When our sins have separated between us and God, what do we do? (Isa 59: [2] But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.)
Consider the verse immediately preceeding: Isa 59: [1] Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
Here we see that the second verse explains why we feel that God does not hear us at times. Even King David said Ps 42: [1] As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
[2] My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
[3] My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
[4] When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
This is similar to Ps 73: [10] Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.
[11] And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?
We should be confident that God hears prayer based on I Jno 5: [14] And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
[15] And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
What characterizes the persons who are heard? I Jno 3: [18] My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
[19] And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
[20] For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
[21] Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
[22] And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
How does a person obtain this confidence? We have discussed before that a person can make a contract with God, by being baptized into Christ’s death (Ro 6: [3] Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
[4] Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
[5] For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
[6] Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
[7] For he that is dead is freed from sin.)
What does this contract do for us? I Pet 3: [18] For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
[19] By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
[20] Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
[21] The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
We discussed that baptism was immersion, based on the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch. Consider then that the main purpose and benefit of immersion baptism is the forgiveness of sins.
Remember the old saw “and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free?” In context it reads Jno 8: [31] Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
[32] And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
[33] They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
[34] Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
[35] And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
[36] If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
When we come to decision like the decision to be immersed for the forgiveness of sins, we should also count the cost. Speaking of Jesus, the physician says: Lk 14: [25] And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
[26] If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
[27] And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
[28] For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
[29] Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
[30] Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
[31] Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
[32] Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
[33] So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
[34] Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
[35] It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Not only so, but we also consider that if we are re-born in Christ, we are defenseless is some sense (1 Cor 3: [1] And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
[2] I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
[3] For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?)
As such, we contemplate the analogy of walking. Ro 8: [1] There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
[2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
[3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
[4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
I was around two years old was when I first began to walk. As you may well imagine, I fell down a lot. At the age of 6 I fell less, and by 21 it was a rare occurrence. I am not yet old, but at the age of 65 or 70, falling becomes a very serious occurrence. If I broke a hip at that age I would need surgery, or be crippled to the extent that I could not live unaided. So, with the Christian a sin represents falling down. How do we recover? Pr 24: [16] For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
[17] Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
[18] Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
This shows us that falls will happen. How do we recover? I expect that this is accomplished by the same mechanism that “God doth know” in Ps 73. By repentant prayer. Lk 24: [45] Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
[46] And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
[47] And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
…associates repentance with remission of sins. In Biblical times, the word repent was so well understood that it may not have been explicitly defined. As of this writing, I have not studied it exhaustively, but there are things that we can say about repentance.
It is something God can do: Gen 6: [5] And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
[6] And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
[7] And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Here we could say that God was sorry, but he had done nothing wrong. It was man’s choice to sin that caused the problem (Ecc 7: [29] Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.)
To look at an exhaustive list of the word “repent” in the bible, click here. To search any word or phrase in the bible, click here.
Since God had done nothing wrong, being sorry is not all that was involved, but grief was associated. God was grieved, but it is not him only that is grieved when repentance occurred: 2 Cor 7: [8] For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
[9] Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
[10] For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
[11] For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
(Note: vs 11 shows a progression of spiritual responses to sin.) Here the apostle Paul shows that he intended to provoke repentance, and vs 9 rejoiced at it. Having being said that sorrow is not repentance, what exactly is repentance? I suggest that it is a change of mind. A test of repentance is “would you do it again?” If you would then you probably have not repented. Another similar phrase is “turn from.” Here Paul and Barnabas earnestly entreated others. Ac 14: [15] And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
Once one has made a contract with God by baptism, sins must be repented from. Having repented, we seek forgiveness, or we would not be grieved. Christ set the example of praying for forgiveness in his famous model prayer, but also set the precedent that it would be conditional. Mt 6: [12] And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
[13] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
[14] For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
[15] But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
A lesson on “when I cannot morally blackmail my brother into forgiving me,” is for another time. Generally we are to be forgiving, and forgive those who ask for forgiveness. We do not expect God to forgive use if we do not ask him. In Mk 11: [24] Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
[25] And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
[26] But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
…Jesus speaks. Recall that we should believe that we receive for a reason; we believe because we obey (I Jno 3: [22] And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.)
Having repented and prayed for forgiveness, we have the benefit of the request. Beyond that, if we are having a continuing problem with sin, we have things we can do. Jas 5: [16] Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Here the fault may not be the same thing as the sin. For example, with adultery, the fault lies with lust (Mt 5:28.) With murder, the fault lies with hatred (1 Jno 3: [15] Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.)
Again, I submit that this is a reductio ad absurdum of hatred, but if I was to be drawn into murder, the fault would lie in an initial hatred. Identifying a fault is not always easy. If the problem persists, one may choose to make a public declaration of it to the Church. This gives one pause in a social sense, very much like shaving one’s head might, but it accomplishes a purpose. One shouldn’t go about making a trivial matter of shaving your head either.
Let’s consider what is entailed by the promise of 1 Jno 1: [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We have forgiveness, but then he speaks in the same breath of being cleansed from all unrighteousness. Here we confess a sin, not a fault, and the audience is not defined. God is my usual audience for such admissions. We think of cleansing as washing, but in Ps 51: [6] Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
[7] Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
[8] Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
[9] Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
[10] Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
In context, King David (who did not write ALL the Psalms,) associates the cleansing with a figurative breaking of bones. In Hebrews, we see that Heb 12: [5] And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
[6] For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
…he quotes an Old Testament passage in vs 5, and concludes in Vs 6 the correction we are talking about is like corporal punishment. That it is figurative could be argued from Pr 17: [10] A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
So, we have discussed Godly sorrow, repentance and how to obtain forgiveness both before and after salvation. Our incentive not to sin is in Heb 6: [6] If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
…we do not wish to crucify Christ again, and put him to an open shame.
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