God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
Repentance is an inner change of the mind...toward one's self, toward God and toward others that leads to an outer change of life. It may or may not result in restitution, as required, but, when genuine, always results in the desire and the attempt to abandon old sinful lifestyles and to adopt new, biblical ones. Repentance is a precondition to all biblical change that has to do with overcoming sin.
We start each day with our personal security resting not on the accepting love of God and the sacrifice of Christ but on our present feelings or recent achievements in the Christian life. Since these arguments will not quiet the human conscience, we are inevitably moved either to discouragement and apathy or to a self-righteousness which falsifies the record to achieve a sense of peace. But the faith that is able to warm itself at the fire of God’s love, instead of having to steal love and self-acceptance from other sources, is actually the root of peace.
