repentance

Reason to Rejoice in Repentance

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“But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death.”
(1 Samuel 2:25 ESV)

Eli’s sons were wicked men.  Though Priests, they neither served God nor man–they served themselves.  Using their position for their own pleasure, they defiled sacrifices and took liberties with the women working at the temple.  Eli warned them that their sin was not against man, but against God.  He reminded them that their was no one to mediate for them before God.  But they did not listen.  Verse 25 tells us why they didn’t listen, and reminds us of why repentance is reason for joy.

In the case of Eli’s sons, it was the Lord’s will to destroy them.  They had no opportunity to repent.  As I ponder that terrible reality, I consider that God did grant me repentance.  I’m no better than they were, but by His grace (and for His glory) He chose to extend to me what he kept from them.  So I rejoice in His grace to me, His grace that granted me repentance and gave to me salvation.

Cal Thomas on Revival & Glen Beck

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Revivals don’t ratify the earthly aspirations of humanity, including selfish political agendas. They are about glorifying God. Too many modern Christians have it backward. In a real revival the Lincoln Memorial event would have been a result, not an attempt to cause a revival. People would have assembled who had already repented in private. They would not have bemoaned a decline in American “morality,” but instead have fallen on their knees or faces and cried out in genuine repentance and humility.

via WORLDmag.com | Community | Blog Archive | Genuine revival.

Christianity is very much about personal repentance.  When the Christian is more concerned with the sins of the ‘nation’ or Politicians than our own, personal sin, we become the people Jesus warned us about.

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
(Matthew 7:3–5 ESV)

Faith v. Works

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Sarah Cassidy is the sort of no-nonsense, capable woman you might expect to find as headmistress of a ­primary school. But Sarah doesn’t do children, and she doesn’t do husbands either.No. Sarah is 43, single and celibate — and determined to remain so. Each night she fastens a wire chain, known as a cilice, around her upper thigh . . .

. . . ‘It’s an easy way of knowing you’re doing penance,’ says Eileen, who lives in an Opus Dei centre in Ealing, West London. ‘I wear mine above my thigh. If you go swimming, you don’t want to leave a mark from where it has been.

via Why does Opus Dei member Sarah Cassidy attach a cilice to her leg every day? | Mail Online.

Yet,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
(Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV)

Either we’re saved BY grace FOR good works, or we are saved BY works.  It cannot be both ways.  While these women are extreme examples, perhaps, the reality is that most of us try to ‘do penance.’  We try to make up for our sin by doing good things.  If those good works outweigh the sin, we seem to believe, God will accept us.

But that is not the gospel.  The gospel acknowledges we cannot do enough to make up for our sin.  It demands, not penance, but repentance.  The atoning was done by Christ, once for all.  To think my self-inflicted suffering, or my good works, somehow atones for my sin is to make light of Christ’s work on the cross.

Or we could try self control . . .

~ brandon ~ 1 Comment

Therefore, the treatment for sexual addiction is a form of pseudo-redemptive window dressing in which no one, especially the addict himself, really believes. But what choices does the wife have? One potential “cure” is chemical or surgical castration—no man volunteers, not to mention the wronged wife would be deprived of sex anyway, a sort of cutting off your nose to spite your face. The second choice is to view the addiction as a time-limited condition, accept the man for who he is, and wait until his desires extinguish. Lets stop pathologizing every human behavior, like male libido.

via Every Man Is a Sex Addict – The Daily Beast.

I’ve no idea who Dr. Karasu is.  If we accept his premise, that all men are sex addicts at heart, I think there is a third option for dealing with this.

Throughout history man’s baser instincts have been controlled.  The ability to control these instincts has traditionally been developed through religion.  Religion seeks to teach the man how to control and properly express these physiological needs.  This is a benefit to society, as it promotes healthy families in which the subsequent generation is raised.

Dr. Karasu misses this–or dismisses this, perhaps.  Our options aren’t just castration or waiting it out.  A third option is simple:  confront such behavior as sin and call the sinner to repentance.

As with any other sin, sexual sins can ultimately only be healed by CHrist.  And Christ heals through our repentance.

h/t Hot Air

But do the trains run on time?

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The Rt Rev Stephen Venner called for a more sympathetic approach to the Islamic fundamentalists that recognises their humanity.

via Taliban can be admired for their faith and loyalty, says bishop – Telegraph.

Wow, just wow.  I’m all about grace, mercy and forgiveness, but I have a real hard time with Rt Rev Venner’s assessment of the Taliban.  These are folks to use suicide bombing, threats of violence, human shields and more to try and regain control of Afghanistan.

They behead journalists, destroy relics and really have nothing to commend themselves.   To say,

“The Taliban can perhaps be admired for their conviction to their faith and their sense of loyalty to each other.”

Is akin to saying, “We can admire HItler, perhaps, for the punctuality of Nazi Germany’s train system.”

Christianity is a religion of grace and peace.  But it is also a religion of repentance.  I’m all for the Taliban repenting and becoming brothers in Christ.  Until then, our nation and west fails to protect ourselves by acting as if the Taliban are anything more than animals.

UPDATE: A good friend recently questioned whether these sentences conveyed what I meant, so I’ve decided to clarify.

The Church needs to pray that God would raise up a generation of missionary martyrs, men and women called to evangelize the Muslim world at the cost of their own life.  However, we must guard against the moral relativism which would seek to minimize the attrocities of folks like Al Qaeda and the Taliban because of such virtues as faithfulness to their beliefs and brothers.  From a civil point of view such moral equivalence will get more innocent people killed.

God imbued government with the power of the sword.  He did so in order that governments might, as His regents, restrain evil.  War is one such example.  History shows us that, once war has been joined, the most humane path is the path of overwhelming violence that breaks the enemies will.  Only in this way can decisive victory be achieved and real peace be established.  In this way our greatest enemies of WWII (Germany and Japan) became friends and allies.  In this way Israel finds itself still beset by enemies, despite victories over them.


Each did what was right in his own eyes . . .

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

A surprising new study reveals that casual sex may not cause emotional or psychological damage.

via Casual sex, hookups aren’t emotionally damaging, study finds.

While the headline says, “aren’t emotionally damaging,” the study actually says, “may not cause emotional damage.”  That, coupled with the fact this is a small study of a group in one state makes me wonder why the definite headline?  Also further on we read,

However, researchers said that this doesn’t mean casual sex is for everyone – and Eisenberg is quick to warn of the physical consequences of casual sex. Rates of sexually transmitted diseases continue to increase and teen pregnancy rates in Minnesota in particular are also on the rise, according to the Star Tribune.

So, there is damage–just not emotional.  And that, I guess, makes it okay.  Or maybe, it just illustrates our willingness to excuse and justify sinful behavior.