Lynda MacDonald - REPENTANCE

REPENTANCE FOR THE BELIEVER

Lynda MacDonald, Nova Scotia

The Study of The Wilderness Tabernacle was an eye-opener for our Hebraic Roots group. The main topic from this in-depth look at The Tabernacle was the meaning of “repentance”.

The Hebraic word for “repentance” is “teshuvah”. It literally means, “to turn from and return to”. It implies turning away from something and turning toward something else.

In The Tanakh (OT), God pleads many times with His People to forsake sin and turn toward Him.

In the book of Exodus, we read about the strict instructions that God gave to Moses as He set up a plan to come down to earth and fellowship with mankind. One of the things set in place was a ritual of cleansing that was required by the High Priest before he could come into the presence of The Most High.

In Exodus 30:17- 21, God tells Aaron and his sons that they are to wash their hands and feet with water from the Laver whenever they entered the Tent Of Meeting and when they approached the Altar of Sacrifice lest they die. In the first several chapters of Leviticus, Moses writes extensively about how sacrifices were to be carried out when sin occurred.

Today, we as believers are taught that when we come to accept Yeshua (Jesus) as our “sin bearer” we need to “repent and be baptized for the remission of our sins” but is that the end of repentance, are we now free of the need to repent? If not, then how do we repent? Is it a simple act of saying “I am sorry, God”?

Throughout ancient scripture, we see how serious this action of teshuvah was. God set up strict ways to prepare the hearts of His people so that sin would not separate the Israelites from their God.

1Timothy 2:5 tells us that we have a “mediator between God and men- the Man, Yeshua”. The word mediator means the same as an umpire. The umpire calls out “safe” or “out”. His word is law. Yeshua is our “umpire”. He calls out to the Father “safe” or “out”. I know I want to hear Him say “safe” on my behalf.

I would like to offer the statement that we, today, have really no idea how to come before a Holy God in the act of true repentance. The Israelites were taught from early childhood how to search their hearts and turn from their sin, returning to the arms of a loving God.

When the Jews obeyed, they enjoyed close fellowship with The Most High. When they disobeyed or grew careless, tragic circumstances happened. Sin reigned in the camp and judgment occurred.

When they obeyed, they heard from God and when sin was present, no voice could be heard. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, God will not hear me”. Psalm 66:18 My sin places a barrier between God and me so that fellowship between us is hindered.

How do I repent? There is no set way nor is there a set action. What there is, however, is a set heart position that is acceptable to God - a sincere act of turning away from sin brought about by a deep desire to remove anything that hinders our closeness to God’s presence. King David had that kind of heart. In Psalm 51, he cries out “Have mercy on my, o God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”

I wonder how many times David prayed that prayer? One thing, we do know is that God loved his heart. (Acts 13:22)

Meditating on our need for forgiveness is a good start in repenting. We need to spiritually “turn ourselves inside out” and offer ourselves up to God who can expose anything that needs forgiving. Sometimes, we are not even aware of sin that has crept in but we can still admit sincerely that we have no right to come near to God on our own.

Humility is the key word. “Father, I have no right on my own to come to you asking for my sins to be forgiven. I thank you that your Son, Yeshua, offered Himself in my place, paying for my sin. His sacrifice made the way for me to come into your presence. Please cleanse my sin and draw me near to you.”

When we bow before God in prayer, let us first remove anything that we have placed between Him and us. Then, we will find the way opened and His presence near.

SITE-MAP & GUEST-BOOK