Hi, I have decided to do a comparison of Repentance, as opposed to Forgiveness. It seems like the two are commonly misconstrued, though they are both of equal importance. According to the word of God, the definition of repentance is feeling sorry for something one has done or has failed to do, and then turning from one's wrongdoing toward God. According to Luke 5:32 Jesus came to call all sinners to repentance. Of course, as we live our lives, there will always be a reason to repent. We must allow the conviction of the Holy Spirit to guide us. John 14:26 says that the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My (Jesus) name, He shall teach you all things. It is never too late to repent as long as you are here on this earth. Now onto Forgiveness, there are plethora’s of scriptures that are pertinent to forgiveness, just as repentance. However, the scriptures I want to touch on are 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As well as Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. There is a difference between forgiveness and repentance... To be forgiven is to have your slate wiped clean, to repent is to turn away from whatever it may be that is wrong.
In regards to personal relationships, many people claim to forgive but once most relationships are damaged, the value drops and the relationships may never be as they were. Some ruined relationships are rebuilt even stronger but that is because some things have to be torn down to be built even stronger than before. If a relationship is worth it, you should definitely repent from whatever it is that's causing strife. If that person is not willing to fully forgive, it is not worth rebuilding because you cannot force a relationship with anyone. The fact is that some people just are not meant to be in each other’s presence… Even so, you must still forgive according to Matthew 6: 14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Pray for the restoration of any relationship that you feel has been ruined for whatever reasons, make sure to do your part in forgiveness, repent from any wrongdoings regarding that relationship, and have faith that things can be repaired.
In regards to your salvation, it is highly important to evaluate your life on a regular basis. We must always examine ourselves according to 2 Corinthians 13:5-6 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates (somebody damned: somebody whose soul is believed to be damned)? 6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. See, the word of God informs us that we must look at ourselves to see where we need to do a clean sweep. Repentance and Forgiveness is our ability to do those clean sweeps. The only time it is too late to ask for forgiveness and to be able to repent is once you have passed away from this life. We are under the covenant of grace and mercy people! I will blog about Gods grace and mercy really soon so please stay tuned.
Thank you for reading...
Scriptures taken from the KJV version of the Bible
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