God will not tolerate evil for long. Are you with Him in that? Or, are you tolerating evil?
Don’t let chutzpah take hold of your life! The practice of sin can tighten around you, tighter and tighter. And soon… you are in that state of “too late”.
Turn shame into repentance
When we sin, we should quickly repent, 1 become totally ashamed of how far we have fallen from God’s standards. Work at keeping a good conscience. Whether our sin was in the past or is now active in our life, unrepented sin is something to be ashamed of – if we are truly born again followers of Christ.
Are you stubbornly calling “evil” – good? We are warned to NOT follow our shameful ways. There are consequences.
Shame is found throughout the Bible.
Study Shame: Romans 1:27; 1 Corinthians 1:27; 1 Corinthians 15:34; 2 Corinthians 4:2; Ephesians 4:26; Philippians 3:19; 1 Peter 4:3; 1 Peter 5:2; 2 Peter 2:2; Jude 1:23
Many actually are proud of their shameful sin! Philippians 3:19; Jude 1:23; 2 Peter 2:2
“whose glory is in their shame
—who focus their mind on
earthly and temporal things.”
We should turn that guiltiness into repentance, every time. Make them past sins, like: now.
1 Chronicles 28:9
…the Lord searches all hearts and minds,
and understands every intent and inclination of the thoughts.
If you seek Him
[inquiring for and of Him
and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity]
He will let you find Him;
but if you abandon (turn away from) Him,
He will reject you forever.
Hollow Sorrow
Sorrow for our sin does not equal repentance from our sin. There is a difference. We must muddle our way out, away from our sin, sincerely and truthfully. There is no forgiveness for sin (3 John 1:11) if we extol it, pack it in, defend it and practice it.
One type of sorrow leads to authentic concern and repentance. It is “a grief such as God meant you to feel” (verse 9 of 2 Corinthians 7:9-11).
“Worldly sorrow”, however, is hollow and fruitless. Hollow sorrow. It is more like a “sorry we were caught” type of grief. An example is the traitor Judas who betrayed Jesus. He was sorrowful, but instead of then repenting in sorrow, he hung himself in grief – without repenting of his sin.
Sorrow that leads to repentance
Paul spoke of a sorrow that “led to repentance”:
– 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 Amplified Bible (AMP)
9 …I am glad now, not because you were hurt and made sorry, but because your sorrow led to repentance [and you turned back to God];
for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that you might not suffer loss in anything on our account.
10 For [godly] sorrow that is in accord with the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but worldly sorrow [the hopeless sorrow of those who do not believe] produces death.
11 For [you can look back and] see
what an earnestness and authentic concern this godly sorrow has produced in you:
what vindication of yourselves [against charges that you tolerate sin],
what indignation [at sin],
what fear [of offending God],
what longing [for righteousness and justice],
what passion [to do what is right],
what readiness to punish [those who sin and those who tolerate sin]!
At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
– 2 Corinthians 7:9-11
That’s what I’m talkin’ bout!
Don’t Wait
It is never too late to repent… until it’s too late. So don’t wait. We don’t know when that “too late” will be.
- It’s too late if you die in your sins.
- It’s too late if you delay and delay, and your sinning becomes ingrained in you, and you harden yourself against God.
It can very soon be too late if you totally convince yourself God’s Way is not necessary, and that your ways are right.
Habitual sin eventually takes you to a state of “too late”. Hardened, you never relent. You never repent. You die hardened. You arrive before God’s Throne, cowed, but still unrepentant, still under condemnation.
There is no forgiveness
for sin (3 John 1:11)
if we extol it,
pack it in,
defend it
and habitually practice it
Mercy and Grace Abounds See: Through Grace and Sheer Mercy
Even while deep in your sin, God is full of mercy and grace. Oh how marvelous!
What marvelous grace of the damning God, who would go so far out of His way to “un-condemn” me, to “un-do” His “God damn”, His damnation of me – – to save me forever for Himself. To love me – at all. That is the grace of God. – Source: Oh how marvelous
Every evil is forgivable through Jesus’ grace. He loves us enough to provide “a way to escape” His condemnation. Without the forgiveness of Christ, each of us is definitely headed for judgement and condemnation (John 3:5-21).
Even with all our sin, God provided a way, His Way, for us to come to Him and be pardoned from that condemnation. In Christ there is absolutely no condemnation!
Romans 8:1 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Therefore there is
now
no condemnation
[no guilty verdict, no punishment]
for those who are
in Christ Jesus
[who believe in Him
as personal Lord and Savior].
Are you “in Christ” – or outside looking in?
the one who practices
[or permits or tolerates]
evil
has not seen God
[he has no personal experience
with Him and
does not know Him
at all].
– 3 John 1:11
Adapted from: Ashamed of Yourself?
FOR MORE:
About past sins and being forgiven now
God forgives all wrongdoings of all repentant sinners, no exception
I am not the sum of all my sins
The Roman Road …key verses explaining salvation – in the book of Romans
God Is Able To Keep You From Stumbling – Jude 1: verses 24-25
The Chutzpah of Wannabe Christians
If I Were To Let Sin Reign In My Body
Make Self Talk… God Talk. It goes on and on and on:
Footnotes
Confessing quickly – not wallowing
Being “better”, being more righteous, is every Christian’s goal. But Christian maturity is not so much a matter of sinning less – it’s a matter of confessing more quickly!Instead of wallowing…, one turns from sin more quickly, admitting to God “I have sinned”. I repent sooner, recognize sin and repent, confess and renew, and start afresh.
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