The word “REPENT” means to TURN AWAY from sin. It means that we have acknowledged our disobedience and offense to God. It means we made a WILLFUL decision to give up the offense with the intent on doing all we can, through relying on God, to abstain from repeating the offense. There is no PROGRESSION without REPENTANCE. An unrepentant heart only keeps one bound in a cycle of repetition sin, which ultimately sabotages God’s plans and blessings for one, leading them to forfeit their entire inheritance. There is no PROGRESSION without REPENTANCE.

God is KIND. God is PATIENT. God is SLOW TO ANGER. But we cannot take these lovely characteristics of our Heavenly Father for granted. God is a FATHER. In fact, He’s the FATHER of FATHERS, and like any good father He does not reward or bless acts of disobedience. A scripture that really emphasizes God’s kind heart and desire for us to repent is Romans 2:4, which shows that God’s kindness is meant to DRAW US INTO REPENTANCE This is beyond amazing to me because I have witnessed this first hand in my own life.

There were times when I sinned and yet, rather than some expected punishment, a blessing would come…HUH??? Now, just think back to when you were a kid. Imagine intentionally disobeying your parents, and rather than receiving punishment, they let you off the hook and bought you ice cream or something. How would you feel? That’s often how our Heavenly Father does, and I don’t know about you, but it makes my heart melt. It brings extreme conviction (not condemnation, which is not of God) and it just makes me want to repent wholeheartedly and refrain from repeating that mistake. Now, don’t get me wrong! I AM NOT SAYING THAT GOD BLESSES DISOBEDIENCE, HE DOES NOT. GOD HATES SIN because it separates us from Him.

Remember, sin is death, and when we live an unrepentant lifestyle of sin, it ultimately brings death (James 1:15). Jesus came that we may have abundant life (John 10:10), so obviously our Heavenly Father would never endorse something that is anti-Him. Who wouldn’t want to obey and yield to such a loving God who gives so many underserved chances. His mercy spares, though we deserve punishment. I can’t emphasize it enough! The King’s kindness is meant to draw us to repentance. BUT, attempting to take advantage of and abuse our King’s kindness (Grace and Mercy) is quite foolish and dangerous. Yes, God is Compassionate and Gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love (Psalms 103:8), BUT I BEG YOU TO UNDERSTAND that there is a major difference in being SLOW TO ANGER vs. NEVER GETTING ANGRY.

The text tells us that God is slow to anger, which means, it may take a while, but after a while of continuous sin with an unrepentant heart, you can find yourself suffering under God’s wrath and judgement. Note- we never know how much time we have. When you’re living unrepentant, you may not experience God’s wrath and judgement for a long while. After all, He’s patient, and really doesn’t want any of us to perish because of sin. HE YEARNS FOR US TO COME TO REPENTANCE (2 Peter 3:9). When we repent (i.e acknowledge our wrong doing and turn from those ways), we open a door wide for God to restore, cleanse, and heal us (2 Chronicles 7:14). However, when we allow our hearts to remain hardened (stubborn and unrepentant), we store up God’s wrath and bring upon God’s judgment. Again, we never really know how much time we have to repent. Sometimes it may seem as if we’re getting by with sin without repentance because life is going great with no indication of anything going wrong ~ FOLKS PLEASE DON’T BE DECEIVED.

If you call yourself a Christian but DELIBERATELY CHOOSE AN UNREPENTANT LIFESTYLE of sin, you may want to reconsider whether you’re really a Christian. It’s more than just a religious affiliation – IT’S A LIFESTYLE.  Consider the first 5 letter of CHRISTian – C H R I S T. He suffered for us. He bled for us. He hung on a cross for us. He went to the tomb for us, conquered death, broke sin’s grip off of us, and rose that we may live in Him and He in us. THIS IS NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY. Yes, we all sin from time to time, it’s part of the human experience. BUT, as my Pastor explained to me shortly after I got saved, there is a MAJOR difference between COMMITTING a sin and being COMMITTED to sin. We must not confuse the two.

We all fall short and commit sin because of our human nature, BUT we serve a kind and loving God who sent His son so that whoever believes won’t perish, but will have eternal life. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save the world (John 3:16-17). So, when we do fall short and sin (which we all will), we’re given the chance to repent and be forgiven. In other words, we’re let off the hook and restored – but this is a HEART CONDITION. I do not believe that you can truly love the Lord and reverence His Holy Spirit if you are committed to an unrepentant lifestyle of sin. If you get married to the love of your life, you are not going to continuously engage in offensive behaviors that you know hurt you spouse. THIS IS NOT LOVE. THIS IS ABUSE. THIS IS UNHEALTHY. So, if you truly love God, why would you want to continue hurting (i.e grieving) Him with your deliberate disobedience (i.e sin) birthed out of your unrepentant heart? So uncool.

REPENT. Give it up. Don’t be afraid. God can (and will) help you overcome anything. His Grace is more than enough, and His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9). You can do ALL THINGS through Christ (Philippians 4:13). NO ONE GETS AWAY WITH LIVING IN SIN GOVERNED BY AN UNREPENTANT HEART. Again, this is an incredibly dangerous and foolish decision that opens the door for evil to dominate and wreak havoc in one’s life, ultimately separating one from God for all eternity. This is not God’s will for us. GOD SENDS NO ONE TO HELL, WE ARE ALL GIVEN FREE WILL. WE HAVE THE CHOICE. He’s already paved the Divine path of FORGIVENESS, REDEMPTION, SALVATION, LOVE, RESTORATION, HEALING, DELIVERANCE, – the list goes on and on.

Bottom line, REPENT! He does not want to lose anyone. Make repentance your lifestyle. You may fall short and sin out of just being human, but a repentant heart leads to forgiveness and deliverance. REPENT! There is so much RELEASE and FREEDOM in it. God is faithful. He loves us so deeply – so deeply that He refrains from quickly pouring out His wrath, but instead He pours out His love and extends His grace continually no matter how much we consistently break His heart with unrepentant sin. This is how desperate God is for all of us. So, REPENT! No just for yourself – but for the God who loves you more than you’ll ever understand.

Peace and Love.