SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
05/13/2004
My Worship Time Focus:
Looking at Repentance
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Peter
3:8-10
Message of the
verses: “8 But do not let this one fact escape your
notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a
thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord
is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward
you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But
the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away
with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth
and its works will be burned up.”
I promised in our last SD that I would be talking about
repentance and what it involves and so I will quote from Dr. Wiersbe’s
commentary from 2 Peter to help us out understanding this very important
subject, a subject so important that one cannot become a believer in Jesus
Christ and be born-again without understand it.
“God was even long-suffering toward the scoffers of that
day! They needed to repent and He was
willing to save them. This is the only
place where Peter used the word repentance
in either of his letters, but that does not minimize its importance. To repent simply means ‘to change one’s mind.’ It is not ‘regret,’ which usually means ‘being
sorry I got caught.’ Nor is it ‘remorse,’
which is a hopeless attitude that can lead to despair.
“Repentance is a change of mind that results in an action
of the will. If the sinner honestly
changes his mind about sin, he will turn from it. If he sincerely changes his mind about Jesus
Christ, he will turn to him, trust Him, and be saved. ‘Repentance toward God, and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:21) is God’s formula for salvation.
“The word translated ‘come’ at the end of 2 Peter 3:9
carries the meaning of ‘make room for.’
It is translated ‘contain’ in John 2:6 and 21:25. The lost sinner needs to ‘make room’ for
repentance in his heart by putting away his pride and meekly receiving the Word
of God. Repentance is a gift from God
(Acts 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25), but the unbeliever must make room for the gift.
“As you review Peter’s arguments, you can see that his
evidence is irrefutable. He pointed out
that the scoffers willfully rejected evidence in order that they might continue
in their sins and scoffing. He proved
from the Scriptures that God has intervened in past history, and that He has
the power to do it today. He showed that
the scoffers had a very low view of God’s character because they thought He
delayed in keeping His promises just as men do.
Finally, he explained that God does not live in the realm of human time,
and that His so-called ‘delay’ only gives more opportunity for lost sinners to
repent and be saved.”
We will continue looking at this rather long section in
our next SD. 10/10/2017 11:39 AM
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