Mike Mosby 

 1 John 1:9 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Reflection:

John Wesley teaches us that God has given three kinds of grace to us. Prevenient grace, which means the grace that “comes before,” is given to all of us at birth. This is God’s presence in our lives, it is freely given, and is just sort of there for everyone. I like to think about prevenient grace as the chips and salsa that come to your table for free.  You didn’t do anything to earn them, they are just given to you freely, whether you do anything with them or not is up to you.    

Then we have justifying grace, which is the grace that brings you to new life in Christ. To experience justifying grace you must accept that you have been forgiven all your sins by God through Jesus. As I hope you have heard in church, the pastor will say, “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven,” and then the congregation will repeat it back.  This is a reminder to us all at each service, that as we have accepted new life in Jesus, God has forgiven us. What an amazing gift to be grateful for!

So, then why do we need to repent? If we have been forgiven by God, why should we go to the trouble of repenting at all? This brings us to our third grace: sanctifying grace (or purifying), which is the grace that allows us to grow as we try and live our lives like Jesus. Through this sanctifying grace, we mature as Christians and bear fruit.

When we sin and do things that make God hurt, it is similar to doing something that hurts a member of your blood relative family. Just like your relationship with those relatives of yours, nothing can change the fact that you will always be in a relationship with God. Just as you will always be related to your blood relatives, there is nothing you can do that will stop God from loving you. But not repenting can impact our relationships, both with God and with each other. This unrepented sin acts as a block to our growth in our faith. God will still love us and eternally forgives us, but without repentance, we will struggle to grow. 

When we repent, we experience a release from the bondage that sin keeps us in. The first step in repenting is to confess what we have done to God. When we confess to God, we are acknowledging the sin within us and that we desire for sin to lose its power in our lives. God can guide us to breaking free from sin so that we can grow as Christians. I am so grateful that God is always willing to listen to me when I repent and to guide me so that I may break free from sin and restore this relationship.   

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of repentance. Thank you for remaining faithful to me no matter my sin. May I always turn to you and confess my sin so that I may be purified through you to grow and bear fruit. Amen.