And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Exodus 25:8<\/p>\n Whenever I read that verse, I am reminded of what, to me, is one of the most impressive and comforting attributes of God – the fact that He WANTS to be with His people, that He WANTS a close and enduring relationship with them that is not disrupted by any outside forces or distractions. He is always faithful and will not let anything get in the way of His commitment to them. When they wander, He does all He can to bring them back. As part of His persistent effort toward reconciliation, we are told that He gives repentance.<\/p>\n The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Acts 5:30, 31<\/p>\n Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Acts 11:17, 18<\/p>\n And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02 Timothy 2:24-26<\/p>\n When I read these verses, I ponder what it means that God gives repentance. Does He have a table with a stack of certificates that say something like, “The person named in this document has been granted repentance.” and a sign beside them that says, “FREE, TAKE ONE.” From my perspective, that sounds a bit too much like an indulgence. Does He hand out repentance the way candy is tossed out for the children during a parade? Is it there for anyone to grab randomly? These verses tell us that Israel and the Gentiles were given repentance and it is even available to “those that oppose themselves.”<\/p>\n What does this mean?<\/p>\n How does God give repentance? Why does He do it?<\/p>\n What happens after that?<\/p>\n Here are some passages that describe God’s mode of operation.<\/p>\n Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Micah 7:18-20<\/p>\n Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Romans 2:4<\/p>\n And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Acts 26:14-18<\/p>\n One of the most awesome and amazing things about our God is the fact that He WANTS to save us from our self-imposed, inevitable destruction. (Luke 12:32) He does not just consent to it if we can persuade Him by our pleadings or impress Him with our worthiness. He is not looking only for “good” people to invite to His kingdom. (Luke 5:32) He longs to save each and every one of us with a love-driven passion that is beyond our comprehension. He has pleaded with us, His wayward children, all through history to return to Him. That is what repentance is – a change of thinking, a turning around.<\/p>\n And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, . . .<\/em> Exodus 34:6, 7<\/p>\n As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ezekiel 33:11<\/em><\/p>\n As I have thought about what it means for God to “give repentance,” it seems that, because He is merciful and gracious, etc., He grants everyone, no matter how rebellious or evil they may have been, the opportunity to repent rather than immediately bringing retribution on them. He is long-suffering; He bears long with our perversity; He has a forgiving attitude toward us. He tries to persuade us to change and gives us time to come to our senses.<\/p>\n Sin always has consequences.<\/p>\n Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Galatians 6:7, 8<\/p>\n Some of those consequences happen immediately; others are delayed. Some can be averted if a person changes their course of life; others are unavoidable because we exist in a sinful system. The ultimate consequence is eternal destruction. But God does not want that to happen; He wants to save us from as much suffering as He can. He gives us repentance in the sense that, when we wander from Him, He gives us time to re-consider our ways and change. He gives us the opportunity to turn back to Him and avoid much suffering and the final destruction.<\/p>\n In our modern legal system, when someone is convicted of a crime, they are sentenced to whatever penalty is determined by the court and that sentence is carried out regardless of what may occur in their life and character. They may change and become a good, upstanding, law-abiding citizen but they will still serve their time and their criminal record will follow them through the rest of their life.<\/p>\n In God’s system, the criminal (each of us sinners) is urged by God’s Spirit to turn away from their life of crime (sin), to repent and change. Motivation and the power to change are provided by the Spirit and, when there is a will, a sincere choice, to change, all the resources of heaven are put into action to facilitate that change. (Philippians 2:13) The sinner is pardoned, the penalty is canceled, and the record of sin is erased. The person is no longer considered a sinner and is treated by God as though they had never done anything wrong.<\/p>\n If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Steps to Christ<\/u>, p. 62<\/p>\n This is how God gives that incredible gift of repentance – He grants the opportunity, the privilege, to change and thus avoid the ultimate consequence of the life of sin – eternal death. And, because of His passionate longing for us, He goes far beyond just waiting for us; He puts great effort into encouraging and facilitating our repentance.<\/p>\n And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Genesis 3:8, 9<\/p>\n Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ezekiel 33:12-16<\/p>\n For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John 3:17<\/p>\n Repentance – what a great gift from a wonderfully gracious and merciful God! Don’t waste the opportunity. Don’t throw the gift away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Exodus 25:8 Whenever I read that verse, I am reminded of what, to me, is one of the most impressive and comforting attributes of God – the fact that He WANTS to be with His people, that He WANTS a close and enduring … <\/p>\n