I. He literally gave His only Son's life for us so we can be reconciled to Him. If we only understood the level and depth of His love for us we would better understand what He wants from us. Yes, he has law. It is part of His character. We break his law constantly because we are a broken people. The question becomes, what is in your heart? Is it (You ) or is it (God)?
So, Repentance - what does it mean? To go back to keeping the lists of what to do and what not to do in order to make God love us more? No! There is nothing we can do to make the Father love us more. Remember, he sent his Son to die for us while we where still his enemy. To repent means to turn away from our selfish rebellion from God and face Him, on our knees through the saving Blood of His Son Jesus and ask for His forgiveness which he hands out gladly and freely to those who love Him more than they love themselves. To these he imparts Righteousness.
[–] 16983536? 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
"This I say then, walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary, the one to the other, so that ye cannot do what ye would."
Well stated post. God gives spirit to those who believe. It is the power of God in the believer. The assurance of being a son of God, and as such, the assurance of eternal life. The walk in the spirit is the all truth Christ spoke of. Learn of this.
[–] 16983181? 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
I'm glad it helps. Remember, Satan was not only successful in destroying man through his deepstate tactics, he was extremely successful at deceiving us through Biblical teaching. The real Truth is all still in the Word. Our churches just don't understand it enough to teach it. They were all deceived through the seminaries. Satan has been very busy teaching us all that Good is a tyrant and his demands are unfair - just as he did to Eve in the beginning.
[–] 16982335? 1 point -1 points 0 points (+0|-1) ago (edited ago)
But, what one person considers a "sin", other people see as normal human behavior. (e.g. taking drugs). Why should I repent for something that is not wrong? Marijuana should be legal. I break the law by smoking it. It's a bad law. I won't repent for doing that.
The way that is cleared is allowing the fundamentals of God's revealed will in his commandments define what sin truly is. The moral law of God is focused on how one respects God as Lord and creator to whom we owe allegiance, and on how we treat our neighbor. Sin has to do with inter-relational matters of utmost importance, not do's and don'ts of what goes into the body.
[–] 16982385? [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I think there are temptations always around us, it's not up to man to decide the 5 W's of sin...we're born into it. The laws of man aren't always, rarely are ever, aligned with Gods. That's my perspective. I like how the Author of the Article says: We’re tempted every day in a thousand different directions. Therefore, we must constantly reorient ourselves back toward God, seeing him anew and pursuing him afresh. As Martin Luther noted, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.”
I know I am one person, but I do not think you smoking weed or whatever is wrong, unhealthy in my eyes, but not wrong.
[–] 16983730? 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
Plus one for bringing in Luther, he had a lot of wisdom on sin and temptation for the Christian.
I still marvel at the paradox that the world and, to be honest, most of the church, mainly if not exclusively focus on sins as outward behaviors, because they're cut and dry, black and white, and easily identifiable in others (downstream legalisms, judgmentalisms). Meanwhile the teachings of the New Testament are clearly focused on sin as a matter of the heart, of overall attitude, and the more complex dynamics of how we relate to one another. When one digs into Jesus' teachings and sees what he's really getting at, the heart is exposed in all its falsehoods and hidden idolatries and hypocrisies... in that condition how could we even have time or energy to wring hands over the sinful behavior of everyone else in this hyper tabloid culture?
[–] 16982331? [S] 0 points 5 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago
Amen..as the author stated Repenting means experiencing a change of mind that now sees God as true and beautiful and worthy of all our praise and all our obedience. It's something that even those in the presence of Jesus had to be reminded of. Repentance is a lifelong thing when we live in a world consumed by sin.
[–] 16983521? ago
Thank you