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Forgiveness and
Repentance through the Avenue
of Grace
If we are to
enter
God’s rest by experiencing the fullness of Christ’s
resurrection power in our lives, we will need to consider whether there
are still judgments against others dwelling in our hearts. Obviously,
when we received our salvation, we were not required by God, to list,
individually, every person who had ever hurt or offended us and then
repent of our anger, resentment and bitter root judgments toward each
person (Heb. 12:15). But, if we are to mature in Christ through His
grace as we continue on in our Christian walk, we must be willing to
release these people from our judgments (Matt. 6:12-15).
Though
we may seldom have viewed our salvation from this perspective,
forgiveness of others was an element of our salvation. When we
confessed contrition for all the sins of our past, this certainly
included releasing from the judgment of our hearts every person who had
ever sinned against us in any way.
We were justified by the sacrifice Christ
made on the cross on our behalf so that, through salvation, we might
enjoy the fullness of the benefits of sonship with him. These benefits
were made available to us through our repentance and God’s forgiveness
of our sins. Yet, scripture clearly indicates that if we are to
continue as recipients of God’s good favor, we must resolutely adopt an
ongoing attitude of forgiveness toward others (Matt. 7:1-2; Luke
17:3-4). Most Christians understand the importance of this basic
principle. It is a staple of Christian teaching.
But
there is another, very important aspect of forgiveness that is
often overlooked - Our
personal repentance for the sinful thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors that have developed in our lives in reaction to
the original offenses against us.
How Reactive Judgments
can Keep Us in Bondage
Much of how we think,
feel, and act today is derived from our past
reactions to both the positive and negative influences in our
lives. Inevitably, ungodly behaviors develop from some of these
reactions. For example, if we suffer rejection and hurt, we may form a
negative judgment about the one that has rejected us. To hurt feels
like weakness; to hate feels like strength. So, in our attempt to
alleviate the pain we feel from rejection, instead of reacting with
forgiveness, we begin to develop critical, judgmental thinking toward
others (Heb. 12:15; Gen. 4:5-8). From this position of blaming,
we often come to believe that we must develop and rely on protective
mechanisms of behavior in order to “survive” emotionally. For example,
we may become shy and withdrawn, or perhaps bold, manipulative and
aggressive.
Whenever
we do not choose the option of forgiveness toward those who
have offended us, we are fostering the development of self-reliant
attitudes deep within the heart. Rejecting the avenue of forgiveness,
we learn to rely on our own efforts to overcome the personal offenses
we experience and become well-practiced at trying to maintain control
in our personal relationships in order to feel emotionally safe.
Sometimes,
in trying to achieve this control, we develop an acute
sensitivity regarding what we perceive to be the thoughts or feelings
of others. We come to rely on these hypersensitive perceptions, as
distorted as they may be, in order to circumvent conflict in
relationships and avoid the anguish of further rejection.
From an
unforgiving heart, we will often pursue an emotional
compensation for past rejection, placing unrealistic demands and
expectations on others and even on ourselves. Of course, by placing
this unattainable burden of performance on the people in our lives and
on ourselves, we are actually setting ourselves up for further
disappointment and rejection. Truly, what we have sown in past
judgments to accommodate the sinful nature, we will reap through
unhealthy, destructive patterns of behavior in present day
relationships (Gal. 6:7-8).
Over a
period of time, we grow to depend on these behavioral mechanisms
and they become a fixed system that we regularly use and trust. It
becomes daily, monthly, yearly, increasingly difficult to believe there
is a better way (Prov. 14:12). Even if we begin to intellectually
understand the reality and complexity of our dysfunction that
prevents us from healthy relationship with others, we often find that
we cannot, of our own power, free ourselves from the sinful
inclinations of our souls. Thankfully, our Father God does not expect
us to gain freedom from the multitudinous layers of dysfunction that
have developed within our souls, by relying entirely upon our own
efforts.
It is,
instead, the recognition of our inability to effectively
disengage from the judgmental patterns of the old nature and the
protective behavioral mechanisms we have constructed in opposition to
healthy intimacy with man and God, which brings the opportunity for
real change by the power of God! This change occurs through our belief
in and surrender to the process of repentance and sanctification, which
are both ongoing works of the Holy Spirit within us (Rom. 2:28-29;
8:1-11; Phil. 1:6; 1 Thess. 5:23-24).
In the
article Overcoming Foundational Root Judgments a working model
is given for overcoming the specific root judgments that have formed in
our lives and the sinful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that we have
developed in reaction to personal offenses from our past. But before we
can use the working model effectively, it will be necessary to clear up
some of the common confusion surrounding repentance and sanctification.
Grace for Repentance is a
Divine Gift
that God Wants to Give
Unfortunately, as a
result of our predisposition toward a
works-oriented, performance-bound mentality, we often misinterpret what
is needed for the process of personal repentance and sanctification to
occur. Our tendency is to try to work out our repentance and
sanctification by depending primarily on our own efforts and
understanding, instead of believing, trusting, and asking God to do
this supernatural work within us, according to His understanding (Gal.
3:3-5).
Sometimes,
in shame and exasperation, we erroneously believe that God
has not freed us from our repetitive sin patterns because we have not
felt bad enough about our sin, or we have not tried hard enough by our
own efforts to become free (Eph.2:8-9). We often believe that if we
could just feel ashamed enough about our sin, God would respond by
empowering us to overcome the sin (Rom. 8:1; 10:11).
