Sin and Repentance
Sin and repentance are central to the Christian religion, ever-present reminders of why God's son came to live among us, eventually dying on the cross. Scripture tells us the very first humans sinned when they failed to obey God's instructions in the Garden of Eden. We all inherited that tendency of disobedience, requiring regret in order to receive God's forgiveness. The good news is that forgiveness is never withheld from a repentant sinner. The believer will grow in strength to avoid evil in the future through prayer.
God's Word has quite a lot to say about sin and repentance, from the very beginning in Genesis to the book of Revelation. We are all branded with original disobedience of Adam along with Eve until we are baptized. With baptism, we are cleansed of that original act of disobedience, becoming followers of Jesus the Christ, whose death on the cross gave us the promise of eternal life for ourselves. However, we have always had the gift of free will. Our human weakness for selfishness, self-indulgence, greed, etc. give us ample occasions for disobeying God even after baptism. This human weakness repeats itself one generation after the next. Our faith in the Lord allows us to overcome our weaknesses, confessing our sins to receive forgiveness.
Old Testament descriptions of how one should express regret in the books of II Samuel, I Kings, as well as Jonah was with fasting, tearing the upper garment, wearing sackcloth, as well as sleeping on the ground. The Prophet Joel, on the other hand, said "Rend your heart, and not our garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy, and repenteth him of the evil." (Joel 2:13) How much it is like the Christian view! Learn God's Word by taking a Bible Quiz.
The Commandments were the primary Old Testament set of laws given for man's guidance, then Jesus' exhortation to love God with our whole mind, heart, as well as soul; to love one another as ones self; to treat others as we want to be treated. Penance, then, is being truly sorry for the deliberate breaking of those laws that result in breaking our bond with Christ, then changing our lives so as not to commit the wrong again. It can also involve, where possible, repairing the damage done by our mistakes by seeking forgiveness from the person we wronged. That seems pretty humiliating, but when grave sins have been committed, humiliation is appropriate.
Christians believe once sins have been forgiven, the "slate" (as it were) is wiped clean, and the sinner never has to think about that again. One story that illustrates that is the little girl who said her prayers one evening. She told Jesus about the bad things she had done that day, asking forgiveness, then went to her other prayers. The next morning, she told her mother she had forgotten to tell the Lord one thing the night before. Her mother told her it would be all right to include it the next night. That night, the little girl said: "Jesus, I need to add something to those things I told you last night," proceeding to tell him what it was. Jesus replied, "I've already forgotten what you said, and now you can forget it too."
God's Word gives us plenty of encouragement in our relationship with Him. One of the ways in which evil is particularly affecting us in modern society is the constant portrayal of disobedience of God in the media, not as sinful, but as "normal." Gutter language, outrageous sexual conduct, as well as a lack of respect are just some examples of sinful conduct that demeans the human person, diminishing us all. Christians are called by their faith to discourage these evils by not attending those films or watching the shows on TV. They are to live as Christ lived, setting an example for the younger generation.
God's Word has quite a lot to say about sin and repentance, from the very beginning in Genesis to the book of Revelation. We are all branded with original disobedience of Adam along with Eve until we are baptized. With baptism, we are cleansed of that original act of disobedience, becoming followers of Jesus the Christ, whose death on the cross gave us the promise of eternal life for ourselves. However, we have always had the gift of free will. Our human weakness for selfishness, self-indulgence, greed, etc. give us ample occasions for disobeying God even after baptism. This human weakness repeats itself one generation after the next. Our faith in the Lord allows us to overcome our weaknesses, confessing our sins to receive forgiveness.
Old Testament descriptions of how one should express regret in the books of II Samuel, I Kings, as well as Jonah was with fasting, tearing the upper garment, wearing sackcloth, as well as sleeping on the ground. The Prophet Joel, on the other hand, said "Rend your heart, and not our garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy, and repenteth him of the evil." (Joel 2:13) How much it is like the Christian view! Learn God's Word by taking a Bible Quiz.
The Commandments were the primary Old Testament set of laws given for man's guidance, then Jesus' exhortation to love God with our whole mind, heart, as well as soul; to love one another as ones self; to treat others as we want to be treated. Penance, then, is being truly sorry for the deliberate breaking of those laws that result in breaking our bond with Christ, then changing our lives so as not to commit the wrong again. It can also involve, where possible, repairing the damage done by our mistakes by seeking forgiveness from the person we wronged. That seems pretty humiliating, but when grave sins have been committed, humiliation is appropriate.
Christians believe once sins have been forgiven, the "slate" (as it were) is wiped clean, and the sinner never has to think about that again. One story that illustrates that is the little girl who said her prayers one evening. She told Jesus about the bad things she had done that day, asking forgiveness, then went to her other prayers. The next morning, she told her mother she had forgotten to tell the Lord one thing the night before. Her mother told her it would be all right to include it the next night. That night, the little girl said: "Jesus, I need to add something to those things I told you last night," proceeding to tell him what it was. Jesus replied, "I've already forgotten what you said, and now you can forget it too."
God's Word gives us plenty of encouragement in our relationship with Him. One of the ways in which evil is particularly affecting us in modern society is the constant portrayal of disobedience of God in the media, not as sinful, but as "normal." Gutter language, outrageous sexual conduct, as well as a lack of respect are just some examples of sinful conduct that demeans the human person, diminishing us all. Christians are called by their faith to discourage these evils by not attending those films or watching the shows on TV. They are to live as Christ lived, setting an example for the younger generation.
Sin and Repentance
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