The Christian Girl Chat

If you’ve read my first blog, you know that I took the initiative to read the entire Bible in 90 days. This year, I’ve taken on the task of reading through it again—just a little more slowly. At this point, I’ve been working my way through the prophetic books in the Old Testament. In most, if not all, of these books, there is a call to God’s people—a call to turn away from their wicked actions. Though they are called God’s people, they don’t act like they belong to Him. They constantly adopt the worship of false gods, engage in serious sexual sin, and treat one another—and foreign nations—as less than human.

As I’ve been reading, I’ve seen the perfect love of God shining through. Despite their evil desires and choices, He continuously calls out to them—almost pleading with them—to return to Him and reject the things they’ve chosen in His place. But the words of these prophecies weren’t just for back then—they’re also for today.

So many people who claim Christianity are content with merely professing Jesus. But how many of us are truly possessing Him? The true nature of being a Christian is allowing Christ to infiltrate every part of your life, changing the way you act and think.

In most Christian circles, the call to repent seems daunting because we don’t always recognize what’s lurking in our hearts. We know we should repent for lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, idolatry, etc. But after turning from those things, is there more?

Most people are comfortable staying at that level. They follow the outward rules of repentance—they’ve turned from lying, cheating, sexual sin, and the list goes on. But after addressing these, we often fail to realize that there’s more. There are deeper sins and hidden wickedness we willingly ignore. We choose not to see the pride we feel when we achieve something great. We justify our idolatry of money when we pass by the beggar on the street. We overlook our selfishness when our plans take precedence over being there for a friend in need. The depth of our sin seems infinite when we begin to examine the intentions behind our actions.

So how do we repent of the deeper sins lingering within us?

I’ve come to one answer: turn all your attention back to Jesus Christ and “press on to know him” (Hosea 6:3). In Romans 7, Paul writes about the struggle with sin—a passage I often return to when confronted by the depths of my own heart:

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. ~ Romans 7:21–25 (NLT)

After acknowledging the deep struggle with sin, Paul exclaims, “Thank God!” Why? Because although we wrestle with sin throughout our lives, it is through this struggle that we begin to comprehend just how deep God’s grace truly is.

So what does this mean for us when it comes to repentance?

1. Acknowledge your sin. You cannot turn from something you don’t recognize or believe is wrong.

2. Don’t sit in your sin. Many believe repentance is just feeling really bad about what you’ve done. While sorrow is a part of it, we’re not meant to stay focused on how bad we are. That brings us to the next point…

3. Let your sin highlight the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. Understanding the depth of our wickedness allows us to experience the goodness of God on a deeper level.

4. Let that new knowledge of God transform how you act and think. True repentance is change—real, lasting transformation sparked by knowing Him more deeply.

This is the heart of repentance. Throughout Hosea 6, the prophet emphasizes that repentance is about knowing God and letting that knowledge heal our wickedness:

• “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.” (verse 1)
• “Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him…” (verse 3)
• “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.” (verse 6)

Though repentance is hard, it becomes even harder when we treat it as a purely human effort to change our behavior. True repentance is choosing to love God by learning what breaks His heart, searching into our own desires and intentions, and then allowing the grace He offers to transform every part of who we are. We have to dig deeper into ourselves to know God better. We will never be perfect—but thank God for Jesus Christ.