Do You Really Need to Repent?

This post is a part of my series of once weekly devotionals called Faith for Thought. Bookmark the homepage for Faith for Thought here to return to it for the weekly update on Thursday!

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Romans 2:1-5

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
⁵ But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
Romans 2:1-5, NIV

Devotion

Because I teach students from a lot of different backgrounds, we often have discussions about cultural and religious differences. The other day, one of my students was asking another about his religious beliefs.

He explained that he believes in God, and was then asked if he prays to Him to ask for forgiveness. He said yes, but explained that in his religion, they don’t really believe that God will forgive you.

My other student laughed and responded, “Well, why do you ask then?”

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For many Christians, I don’t necessarily think that’s the “problem.” I know there are some who likely do struggle with the guilt of past sins and the question of, “Would God really forgive someone like me?”

But for others of us, I think there’s a different — and arguably worse — problem: We never even ask.

If you grew up in the Christian church, you’ve been taught since birth that God will forgive any sin, no matter how big or how small. That’s what He came to earth to do — forgive us and offer us salvation. But in the midst of that teaching, sometimes I think we’ve forgotten that we still need to ask. We need to recognize that we are not deserving of God’s goodness and His grace. Our sins — no matter how big or how small — are too great to ever be let into heaven on our own.

Instead of asking for forgiveness in humility and showing gratitude for God’s kindness, we’ve come to take it for granted. What’s the point of asking if God is going to forgive us anyway?

We “show contempt for the richness of his kindness…not realizing that the kindness God shows us is intended to lead us to repentance.” (Romans 2:4) But God tells us that “unrepentant hearts store up wrath against ourselves on the day of God’s judgement.” (Romans 2:5)

There’s a reason Jesus came to earth and preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:2)

Action Steps

When is the last time you’ve asked for forgiveness…or thanked God for giving you forgiveness? We should be reminded daily of the ways that we have fallen short; instead our prayers are often reduced to only requests and pleas.

Make it a habit this week (and beyond) to repent: Reflect on the ways you have fallen short of following God each day, and ask for His forgiveness.