God Is A Penitentiary

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. ~1 Peter 3:18 (ESV)

Stop asking God to forgive your sins. What I mean by this is that often times when we sin (usually something reoccurring), we feel like we must be in a place of complete sorrow and lowliness before any spiritual restoration can occur. It's not a bad thing to do, but it is also good to remember that God promises forgiveness to those who are committed to follow Him and turn from sinful ways. Many people would call this act of remorseful returning to God repentance, but I'd like to give you an example of how repentance and forgiveness can swap places.

The day you became a Christ-follower was the day you were forgiven--past and future--for your sinful nature/deeds that would otherwise keep you from God. Jesus died once for sins, so we don't have to kill Him again and again every time we fail to follow God's law. One of several Dictionary.com definitions for the verb forgive is "to cease to feel resentment against." As long as our sin lives within us, God shows justifiable resentment, but because we have been born again, his resentment no longer admits an eternal consequence, just the painful smile of a hurt father. We don't need to kill Jesus again, we just need to accept his offer of forgiveness again.                Still, that's not all...

One of the Dictionary.com definitions for the verb repent is "to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; be penitent." Repentance should be a lifestyle. Although this kind of repentance is different from the day we offered up the sinner's prayer, it is still essential. Without striving to get rid of the sin that you committed, asking forgiveness can become more ritualistic than healing. Penance is the "voluntary self-punishment inflicted as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong." Punishment is meant to be edifying, and God is the perfect person to help you edify yourself for the better. Simply being in God's presence should have a purifying effect on us that lingers throughout the day and helps us fight our daily battles against sin and temptation. So repentance is a lifestyle more than it is a request/answer/acceptance. Just like we are called to be living in a pool of grace, we are called to come to God having a repentant spirit before making any requests. God can't live in the same room with sin, so he calls us each day to repent and offer him a place in our hearts. God is a penitentiary in that he calls us to repentance and to a lifetime of service in his kingdom, so next time you are faced with sin, try remembering all that God is and wants to be in your life and try to hear his voice calling out to you for forgiveness, repentance, and change.