The words ‘sin’ and ‘repentance’ seem somewhat old-fashioned don’t they?

I often wonder if people these days  relate to such terminology.

It is true that sin and repentance are concepts that seem to go against the grain. Our individualistic society feeds off the thought that ‘I’ should focus on myself – and that ‘truth’ is simply what I believe and how dare anyone challenge that.

But that smacks of a hardness of heart – whereas we are called to be softened and malleable in God’s hands.

t fact is that  repentance actually holds the key to unlocking so much freedom within us as Christians.

We need to say sorry both to God and to others. We need to have the grace to allow others to say sorry to us and forgive when necessary.

Saying Sorry can always be challenging because we can feel that it exposes our weakness but in reality it’s quite the opposite.  facing up to our wrongdoing and being accountable shows our strength. here are a few more detailed thoughts to consider …

 It reveals a humble, honest heart.

God wants us to be humble enough to acknowledge when we are in the wrong, rather than trying to cover it up. When we come to Him with honesty it shows integrity; we aren’t trying to pretend we are better than we are. Saying sorry and asking for forgiveness demonstrates our continued need of a Saviour. We can’t do everything in our own strength – repenting when we trip up shows that we recognise this and are leaning on God.

It opens us up to our own healing.

When we are honest about our shortcomings, and repent fully, it releases God’s grace in our lives. His love, acceptance and forgiveness release a security and faith in our hearts. This faith and trust allows us to have a deep relationship with both Him and others.

We will all be hurt at some time, but how we deal with that either frees us from the hurt or causes us to sin. If the latter occurs we need to repent of our response.

So often we can be self-righteous when we respond to a wrong done to us, feeling like the other person is wholly to blame so our response is justified , and yet, while God holds them 100% responsible for what they have done, He holds us 100% responsible for our actions –

[Matthew 6:16]

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, who trespass against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses.</space(2)>

It makes for pretty sobering reading doesn’t it?

When we hold on to bitterness and anger we are sinning. When we repent of that and make the hard choice to forgive, we are actually freeing ourselves.

It helps us to grow in maturity.

God doesn’t want robots that behave exactly as He wants them to out of a sense of duty, He wants a relationship with people who love Him like He loves them. Learning to accept responsibility when we make mistakes and saying sorry (to God and also to anyone we have directly hurt) helps us on the journey towards spiritual and emotional maturity. This takes time, because it involves us learning to make the right choices and walk in the freedom that He offers us.

 It builds unity in our relationships.

God longs for friendship with us, and to unite us with others that love Him. He puts us into church families because they are one of the channels through which His healing comes. When churches are working as they should, love and acceptance freely flows, which in turn helps us walk free of our fears and into wholeness.

In reality, church communities can be very far from this model of grace and love, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying. One of the by-products of being in right relationship with God is that we have a desire to restore our relationships with others too.

Being willing to say sorry when we know we’ve hurt someone else, keeps the lines of healing and unity open.

It is a great weapon against our enemy’s tactics.

It is important to recognise that we have an enemy whose sole aim is to destroy us – as 1 Peter 5:8 says

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour

He tries to entrap us into thinking wrong thoughts so that we are bound up and unable to walk free.

He points out our faults, enticing us to focus on them rather than the truths found in God’s word. He loves to remind us of the wrongs people have done to us so that we stew in bitterness and anger, because he knows that cuts us off form fellowship with our Father. By repenting, we are refusing to give in to our enemy – as Ephesians 4:27 reminds us:

 Neither give place to the devil.

Repentance is certainly a lifestyle that is worth embracing – don’t you think?