Chapter 130—The Gift of Repentance
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour,
for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:31
.
Repentance is one of the first fruits of saving grace. Our great Teacher, in
His lessons to erring, fallen man, presents the life-giving power of His grace,
declaring that through this grace men and women may live the new life of
holiness and purity. He who lives this life works out the principles of the
kingdom of heaven. Taught of God, he leads others in straight paths. He will
not lead the lame into paths of uncertainty. The working of the Holy Spirit
in his life shows that he is a partaker of the divine nature. Every soul thus
worked by the Spirit of Christ receives so abundant a supply of the rich grace
that, beholding his good works, the unbelieving world acknowledges that he
is controlled and sustained by divine power, and is led to glorify God....
Read and study the thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel. In it we are given
most precious encouragement. “I will save my flock, and they shall be no
more a prey,” the Lord declares. “... And I will make with them a covenant
of peace....”
The most striking feature of this covenant of peace is the exceeding
richness of the pardoning mercy expressed to the sinner if he repents and
turns from his sin. The Holy Spirit describes the gospel as salvation through
the tender mercies of our God. “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,”
the Lord declares of those who repent, “and their sins and their iniquities will
I remember no more” (
Hebrews 8:12
). Does God turn from justice in showing
mercy to the sinner? No; God cannot dishonor His law by suffering it to be
transgressed with impunity. Under the new covenant, perfect obedience is
the condition of life. If the sinner repents and confesses his sins, he will find
pardon. By Christ’s sacrifice in his behalf, forgiveness is secured for him.
Christ has satisfied the demands of the law for every repentant, believing
sinner....
The atonement that has been made for us by Christ is wholly and
abundantly satisfactory to the Father. God can be just, and yet the justifier of
those who believe.
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