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Continuing repentance
Reference: SHM-S01-005-Mw-R01-P2
(Originally spoken on 23 July 2006, edited on 6 November 2009, revised on 22 September 2011)
Web site: http://www.ajourneyinlife.org and http://www.ajourneyinlife.com
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Let us ponder over the words of the Lord Jesus. Let us turn to John 9: 39-41:
John 9: 39-41
- And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind."
- Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, "We are not blind too, are we?"
- Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.
Why is it that today we can partake of the Lord's Supper?
Not all in the world can partake of the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is only meant for those who have repented - all those who have repented and have found forgiveness.
Although the Lord Jesus has died for the sins of the whole world, not all have been forgiven. Many are still unrepentant. They still insist on going their own way, living as they wish, and not taking heed to what God has to say.
The Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees: "For judgment I came into this world... "
We know the Lord Jesus came to be a Saviour of the world, not to judge the world. God sent Him to save us, not to judge us - we are already judged, we are already condemned. Then why did the Lord Jesus say, "I came into this world for judgment"?
The meaning here has a slightly different emphasis. He is saying: "My coming into this world will reveal the truth in people's lives." He says that "those who do not see may see", and "those who see may become blind." It sounds strange, but the Lord Jesus is not saying that He will make those who are blind see, and those who see blind.
In fact, as you read on, you will see that the Pharisees asked Him: "We are not blind too, are we?" In reality, they were blind. They did not see many things that God sought to teach them, but when they asked the question, "We are not blind too, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains."
The Lord Jesus was not saying that the Pharisees were not blind. He was saying: "You claim that you are not blind; you think you are not blind. You say, 'We see', so your sin remains."
The basic meaning here is that the Pharisees were not repentant. They were not prepared to acknowledge that they were blind, they needed help, they needed to repent and therefore to find forgiveness. Then, they would see.
There are many people who are blind, and they come to the Lord Jesus for help. They recognize they are blind, and they ask Him for help, as a result of which they see - like this blind man who was healed by the Lord Jesus: he was physically blind, but he was healed because he sought the Lord's help.
The Pharisees thought that they could see in the spiritual realm but in fact they could only see in the physical realm. They had eyes to see physically, but spiritually they were blind. The principle is important for us today too.
We may have seen to some degree; we may have repented up to an extent and God has blessed us, He has forgiven us.
But for us to grow in the Christian life, we must maintain the spirit of contriteness, the spirit of humility, to continue to repent when we sin, to continue to be taught by God. When we go astray, when we do things that are not pleasing to God, we need to humbly come before God for Him to cleanse us, to teach us, to show us afresh how we should live our lives.
There are many things that God may be pleased with us for the way we have responded and grown.
But there are also many things that God is not pleased with us, and we need to look at these areas honestly and seek His help. It is difficult at times to acknowledge that you are wrong. Many people find that it is embarrassing, it hurts their pride, it is hard to say, "I am wrong. I am sorry."
But someone has said, "If I acknowledge that I am wrong when I am wrong, I am in fact saying, 'I am wiser today than I was yesterday' ". And that is true.
When we are wrong and we acknowledge it, we can correct ourselves - we become wiser. But if we insist on carrying on when we are wrong, then we remain foolish.
So if we want to be truly obedient to God, we want to walk in His ways, we want to fulfil His purpose, His call in our lives, whatever He desires of us, then it is important for each one of us to come before God for Him to search our hearts, and where there is anything that is wrong in our lives, to be prepared to confess and to forsake.
At times, we may need to confess before God's people. At times, it is just between us and God. At times, it is to a specific person where we have done wrong. Whatever it is, it is important that we come before God that He may cleanse us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We know that working out church life is a spiritual battle and it is intense. Casualties take place easily if we are not vigilant. The evil one will not allow us, if he can help it, to do the will of God. If the issues are important enough, we can expect a fierce battle.
For us to withstand the onslaughts of the evil one, we need to be pure. We need to come before God for Him to work in us, search us, and deal with us.
So as we come before the Lord, let us come before Him in a spirit of humility, of contriteness, that He may search our hearts and help us so that as we understand His will, we will obey Him, we will not insist on going our own ways anymore. Whatever we have done right, we should nurture and increase in it. Whatever is not right, we should forsake.
Let us ask Him to help us to ponder over what the Lord has done for us and what it means to be His disciple, to be grateful to Him and to walk with Him.