Bassmasa

Hey Everyone,

I'm leading a small group at my church and we hit an interesting topic last night that I wanted to run by the great minds at this forum. We were discussing the difference in true repentance versus confession of sins. From my point of view, I had confessed a certain sin many times to Christ, asked for forgiveness, but never truly repented until recently. Basically, I was sorry for my sins, but continued to live in willful disobedience, thinking I could keep a "pet sin" in my life and God would be OK with that.

Looking back, I'm amazed at my own stupidity and ability to convince myself that Satan's lies were true. Finally, I truly repented back in February and continue to experience life changing events. To me, repentance involves a change in lifestyle, not just asking for forgiveness. I now hate the sin and am taking active steps to defeat it. I've confessed to other people and am doing what I can to make past transgressions right.

I found this verse last night on the topic and thought it was simply fantastic. From 2 Corinthians 7:

The "wordly sorrow" I experienced before was nothing more than knowing my sins, but refusing to rely on God to overcome them; apologizing to Him, but knowing full well I'd commit them again. It was just enough to make me feel better about my condition, but short of God's standard and enough to keep me living in willful disobedience and away from Christ...the exact "death" Paul mentions.

But, after I truly repented, the things Paul listed all came about in my life: earnestness, eagerness to clear it up, indignation, alarm, longing, concern, and readiness to change my ways. No more "Sorry, God, I won't do this again", but true actions and reliance upon the Spirit to change my life, live for Him, and enjoy the peace of my assured salvation.

It was truly a change that only God could bring about in a man, nothing I could do on my own, though I had tried so many times in the past. After struggling for so long, I was enveloped in the grace of Christ, became aware of exactly what the cross meant, and continue to feel His presence daily in such a powerful way it's hard to describe.

(Incidentally, if you're in the situation I used to be in, quit fooling yourself, quit listening to Satan's empty promises, and rely on Christ to change your life. Don't make the mistake I did of wasting precious time that you'll never get back).

I guess I've kind of answered my own question, but does anyone else have examples of confessing sin and truly repenting of sin? How would you describe the differences between the two?

Looking forward to the replies...

smellycat

Gods commands are not burdensome.smoking drinking,protecting people,gambling,shouting even in situations are not there.pretty easy really.jesus advises me to get slapped on the other cheak ,but not a command .and if they are out of order i have no regrets doing good to correct them.this does not mean hitting them but i will point out there problem.and if needs be ,needs be.

seekinghokmah

repentance is a verb, the act of "turning around and going the opposite direction"
Confession is merely words, and as James points out it is the actions that count. Just as "faith without deeds is dead", confession without active repentance is just lip service. We need not be totally discouraged however, since the desire to change must preceed the actual change...and the confession itself is a good starting point, just don't stop there.

It is good to recognize that the greater the struggle the greater the reward, it is my assertion that God allows us such trials precisely because we have so much to gain from conquoring our most challenging faults. This means that our toughest sins to beat are in effect our greatest opportunities to soar.

__________________
Good questions, when answered, innevitably lead to better ones. The light is in the search, and the search itself is the destination.

Boanerges

I know you wanted a great mind to reply but I hope I can contribute anyway- LOL- what my brothers have said is 100% true but it is important to remember God will not reject you because of your failures- He has already made plans and is bringing us all to a place of deeper surrender- I just wanted to add that because I think many are crushed under condemnation we indeed conviction should be welcomed as a sign that God is working in your life- if I am chasing a rabbit trail so to speak please forgive me- many blessings on your day- Larry

violet