Ephesians 4:24-32
24 “…put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
• Did you know that the ability to repent is a gift? It’s a mercy gifted through Christ, the savior of mankind, from the heart of God.
“In Christ Jesus we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)
It’s a mercy which Satan, the devil, and the other fallen angels did not receive after their rebellion to God (Hebrews 2:16). This is why Satan is an accuser of those who walk in Christ and bear His fruit of love. The enemy, Satan, desires for us to face his same condemnation. But it is by faith and grace that we receive the free gift of God. And it is unbelief that leaves us captives to the debt and judgement of sin.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“Or do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that His kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)
• We should pray that others are granted the heart and mind to repent, and we should access the throne of God by the grace He’s given us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Through repentance, we are made holy again and known in the love of the Lord.
“Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” (2nd Timothy 2:25-26)
Works of God vs. Works of Satan, an exposure of the corrupt flesh and what sin is vs righteousness and walking in the Spirit
Galatians 5:19-26
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
The Prophesied Glory and Fulfillment of Christ
Isaiah 53:3–6
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
• Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. we cannot be righteous in the flesh, rather we need the Spirit of God to dwell with and within us.
• God softens our hearts with His unmerited love and makes them able to receive His presence by faith.
• By faith, we know His love and grow again in His image. We reclaim the kingdom and our royal inheritance.
“I [Christ Jesus] am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.” (Romans 7:18)
“I [the Lord God] will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:16–17)
Repentance
Luke 13:3 “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
In the opening of this blog, we see examples of true repentance, and what it looks like when a person has put of the dying, sinful man, and put on the life and Spirit of Christ.
Repentance is not a mere apology. It is a turning away from sin.
“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8)
“…let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:7-8)
• This does not mean that we will be perfect. But that in a true “born-again” fashion—being supernaturally granted a new heart and mind to know and grow in knowing, and worship and grow in worshiping (in Spirit and truth)—we have a new life that lives onto the goodness of Christ/ holiness of Christ/ revelation and judgment of Christ/ and way of salvation of Christ, to practice righteousness, practicing on earth the nature that shall be in heaven.
We are to glorify God with our lives. And train our vessel to see the glory of God that the fallen man in us does not see. We are to get wisdom from God, walk in the light, and be delivered from darkness.
“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:4-5)
Repent sincerely so that you may see the blessing of the Lord.
Practical implementation:
1st John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Cry out to Father God for mercy and you will receive it. Confess the way that you have transgressed against the law of the Lord. Apologize to God, for His law is love, and though you sin against people you foremost sin against God’s desire and will. God is light, God is love, and He is not evil or darkness like sin.
Shame is also not of God. God wants to wash you of your sin. So lay it down. In your prayer ask God to take the sin away from you. And remain in prayer until you’ve surrendered to not repeating the sin again. Here, you are not promising God to not sin again, rather you are asking for help and deciding to receive help. You will no longer intentionally practice this unrighteousness, but will rather press on righteously with all your heart and mind.
God forgets your sin here. As scripture says “as far as the east is from the west, it is removed from you”. (Psalm 103:12) God then views you as CLEAN.
– He loves you as a son or daughter.
– He’s glad to have your heart.
– He’s glad to serve you mercy and lead you more into sanctification.
Jesus has justified you in this moment. He has presented you with a new state of life. So hold onto this, enjoy this, and be edified, that you may experience the joy of deliverance!
No longer receive any spirit or voice of condemnation. God is compassionate and for redemption.
“The Lord’s Prayer” (in Matthew 6:9-13) will also be beneficial (as is for prayer of all aspects). It is insight into God’s heart, guidance for life, and word’s to pray for liberation. Ask God that you will not be led into temptation but delivered from evil. (Resist the devil and he will flee from you- James4:7 ; temptation is not of God and He will give a way of escape- 1st Corinthians 10:13) Ask God that you will see how to do better and proceed.
Repentance is powerful!
It is the way to the fullness of God!
Repent and believe!
God bless!