Rend Your Hearts…Not Your Garments

Joel 2:13

I started reading Joel yesterday.  In it the Prophet pleads with Judah to turn back to God before the Day of the Lord arrives.  In the last chapter (4:19) Joel pronounces judgment on Egypt and Edom because of the violence perpetrated against Judah.  Lo and behold as I scanned the headlines of today’s news I saw a Jihadist group named Mujahedeen Shoura Council claimed a rocket attack in southern Israel today from you guessed it.  Egypt.  (Click Here For CBSNews Article)

Isn’t it interesting that scriptures written centuries before the time of Christ are still being played out in the news today?  With all that being said, my question is: “How does Joel apply to us today?”

In Joel Chapter 1 , God warns Judah of impending judgment, and there are five actions the people of Judah are told to take:

 

1.)        Wake Up  (v.5)

 

2.)        Lament  (v.8)

3.)        Be Ashamed (v.11)

4.)        Put on Sackcloth  (v.13)

5.)        Consecrate a Fast & Call a Solemn Assembly  (v.14)

The message for Christians today is the same message the people in Joel’s day heard:  Wake Up, Weep, Repent, and Seek the Lord!  Basically, Joel was pleading with the religious leaders, the ‘elders’, to be honest about their sin, and do whatever it took to be in a right relationship with God.  Wouldn’t it be smart for us to do the same.  The Day of the Lord is drawing near.

aj

Repent...The End Is Nearer...

The question I am struggling with today is, "If my sin is forgiven once for all by Jesus, why is it necessary to confess sin and repent on a regular basis?"

The answer is that God saved me by His grace, and repentance is my response to His infinite love.  I really want to take credit for being smart, and enlightened enough to realize I was lost and needed Jesus in my life.  I like to look at as if I came to my senses and approached God like a groveling peasant begging for mercy.  But it was actually more than that.  I wasn't just a dirty, maladjusted wayward sinner.  I was dead in my trespasses, and didn't even know I was lost until God touched my heart, and made me aware of my condition.  Under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, my spirit was awakened, and I responded in faith and obedience believing God could (He had the ability), and would (He was willing) to save me.  My response - To turn from my sin in repentance.

Sometimes people ask me which came first my repentance or God's Grace.  My answer:  I don't know.  I only know that "I once was lost, but now I am found"  I didn't go looking for God.  He came looking for me, and He saved me.

So what does that mean for confessing and repenting on a daily basis?  I confess sin and repent regularly not to stay saved, but because I am saved.  For He has cleansed me from all unrighteousness.  Repentance is about relationship, not salvation.  I didn't repent to get saved, and I don't repent to stay saved.  Repentance is the response to God's salvation.  Maybe repentance follows so closely on the heels of being saved, that it seems like they happen at the same time, but in my case.  I know that I would not have repented if God hadn't convicted.  I have nothing to boast in...I can't even boast about repenting...my salvation rest only on the grace of God.

Praise Him for His Grace...

Excuse me...I have to go confess some sin.

aj