Repent!?

Yes, repentance is naturally necessary as we are not responding to the love and invitation of an idea. Rather, we are uniting intimately to God our Father, Jesus his Son and receiving life eternal through his indwelling Spirit.

Regarding God's Spirit and our relating in a rich love relationship with him, James says, “You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can't be a friend of God. What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful.” And then Paul says “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” and “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature”. Our New Life is someone not an idea or even a system of rights and wrongs which the scriptures term as law. Therefore, it is only natural that repentance is necessary or turning from a life that apposes the one who loves us and lovingly embracing him and his desires with our life. Victory against our flesh however will be sporadic, cold and mechanical as long as this truth of relating in love to God through his indwelling Spirit remains merely a subjective idea. Until we mix the truth of this relationship with faith, which “is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” we will only be working to overcome our flesh with our flesh as a matter of religious idea………….law. Use the faith that God has given you to live in the reality of the presence of His Spirit moment by moment every day. You will then be empowered with warm loving interaction with God's Spirit as you battle against the pleasures that appeal to your flesh. He is jealous for your warm loving attention, affections and loyalty. If you choose not to be continually occupied with his presence your battles will be fought in your own strength and merely between the law of right and wrong.................cold, mechanical and sporadically successful at best.

Regarding God leading us to repentance, Paul states in Romans “do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?”. I know this is not the noble idea of following God through our own glorious self-driven dedication but it is God’s way of writing his law of love on our hearts, empowering us by his love to do his will joyfully. It is God’s way of allowing us to follow Him and meet his expectations by grace.