Exodus 34:1-10
1 The LORD said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before Me on the mountaintop. 3 No one may go up with you; in fact, no one must be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.”
4 Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones. He got up early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hand, he climbed Mount Sinai, just as the LORD had commanded him.
5 The LORD came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name Yahweh. 6 Then the LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed:
Yahweh-Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, 7 maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.
8 Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped. 9 Then he said, “My Lord, if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Even though this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wrongdoing and sin, and accept us as Your own possession.”
10 And the LORD responded: “Look, I am making a covenant. I will perform wonders in the presence of all your people that have never been done in all the earth or in any nation. All the people you live among will see the LORD’s work, for what I am doing with you is awe-inspiring.
Acts 2:36-40
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”
37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what must we do?”
38 “Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”
Related Text:
Psalms 86:15
Psalms 103:8
Psalms 145:8
John 3:16-21
1 John 1:9
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Have you thought about it?
The word “repent” means to confess to God that you know you have messed up (sinned) and then change your mind, your attitude, and your actions so that you won’t get stuck committing the same sin over and over and over. Repenting involves confessing sins, but to repent is a lot bigger than to just confess your sins. Repenting means you change the direction of your life and make every effort you can to stop sinning in the ways that you are confessing.
In John 8 you can read about how Jesus forgave a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. As she was leaving His presence, He said to her, “Go and . . . do not sin any more.” Her personal repentance required more than simply receiving forgiveness, it also included a radical change in her lifestyle.
Confess and Change. I’m not saying that a Christian will never sin. We are all sinners. But it’s all about our attitude, our motive, our heart and our mind. What good is confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness if we make no attempt to stop the sin that we are confessing? If we have accepted Christ as our Lord and our Savior, we should have a heart change. And as God continually transforms our hearts, minds and attitudes, we begin to understand that our life isn’t about figuring out what sins we can “get away with”. Instead, our new life in Christ Jesus is about loving God, loving others, and living for Jesus who died in our place.
