I think we get repentance all wrong most of the time. We treat repentance like penance. We repent to pay for our sin, to pay for our mistakes so that we can be accepted back into God’s good graces.
Any Christian who has ever sinned knows the temptation to return to the Father like the Prodigal Son did – attempting to win back the Father’s affections by self-punishment, and penance-making. But this is not the heart of God! He runs out to meet you each and every time you sin. There isn’t a hint of smugness or “I told you so”. Just joy in the restoration.
What if Romans 8:1-11 is actually true? What if there really is no condemnation for the Christian? There is nothing to pay for, it’s been paid in full.
Christian, you are as loved and accepted by the Father as Jesus is. Let that sink in. Let it melt your self-willed desire to earn your place at His table of grace. Bow your knee to His mercy. Your sin has not been counted against you. You have been pardoned.
When you sin, it doesn’t need to be paid for. It’s already been paid for. Repentance isn’t about “making things right”. It’s about beholding Christ as your treasure all over again.
Repentance is about beholding the glorious, loving, merciful, and holy face of Jesus once again. It’s about a merciful Father running out to meet you when you are still far off. It’s about seeing yourself in the light of His grace instead of in the light of your worst moment.
This is not easy believism. Sin matters. One only has to look at the violence of the cross to see that sin has terrible consequences. But, why are we so loath to admit that someone else has born the violence of our sin? Why must we take the flog of condemnation and whip ourselves instead?
Lift up your head. Your father is running out to meet you.
