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 Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:39 pm
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"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Jesus in Luke 5:32
Last week, we thought and talked about the nature of sin and what sin was. We began to think about turning our backs to sin and whether it was possible for our sin to be forgiven. This week, we're looking at what repentance is and what it means to be repentant.
I want you to picture this scene (Luke 5:27-32 if you'd like to follow along):
You're a tax collector called Levi who collects the taxes that people owe to Caeser. Sometimes you might take more tax than you're supposed to take, just as a little something to tide you over because you're not earning enough. Sometimes you might have guards with you to 'persuade' debtors to hand over what they owe. Whatever happens, business is business and you earn your living.
You've been hearing rumours lately; word-of-mouth about a man who performs miracles like healing the sick and the blind, speaking with authority and forgiving sins, but you're tired of these so-called religious men always going on about God. One day, this guy called Jesus comes to your booth with his disciples and talks with you. You find him different than the religious men you know. You trust him. So, when he asks you to follow him, you drop everything and do so. As you talk with him, you tell him about yourself, the people with whom you work and associate. He asks if he could meet them, so you arrange to have a party at you house, inviting Jesus and his disciples, your workmates and associates and, of course, these religious men who are fond of a good feast.
During the meal, the religious men complain to Jesus' disciples, asking why the disciples share company with these kinds of immoral people. You wonder yourself, because surely someone who is able to perform all the miracles that Jesus has done wouldn't want to spend time with undesirable people. Then Jesus responds with an answer that blows you away. He says to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."
Food for thought: What do you think Jesus meant by this?
Questions
When we looked at sin last week, we came to the conclusion that sin was disobeying God. With this in mind, I'd like you to think about these questions.
What is repentance? What does it mean to be sorry?
Have you done things for which you need to apologise? How can you be repentant?
How do you repent? Is there a way to tell God that you are sorry?
What effect does it have on God and on other people if you are not sorry?
Activity
Imagine or remember a time when someone you know has wronged you in some way. Has he/she been made aware of the wrong he/she has done towards you? Has he/she said sorry for it? Why or why not? Imagine yourself in his/her position. Would you want to be told what you have done wrong so that you can apologise for it? Would you apologise if you had wronged them? Now imagine yourself in God's position. Would you want your creations to be separated from you and from each other by the things they have done wrong? (You may keep your answers to yourself if you choose to do so.) |
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:30 pm
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Food for thought: What do you think Jesus meant by this?
Jesus meant that he was here to save those who had disconnected themselves from God, not those who live for Him. At least that's how I've interpreted this.
What is repentance? What does it mean to be sorry?
Repentance is saying sorry to God for your actions. When you say you are sorry, you truly regret your actions, and you feel bad that they have hurt others and distanced you from God.
Have you done things for which you need to apologise? How can you be repentant?
Yes, we have all done things we needed to apologize for. I've lied, for two years of my life I was a thief, I haven't treated others as I should, and though many have never asked for my forgiveness, I have held anger and bitterness towards them in my heart, and wouldn't have forgiven them had they asked. I feel guilty, and I deeply regret what I've done in the past, and I've prayed to God to forgive me for my mistakes, all of them, and to somehow let those my sins effected know that I was sorry since I can no longer find nearly all of them. I stopped stealing, shop lifting, five years ago; and I'm working on my lying, if I'm afraid of the consequences of the truth, then what I'm doing is wrong. I'm working on forgiving others for what they have done to me, and forgiving them in my own mind.
How do you repent? Is there a way to tell God that you are sorry?
You pray to God for forgiveness, let him know that you recognize your sins and faults, and are trying to fix them, and take them out of your life.
What effect does it have on God and on other people if you are not sorry?
I believe that not being sorry for putting more things between God and yourself would sadden God, and it would grieve Him. With other people, it depends on what the sin was, you may have emotionally hurt them, taken away finances, and at worst taken someone from their lives, maybe even making them doubt God because of your actions.
Activity
Has he/she been made aware of the wrong he/she has done towards you? Has he/she said sorry for it? Why or why not?
All of them were aware of their actions, they either took things from me or hurt me. When someone doesn't know what they've done, I forgive them easily, it's usually a slip of the tongue, or having other plans. When someone lies to me, or steals from me, they know what they're doing. I confront them, but they only offer to give the object back, or say "Gee, I'm sorry", and sound like they don't mean it at all. I don't know why they don't say sorry more seriously, it just means very little to them.
Imagine yourself in his/her position. Would you want to be told what youhave done wrong so that you can apologise for it? Would you apologise if you had wronged them?
Yes, if I ever hurt someone I'd want them to tell me, I don't like hurting others, and I would always apologize for it.
Now imagine yourself in God's position. Would you want your creations to be separated from you and from each other by the things they have done wrong? (You may keep your answers to yourself if you choose to do so.)
