As we prepare for next week, Holy Week, let us do an inventory of our spiritual lives as the basis for personal revival. May we not shy away from a close examination of our own sinfulness before a Holy God. We do all this in the light of God’s grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
March 22, Monday… Acts 2:37, 38
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven (remitted). And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’
So, what is the best thing to do with true guilt?…get forgiven.
John Calvin wrote, “Justification by faith is reconciliation with God and that consists solely in remission of sins…the only way in which those whom God embraces are made righteous, is by having their [sins] wiped away by the remission of sins, so that this justification (reconciliation) may be termed in one word the remission of sins.”
The word REMISSION has an interesting meaning. It has the word missio in it, which means to send away. It is used as a medical term- the cancer is in remission (no longer present, sent away); a financial term- please remit (send away your money to us); a theological term- forgiveness- (aphesis, to send away one’s sins).
Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he (God) removed our transgressions from us.”
Micah 7:18, 19 “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread all our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”
Isaiah 1:18 “ ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be like wool.’”
The scarlet “A” on Hester Prynne’s chest represented the crimson stain of her sin. She cried out, “O to be forgiven, to have this letter taken away!” And here God says, “Though your sins be as scarlet… No matter how dark the stain of sin in your life, I can take it away and make you clean.”
Have you cried out to God for remission of your sin? If you are ready, He is willing.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! (Horatio Spafford)
March 23, Tuesday… Personal Revival
When we properly confess our sins before God, we are essentially agreeing with him that a certain area of our life has fallen short of his glory and we recognize our need of forgiveness. It is important that we are specific about our confession in order to prevent self deception.
Over the next few days, I would like to give you the opportunity to do a moral inventory and to bring specific things before God and agree with him that they are sin and need to be forgiven. These are adapted from Richard Owen Robert’s Twelve Articles of Agreement for Personal Revival. Prayerfully consider each one and the Scripture upon which that agreement is based.
Lord, I agree that sin in my life has always been and is now a very real problem and that I deserve to go to hell for it [Romans 3:9-23; 7:24; Ephesians 2:1-2; Hebrews 12:1].
Lord, I agree with You that the great wickedness of all my sin has been and is against You. “Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned and done this great evil in Thy sight” [Psalms 51:4]. “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” [Genesis 39:9].
Lord, I agree with You that repentance from all my sin is demanded, that I must cease taking advantage of Your goodness by failing to repent [Romans 2:4] and that I cannot know the refreshing that revival brings until this accomplished [Acts 3:19].
March 24, Wednesday…
Lord, I agree that public confession of public sin is mandatory [James 5:16] and that private confession of private sin must be regularly practiced. “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” [Matthew 5:23-24].
Lord, I agree that restitution to any I have wronged is a necessary qualification for personal revival [2 Samuel 12:6; Jeremiah 35:15; Ezekiel 33:15; Luke 19:8], for knowing that I have defrauded another and not to make it right will prevent me from having a conscience void of offense toward all men [Acts24:16] and will leave me with a heart that condemns me and hinders my prayers [I John 3:20].
Lord, I agree that you are holy and so must I be (Leviticus 19:2). But Father, I am so aware of my own tendency to wander onto unholy paths that have been well-worn over the years. “Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be! Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.” May I be holy, like you.
March 25, Thursday…
Lord, I agree that holiness is Your will for my life, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification” [I Thessalonians 4:3].
Lord, I agree that holiness was purchased by Christ on His cross [I Corinthians 1:30] and is received by faith just as is justification [II Thessalonians 2:13].
Lord, I agree that You elected me to holiness [Ephesians 1:4] and this election has removed forever my right to choose to be sinful. I accept as my duty the daily reckoning of myself to be dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God [Romans 6:11].
Lord, I agree to guard what I read and what I see: books, magazines, television, movies, women (men) on the street, [“I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” Job 31:1]. I agree not to look upon another person with disdain or prejudice due to their wealth or poverty, skin color or ethnicity (James 2:1. I also agree that I would be better off without eyes rather than to have eyes that bring me down to hell [Matthew 18:9-10].
March 26 Friday…
Lord, I agree to guard what I listen to: jokes, gossip, racist criticism of others, flattery, religious views, suggestive stories, etc., and will regularly heed the words of Jesus, “Take heed how you hear” [Luke 8:18]. “Take heed what your hear” [Mark 4:24].
Lord, I agree to guard what I touch and how I touch it — money, goods, sex, etc., knowing the grievous error of sins of greed and lust [Exodus 20:17; Proverbs 15:27; Matthew 6:27-30].
Lord, I agree to guard what I taste and smell and the reason related thereto, for I acknowledge that gluttony and drunkenness are evil in Your sight [Psalms 34:8; 119:103; Proverbs 23:2-3; 20-221; Luke 21:34; Romans 16:18; I Corinthians 10:31; Galatians 5:19-21; Philippians 3:19; James 1:13-15; I Peter 2:2-3; 4:3].
Lord, I agree to place a guard over my entire body, knowing that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [Matthew 10:28; Romans 6:12; 8:13; I Corinthians 6:19; 9:27].
March 27, Saturday… Isaiah 53:1-6
Early in the nineteenth century, Philip Doddridge wrote his classic work
The Rise and Progress of Religion In The Soul. It traces God’s work of salvation from the point of conviction of sin through conversion, from awakening to the life of God to preparing for death. After a lengthy discourse on the depths of human sin, Doddridge begins his presentation of the good news of the gospel.
“Look upon our dear Redeemer! Look up to this mournful, dreadful, yet, in one view delightful spectacle, and then ask in thine own heart, do you believe he suffered and died thus? And why did he die? Let me answer in God’s own words, He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, that by his stripes we might be healed; It pleased the Lord to bruise him and to put him to grief, when he made his soul an offering for sin; for, the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. You have indeed been a very great sinner, and your offences have truly been attended with the most heinous aggravations; nevertheless you may rejoice in the assurance, that where sin abounded, there shall grace much more abound…That righteousness, to which on believing on him, thou wilt be entitled, shall not only break those chains by which sin is (as it were) dragging thee at its chariot wheels with a furious pace to eternal ruin, but shall clothe thee with the robes of salvation, shall fix thee on the throne of glory, where thou shalt live and reign forever among the princes of heaven…But I have the authority of God’s Word to tell thee, that if thou this day sincerely believest in the name of the Son of God, thou shalt this day be taken under his care, and be numbered among those of his sheep, to whom he graciously declared, that he will give eternal life; and, that they shall never perish…With this gospel, O sinner, which is my life, and which, if thou dost not reject it, will be thine too.”
My soul confides in your goodness, O God. I adore the patience with which you have carried me for so long, and the grace which now makes me wiling to be yours- on your terms. As I prepare for this Holy Week, have mercy upon me and unite me to yourself so that none of the allurements of this world or the unbiblical perspectives of my culture may draw me back from you and plunge me into guilt and ruin. May I keep my hold upon you until at length I know more completely how sufficient a Savior you are. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Just A Thought 