repentance

I'm a slow reader and when a book is good, it seems I'm even slower. So yes, I'm still reading TrueFaced and stuck in the chapter about repentance. The key point here is that repentance is not a matter of the will. We are not able to make a decision to stop sinning. The authors put it succinctly:

Repentance isn't doing something about our sin; rather, it means admitting that we can't do anything about our sin.

We cannot manage our sin. It is only resolved when we are cleansed of it and that comes only when we depend on the Cross of Jesus. We did not and cannot make the provision for our sin - again, reinforcing that the "way in is the way on". It is trust in God's gift of Grace that transforms us.

In relationship to love, Thrall, McNicol, and Lynch write:

Trusting God with ourselves allows us to receive love - his love and the love of others. And because we're loved, we can face what we have done to others and ourselves without having to retreat to a cave of hiddeness. Love acts as a safety net that can keep us from destruction as we admit the truth about ourselves. We know that nothing we do can change how God sees us.

Unfortunately many do not trust God regarding the process of repentance. We see repentance as something we do. That is not repentance. That is continuing in our own thinking which is that we can do it. That we can somehow accomplish what we need rather that simply trusting in what He has done and is doing for us. It preempts God's power. More than confessing sin and agree that it is wrong, sin needs to be defeated and that only comes through the power of God. Willpower is not enough, only a redemptive act will do.

Self-effort is certain death. Trust in God's gift of Grace is life. In Christ we receive more than forgiveness for a given sin, we receive healing.