Spiritual Discipline (3 of 7) :: Repentance
February 11, 2010 by Ben Griffin
It’s not a popular topic to talk about. It’s not an easy thing to do. Yet, a foundational spiritual discipline is regular repentance.
The Hebrew word for repentance, tshuva, literally means “to turn.” Repentance isn’t merely saying, “I am sorry.” It is a an act of ultimate humility and a very turning of our hearts back to God.
Repentance is one of the most common themes in the Bible. It was what God called the people of Israel to do and it was Jesus primary message, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.
Some think the Bible is book about perfect people. The reality is that it is a book detailing the accounts of extremely messed up people. In Jesus own genealogy there is a prostitute, an adulterer and a mountain of other dysfunction. Those whom we hold up as holy were certainly not pure by their lifestyle. Moses murdered a man, Abraham lied to protect himself. Peter was brash. Rahab was a prostitute. David was an adulterer and murderer. What these rocks of faith had in common was not a life of perfection but rather one of repentance.
We are not perfect people. We are forgiven people.
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.
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