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Posted By: Rick Bates Real Repentance ~ Charles Spurgeon - Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:02 PM


"Godly sorrow worketh repentance."-2 Corinthians 7:10
Genuine, spiritual mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. Repentance is too choice a flower to grow in nature's garden. Pearls grow naturally in oysters, but penitence never shows itself in sinners except divine grace works it in them. If thou hast one particle of real hatred for sin, God must have given it thee, for human nature's thorns never produced a single fig. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh."
True repentance has a distinct reference to the Saviour. When we repent of sin, we must have one eye upon sin and another upon the cross, or it will be better still if we fix both our eyes upon Christ and see our transgressions only, in the light of His love.
True sorrow for sin is eminently practical. No man may say he hates sin, if he lives in it. Repentance makes us see the evil of sin, not merely as a theory, but experimentally-as a burnt child dreads fire. We shall be as much afraid of it, as a man who has lately been stopped and robbed is afraid of the thief upon the highway; and we shall shun it-shun it in everything-not in great things only, but in little things, as men shun little vipers as well as great snakes. True mourning for sin will make us very jealous over our tongue, lest it should say a wrong word; we shall be very watchful over our daily actions, lest in anything we offend, and each night we shall close the day with painful confessions of shortcoming, and each morning awaken with anxious prayers, that this day God would hold us up that we may not sin against Him.
Sincere repentance is continual. Believers repent until their dying day. This dropping well is not intermittent. Every other sorrow yields to time, but this dear sorrow grows with our growth, and it is so sweet a bitter, that we thank God we are permitted to enjoy and to suffer it until we enter our eternal rest.
Posted By: Pilgrim Re: Real Repentance ~ Charles Spurgeon - Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:24 AM
Amen.... but beware of some who would lead you into a debilitating morbid introspection that kills the soul and the joy of being delivered from the bondage of sin by the life and death of our Lord Christ and the power of the work of the indwelling Spirit of God. So... it's not an "either/or" but a "both" reality. BigThumbUp

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Romans 8:26-39 (ASV) 26 And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for [us] with groanings which cannot be uttered; 27 and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to [the will of] God. 28 And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, [even] to them that are [the] called according to [his] purpose. 29 For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: 30 and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God [is] for us, who [is] against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth; 34 who is he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posted By: Rick Bates Re: Real Repentance ~ Charles Spurgeon - Mon Oct 26, 2020 1:52 PM
Pilgrim,
You make a great point in your reply. I find in my studying, there seems to be two camps that though they seek to make a clear delineation of the " truth ", one side seems to lean more towards a hard line explanation of God's word, while the other side leans more towards a more grace seasoned explanation of God's word. For example, you have mentioned that J.C. Philpot leans hard towards hypercalvinism, to which I agree, while I find men like Octavious Winslow, Thomas Boston, etc, lean more towards a grace seasoned message. When I feel despondent with guilt I read writings by more devotional and experiential preachers, which helps to refocus my standing in Christ. The section of scripture you quoted from Romans 8 is so encouraging. I read that John Owen had a major struggle with acceptance of God's forgiveness for quite a time. Martin Luther struggled the same way. Thank you for sharing a reply. " Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. " Jude 24, 25 ( ESV )
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