If we want to be holy, if we want to be close to God,
if we want to please God, to walk beside Him, to sit at His feet,
to lay our head on his chest, we cannot do that if we cling to our sin.
That does not mean we are perfect in our own right.
That means, our repentance must be genuine, real,
from the depths of our heart.
What is an example of clinging to sin?
This one particular sin, I believe,
will be the one that comes up the most often on Judgment Day
and the one sin that also separates people from God the most
as they walk on the Earth.
That sin is: Unforgiveness.
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar,
and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother,
and then come and offer thy gift. Matthew 5:23-24
No excuses.
Jesus has said what He said.
He told us to go and reconcile with our brother if he has ought.
Jesus also talked about giving all that you have to
to gain your brother’s favor if there is a breach.
Jesus has the power of reconciliation.
He can and does work in difficult relationships and difficulties between people.
There are no excuses to not obey.
He may let you have the freedom from future efforts
if your adversary still refuses.
Sometimes there is nothing that can be done if they are not willing subjects.
We must seek God and obey Him in these important matters.
If they do not respond or if their heart cannot be won over by God’s love,
that is not our worry.
Our responsibility is to do what God shows us to do
and to keep our hearts clean and pure from malice.
Give the ugly stuff to the Lord.
He will help you.
If you cling to it, you may find yourself unable to fellowship with Jesus.
Jesus spoke very clearly in the Sermon on the Mount.
He did not allow for any excuses. He spoke of turning the other cheek,
giving extra to those who take from you, not to speak ill of anyone
or we may be in danger of Hell’s Fire. That is a very strong message.
For us to excuse our anger or self-righteousness,
we will have no standing before the Lord.
Give to him that asketh thee,
and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Matthew 5:42
These are hard words, but I did not say them. They are straight from Jesus’ lips:
For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
Repentance is an ongoing process.
I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
Give it up.
The flesh will fight against all things good and righteous.
Our souls are always warring against God.
Our right and our honor is to put our selfish flesh into submission to God.
It takes effort. It takes hard work. It is also something that the Lord expects.
Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Matthew 16:24
Denying yourself.
Keeping your repentance constant.
Laying down your life.
Submitting to Jesus and His ways, putting off your own.
Letting Him do His work in you, staying out of the way.
It’s a process, every day, sometimes every moment.
Love is what brings us closest to God.
Following His commands of loving God and loving our neighbor as ourself.
His love is a form of holiness. Letting His love flow in us and through us.
Repentance and Holiness, you can’t have one without the other.