Jesus Christ went to the cross because we killed Him. We kill Him when we pretend, He is not around. In that way we have killed Him in our hearts. If we don't realize we are responsible for Him going to the cross because we are sinners not willing to listen to Him, then we are not going to stop that pretending that He is not around.
Now we need to understand that He has forgiven us, so our repentance is not need by Him before He is willing to talk to us. But it is need by us so that we might talk to Him! If a person were to be able to get over the fact that they have been killing God in all they do, they could just start talking back and forth with Him, because He has forgiven them. He loves us so much that He is no longer willing to let our killing Him spiritually speaking, get in the way of a relationship with us. Yet our sin will keep us from seeking Him and what He has to say to us.
So, repentance - the realization and acceptance that we are sinners not willing listening to the Lord of lords and King of kings - is needed by us to hear from Him.
Lam 2:14 Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your iniquity...
Too often there are those going around telling Christians that they are good and all they do is right. What we really need to understand is that we are all sinner in need of Jesus Christ. That doesn't mean we are to be accusers, but it does mean we need to be frank and honest about us, humanity! Simply put, we need to take the attitude that we all make mistakes, but we can improve that by seeking our Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance is then a state of understanding as opposed to a singular act. That state of understanding will start with a singular revelation - an act of repentance - but it needs to remain as understanding. Jesus explained that when we get into that place with God, we should pray the Lord's prayer, which has in it statements of repentance. That is a request for forgiveness - "forgive us our debts..." So at least that act of repentance should be happening daily, so it remains a state of understanding.
To be able to hear from Him throughout the day, there needs to be understanding that we, as sinners, need Him who alone is righteous by deed. We are counted as righteous by Him - meaning as already stated that He has forgiven us and is no longer willing to remember our sins. Saying that does not mean that we are not still sinners in need of our Lord Jesus Christ to guide us! It only means that He does not count our sins against us.
He has made it ok for us to be us, sinners, so long as we believe in Him. Yet believing in Him means believing that God alone is good! That belief then turns us to Him and causes us to do what He askes of us as opposed to leaning on our understanding. Which is how we keep from sinning - though we are not perfect at doing that. Maybe we are getting better at doing that though, if we keep that understanding.
Have we ever thought about why people often like to call other people 'good people'. Perhaps we should just call others believers or unbelievers, and keep reminding ourselves that only God is good. We (Christians) are then those striving after Jesus Christ to hear what He has to say to us via His Holy Spirit talking to our spirit.
Now we need to understand that He has forgiven us, so our repentance is not need by Him before He is willing to talk to us. But it is need by us so that we might talk to Him! If a person were to be able to get over the fact that they have been killing God in all they do, they could just start talking back and forth with Him, because He has forgiven them. He loves us so much that He is no longer willing to let our killing Him spiritually speaking, get in the way of a relationship with us. Yet our sin will keep us from seeking Him and what He has to say to us.
So, repentance - the realization and acceptance that we are sinners not willing listening to the Lord of lords and King of kings - is needed by us to hear from Him.
Lam 2:14 Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your iniquity...
Too often there are those going around telling Christians that they are good and all they do is right. What we really need to understand is that we are all sinner in need of Jesus Christ. That doesn't mean we are to be accusers, but it does mean we need to be frank and honest about us, humanity! Simply put, we need to take the attitude that we all make mistakes, but we can improve that by seeking our Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance is then a state of understanding as opposed to a singular act. That state of understanding will start with a singular revelation - an act of repentance - but it needs to remain as understanding. Jesus explained that when we get into that place with God, we should pray the Lord's prayer, which has in it statements of repentance. That is a request for forgiveness - "forgive us our debts..." So at least that act of repentance should be happening daily, so it remains a state of understanding.
To be able to hear from Him throughout the day, there needs to be understanding that we, as sinners, need Him who alone is righteous by deed. We are counted as righteous by Him - meaning as already stated that He has forgiven us and is no longer willing to remember our sins. Saying that does not mean that we are not still sinners in need of our Lord Jesus Christ to guide us! It only means that He does not count our sins against us.
He has made it ok for us to be us, sinners, so long as we believe in Him. Yet believing in Him means believing that God alone is good! That belief then turns us to Him and causes us to do what He askes of us as opposed to leaning on our understanding. Which is how we keep from sinning - though we are not perfect at doing that. Maybe we are getting better at doing that though, if we keep that understanding.
Have we ever thought about why people often like to call other people 'good people'. Perhaps we should just call others believers or unbelievers, and keep reminding ourselves that only God is good. We (Christians) are then those striving after Jesus Christ to hear what He has to say to us via His Holy Spirit talking to our spirit.