The Path of Repentance - by John Loftness

It is funny how our Father works in our lives . . . I am currently reading a couple of books that, to say the least, are very convicting and humbling. One of the books is entitled "Respectable Sins" authored by Jerry Brideges. In a recent chapter (Chapter 7 / "Ungodliness"), Bridges does a great job in explaining and detailing the concepts of ungodliness and unrighteousness. Something that really stuck out to me was the differentiation between ungodliness and unrighteousness. Ungodliness describes an attitude toward God, while unrighteousness refers to sinful actions in thought, word, or deed. (page 53; "Respectable Sins") Bottomline - we are all Ungodly - ouch!

To that end, the second book that the Father is using to refine me and many other brothers, is authored by Joshua Harris entitled "Sex is not the problem, lust is". In chapter 4, A Custom-Tailored Plan: Where Am I Weakest and What Can I Do? Harris presents a plan/list of seven steps formulated by John Loftness for repentance. The steps are radical, but like Harris and Bridges both underline in their respective books, we must be willing to be radical for the sake of holiness . . . which is the opposite of ungodliness! Below is the list that John Loftness has created. It is my hope and prayer that this plan/list will be a blessing to you as we all strive to throw off ungodliness and by God's grace become more holy.

Blessings -

GutCheck Ministries

The Path of Repentance

by John Loftness

1 - Pray: establish your dependence on God by praying for the Holy Spirit's help in this process.

2 - Identify the Sin: define its practice in biblical terms, define your heart's motive for sin in biblical terms, and define the lie - the false belief - that created this motive and its acts.

3 - Embrace the Gospel: meditate on how your sin offends God; cultivate sorrow, meditate on the fact that God sent Jesus to die in your place to overcome the offense this sin created, pray and admit your sin to God and ask Him to forgive you and to account this sin to Jesus' death on your behalf.

4 - Take Steps to Stop: Collect on paper what the Bible says about your sin, its consequences, your forgiveness in Christ, and the Spirit's power at work in you to change; Purpose to change your thinking and your behavior; Purpose to chage behavior that increases temptation.

5 - Replace Your Sin with Righteousness: "Put on Christ." If you are a Christian, you are joined to Jesus Christ. His Spirit dwells within you. You can think and act as He does!

6 - Seek Fellowship as a Means of Grace: Inform godly friends or a pastor of your sin and the process you are engaging in to change.

7 - Review: Steps 1 through 5 daily, Step 6 for regular accountability.

Respectable Sins - The new "C" word: SIN

Our small group recently finished a discussion regarding the Malignancy of Sin. The phrase, "The Malignancy of Sin" is a chapter heading in a book authored by Jerry Bridges - Respectable Sins. Bridges draws on the terms cancer (the "c" word) and malignancy to really drive home the notion that SIN (the new "c" word) is a spiritual and moral malignancy. Wow, that analogy really hit me hard.

SIN is the spiritual cancer that will ultimately lead to our death. Question - what does the majority of the population do when they get a cold? Maybe go to the local CVS to get some OTC medication, Kleenex, and some 7-UP. If it is something serious, we may go see a doctor and if it is cancer - a doctor is a must! That got me thinking . . . what do a majority of Christians do when we have a spiritual cold? Do we go to the Father or do we wait until we have spiritual cancer? These spiritual cold symptoms are what Bridges refers to as "Respectable Sins".

These respectable sins are anything from anxiety and frustration to pride and worldliness. And, if they go without attention they can metastasize into other areas of life, into our families, and damage our walk with the Father. These respectable sins are just as dangerous and must be brought to feet of our great physician, the Father. Bridges underlines this notion on page 25 when he states,"The acceptable sins are subtle in the sense that they deceive us into thinking they are not so bad, or not thinking of them as sins, or even worse, not even thinking about them at all!" When we get mad or become anxious are we aware that we are grieving the heart of our heavenly Father? Bridges underscores this on page 29, "This means that all of our rebellion, all of our despising of God and His law, all of our grieving His Holy Spirit, all of our presuming on His grace, all of our sin, is done openly in the very presence of God. It's as if we are acting out all of our sin before Him as He sits on His royal throne."

Question - do you believe in the omnipresence of our Lord? If you answered yes, do you live your life like it? Do you think about it when you are anxious or angry? Do we grasp that every sinful thought and action is done in front of God? The following words from David were very convicting; "O Lord, you have searched me and know me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether." (Psalm 139:1-4)

Let us remember, God forgives our sin because of the blood that was shed on the cross by Jesus Christ, but He does not and will not tolerate it. May we put on the armor of God, may we rely on Him for everything, may we go to His Word and not the world for what to do next. Let us be reminded that sin, "respectable" or not, is still sin and will not go un-noticed by the Father. It is my prayer that we can recognize our sin, that we can realize that we are totally depraved. Our depravity can only be erased by Jesus and it is only through Him that we can have access to the Father.
Blessings -
GutCheck Ministries