But
shame cannot purchase grace. Faith is the tool we must use to
apprehend the power of God’s grace. Faith in the finished work of
Christ on the cross and faith in Jesus’ resurrection power through the
work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts to bring freedom to our souls.
Ordinarily, we fail to comprehend this truth, because we have “fallen
away from grace” through a persistent attitude of worldly self-reliance
that has infiltrated our religious beliefs (Gal. 5:1-5).
We must
make every effort possible to avoid the entanglements of sin in
our lives, but we must also realize that we can never, solely by the
efforts of our fleshly wills, come to full repentance. William Evans,
in The Great Doctrines of the Bible states, “Repentance is not
something which one can originate within himself, or can pump up within
himself as one would pump water out of a well. It is a divine gift. How
then is man responsible for not having it? We are called upon to repent
in order that we may feel our own inability to do so, and consequently
be thrown upon God to perform this work of grace in our
hearts.”
(
Italics mine).
Relying on the Holy Spirit
When we invite God to
perform a work of grace unto repentance in our
hearts, we will begin to experience a heartfelt sorrow over our sins.
We will desire to turn away from the sinful thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors that we have developed in reaction to personal offenses from
our past.
But the
next step on the journey to complete repentance, the one that
we most commonly stumble over, is the sanctifying work of the Holy
Spirit, which occurs between our sorrow and our new godly behavior. The
Holy Spirit, by the grace available to us through Christ Jesus, has the
power to literally separate us from the ways of the old nature, which
compelled us toward ungodly behavior in the past.
As Evans says: “The
Holy Spirit seals, attests, and confirms the work of grace in the soul
by producing the fruits of righteousness therein. It is the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus who gives us free-dom from the law of sin and
death (Rom. 8:2). He is called the Holy Spirit, not only because He is
absolutely holy Himself, but also because He produces that quality of
soul character in the believer. The Spirit is the executive of the
God-head for this very purpose. It is the Spirit’s work to war against
the lusts of the flesh and enable us to bring forth fruit unto
holiness.” 8 (Italics mine)
If we do
not actively believe in the Holy Spirit to do this work within
us, we are missing out on the incredible power of grace that is
available to us through our faith relationship with Christ. It is an
important part of the foundation of both our salvation and ongoing
sanctification. As scripture reveals,
“Let us
then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we
may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need”
-Heb. 4:16
We Rest in His Finished
Work
When we repent of the
sinful attitudes and behaviors that have
developed in our lives, Christ’s finished work on the cross is made
available to us by the active work of the Holy Spirit within us, in
response to our dependence upon Him to do a sanctifying work of inner
transformation. This is known as resting in the finished work of
Christ. (Heb. 3:16-19; 4:8-11; John 19:30). Rest is rest!
Transformation by our own efforts is not transformation at all. It is
unbelief - trusting in self more than we trust in God. (See Heb. 4:11,
3:18-19; Isa. 30:1-15).
The
supernatural power for the transformation of our souls is not found
in our own efforts and works. It is a work of the Holy Spirit:
Now the
Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's
glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
-2 Cor 3:17,18
The Influence of Our
Old Nature Rebels
Against Believing God
Mankind’s
complex performance-bound mentalities derived from the old nature,
rebel against the simplicity of grace (Gal. 3:1-5 and 5:1-5). Believing
on God to do for us supernaturally, what we cannot do for ourselves, is
both humbling and seemingly too simplistic!
We struggle with the concept of rest, because
resting in the finished
work of Christ demands an unconditional surrendering of our complex
prideful self-determinations, which we have depended on throughout our
lifetime.
But that which we are unwilling to surrender will
inevitably lead to a
testing of the quality of our works, in which all that we have done
through our own self-directed efforts will be burned up:
“his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it
to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the
quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will
receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself
will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames”
-1 Cor. 3:13-15
God Will Remove the
Bitter Roots
True freedom from the
sinful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that
have developed in our lives is accomplished by asking and believing on
God to circumcise our heart by the power of the Holy Spirit, (“…and
circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the
written code” Rom. 2:29) removing bitter roots (strongholds of judgment
toward self and oth-ers) (Heb. 12:15), and severing the ungodly weeds
(behavior and belief systems) which have grown up from these bitter
roots. As God does this sanctifying work in us, we will then be able to
experience the life of Christ in those previously dark, unforgiving,
unrepentant areas of our heart.
Apart
from this reliance on the power of God we will find
ourselves wandering through a spiritual desert, searching for rest,
frustrated by our inability to gain freedom from our ungodly behavior
patterns.
When we
finally surrender to the truth and invite the Holy Spirit to do
this work of grace in our hearts, we will begin to experience the peace
and joy, confidence, assurance, and fullness of life, which always
result from an act of faith in the finished work of Christ.
Look again at Jesus’
words,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light.”
-Matthew 11:28-30
1.
William Evans, The
Great Doctrines Of The Bible, (Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois)
pp. 142 – (from pg. 66)
2. William
Evans, The Great Doctrines Of The Bible, (Moody
Press, Chicago,
Illinois)
pp. 168,169 – (from pg.66)
Copyright
©
2000 by R. Thomas Brass
All
rights reserved
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