Repentance

Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation . . . —2 Corinthians 7:10

Conviction of sin is best described in the words:

My sins, my sins, my Savior,
How sad on Thee they fall.

Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with others that bothers him but his relationship with God— “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight . . .” (Psalm 51:4). The wonders of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven person who is truly holy. He proves he is forgiven by being the opposite of what he was previously, by the grace of God. Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes— a reflex action caused by self-disgust.

The entrance into the kingdom of God is through the sharp, sudden pains of repentance colliding with man’s respectable “goodness.” Then the Holy Spirit, who produces these struggles, begins the formation of the Son of God in the person’s life (see Galatians 4:19). This new life will reveal itself in conscious repentance followed by unconscious holiness, never the other way around. The foundation of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a person cannot repent when he chooses— repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If you ever cease to understand the value of repentance, you allow yourself to remain in sin. Examine yourself to see if you have forgotten how to be truly repentant.

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悔改

依著神的意思憂愁，就生出沒有後悔的懊悔來，以致得救。 （林後七10）

    對罪的自責，哲學話說的最貼切：[我的罪，我的罪啊，落在你身上，我的救主，多悲痛！ ]認罪是一個人最罕有的打擊，那是認識神的門檻。耶穌基督說聖靈來，是叫人為罪自責；當聖靈喚醒人的良心，叫他面對神的時候，使他不安的，不是與人的關係，而是與神的關係－－[我向你犯罪，惟獨得罪了你，在你眼前行了這惡。 ]認罪、赦免和聖潔三者奇妙的交織著，只有蒙赦罪的人，才成為聖潔。他蒙赦免的證據，是因著神的恩典，以致前後判若兩人。悔改總叫人承認：[我犯了罪。 ]一個人肯這樣忠心表示，就是神作工的最大明證。若非這​​樣，那就只不過是因犯錯事而勝的懊悔，是鄙屑自己的一種反射作用罷了。

    進入神的過度，是藉著悔改的苦痛，刺透人自以為是的高貴良善；然後聖靈來了，在人裡面開始創造神兒子的生命。新生命的表彰，是明明的悔改，與不知不覺的成聖，絕不會有相反表現的。基督信仰的基石是悔改。嚴格來說，人無法自己悔改，悔改是神的禮物。古代清教徒就常求[眼淚的恩賜]。所以什麼時候你不再覺得悔改的好處，就是在黑暗裡了。試省察自己，是否已忘記了怎樣知錯。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，藉著你的聖靈和恩典，我的內心產生和孕育了極大的渴望－－願我能適當地讚美你。