No, I wouldn't want them to be separated from themselves and myself, I'd forgive them for their wrong doings, just as God has forgiven us. I couldn't stand my children feeling distant from me because of things they themselves had done.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 12:03 am
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What is repentance? What does it mean to be sorry?
Repentance means not only apologizing for a wrong that has been done, but being truly sincere and at least attempting to change the offending behavior. I don't think that this necessarily means not doing it again, everyone has vices that will probably always get the better of us, but it means making an effort.
Have you done things for which you need to apologise? How can you be repentant?
Nope, I'm perfect ninja
I have quite a few vices and I'm probably guilty of every sin in the book. And I probably repeat them all, if I were to really keep track. Still, I do my best to live up to the standards God has and when I fail, i get back up and try again.
How do you repent? Is there a way to tell God that you are sorry?
Prayer.
What effect does it have on God and on other people if you are not sorry?
I rather think that the person this hurts most is yourself. When a person is not truly repentant, they can not receive forgiveness. While it may make it difficult for a person to move on if they must forgive one who is not sorry, it is still within their own power to brush it off, even to forgive the person that did them wrong.
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 10:09 pm
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Jesus says He came to heal the sick, not the healthy, because it is sick people who need a doctor, not the healthy. We are all sick. We all have this horrible, horrible disease that is killing us. Everyday, we see its effects. Everyday, it hurts more people, and it hurts us. The only cure for this illness is Jesus' blood, which He has offered freely. If we were healthy, we would have no need of Jesus, but the truth of the matter is that we are all sick with sin. That's what He meant by what He said.
What is repentance? What does it mean to be sorry?
I think that, like so much of Christianity, it is more than simply feeling sorry for what you've done. It requires action on our parts, to make up for what we have done. I think this is what motivates us so strongly to love one another. Jesus offered us a way to make ourselves feel better about our undeserving, sinful nature- He said, simply, to love our neighbors. Though we know, truly, that there is nothing on this earth that we could ever do to make ourselves right in God's eyes, it is gratifying and fulfilling to serve others and love them as God does. At the same time, we are fulfilling Jesus' commandment. This action of love is best shown in a gesture of true repentance. When you have wronged God, you work harder to make up for the love you didn't show, to Him or your neighbor. You don't do it because you're sorry, you do it because you want to show you are sorry, which, of course, is inspired by actually being sorry. If you aren't doing anything to amend the situation and better the broken relationship between you and those you have offended (most importantly, God), then your guilt is nothing but guilt; there is no repentance.
Have you done things for which you need to apologize? How can you be repentant?
I have, and I do all the time. I do my best to be the first to apologize in any disagreement, but mostly out of the selfish motivation to be forgiven and release myself from guilt. It's very much a "I'm only sorry because I got caught." But at the same time, I am able to understand how my actions and words can be hurtful, and for that I am truly sorry. Like I said before, a genuine attempt to repair the relationship and avoid the situation in future shows repentance.
How do you repent? Is there a way to tell God that you are sorry?
See above.
What effect does it have on God and on other people if you are not sorry?
Your inability to be sorry often manifests itself to other people as a lack of care for their affection. You might care very much about your relationship with your friends and family- and with God- but it is not our feelings that matter so much as what we do with them. Love is a verb, and God commands us to love. If you are not following this, you are not following God- it can affect your salvation.
Activity
I do this almost on a daily basis. There have been people who have wronged me so deeply in my life, and I forgive them all to the best of my ability- but it is much easier to forgive those who show they want forgiveness, and who are repentant. What's amazing about Jesus is that He shows us this same forgiveness even before we make the effort of repenting. biggrin
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High-functioning Businesswoman
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:24 pm
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:36 am
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I don't know what else I can say that hasn't already been said, but I'll give it a try. smile
What is repentance? What does it mean to be sorry?
Sorry is realizing that you've wronged another person and feel the need to make up for it, most often in the form of an apology. Repentance is the apologizing.
Have you done things for which you need to apologise? How can you be repentant?
Unfortunately, I do them all the time, and mostly I can tell WHEN I'm doing it that this is something I'll need to apologize for later, even if at the time I feel perfectly justified in my behavior. I'm not too proud to go and tell that person, or tell God, that I've been abominable lately and if you/he could possibly forgive me, that'd be swell.
How do you repent? Is there a way to tell God that you are sorry?
Honestly, I think this is very simple. Pray, tell God you've messed up and are very sorry and you'll try your hardest not to let this happen again. God WANTS to forgive us, he's just waiting for us to ask.
What effect does it have on God and on other people if you are not sorry?
It really strains the relationship. If you don't apologize to your friends and family, they might even start carrying a grudge, and you can lose friends or feel unwelcome in your own home. God won't hate you, but he'll still be hurt that you don't care enough to apologize, and a rift will be there between you. It's a hard thing to be that callous, and the more you act like you don't care, the more you'll harden your own heart.
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