photo #7451602

Recognition, Repentance, and Redemption Isa. 55: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. --- Isaiah 55:7 Isaiah’s hopeful message toward the end of his book mirrors how it started with God offering forgiveness and pardon for the people’s sins. Yet, this forgiveness will not happen automatically. He says these first two steps must take place to be forgiven and restored. 1-Recognition. This statement is the most important understanding if people are to receive forgiveness and eternal life in Christ. They must see the way they live is wrong and offensive to God. They must have a prodigal son moment of coming to themselves and seeing sin for what it is. The opposite of being convicted of our sin is an endorsement of it. This phenomenon is happening today with gender reassignment, crime justified, lives without God viewed as normal, raising kids without moral values, and living without a personal relationship with Christ. They normalize this behavior, are numb to all of sin’s effects, and even defend it and make those who believe in God’s moral standard enemies. The problem we have today and why God progressively judges America is this spirit of reprobation. 2-Repentance-Isaiah gets at the heart of repentance. He says we must forsake our sins. It is not just recognizing it is wrong and trying to do better. It is leaving it as the song writer said, “Then I bid farewell to the ways of the world to walk in it nevermore.” This forsaking sin is what repentance is. It is more than remorse, trying to improve, or justifying behavior. It is saying goodbye because you are sick of living that way and don’t want to return to it. 3-Redemption-God stands willing to restore and redeem our lives. We ought to be encouraged because some people will forsake their sin and find Christ if we look for them. We need to stop huddling together in fear and start searching for those who will repent and come to Christ if they know the offer and understand what they could have instead of how they live today. God offers it to people; we need to announce the good news and make people aware of the greatest life they could ever have. --- Dan Nelson