God’s mercy renews everyday. Lamentations 3:22-23 (KJV): “22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.“
And because He is pure holiness and we are not, we need His mercy every day. Dependence upon our Lord and repentance are actually ongoing attitudes. Thank God that He has provided a mechanism for ongoing forgiveness! (1 John 1:9)
In the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:2-12, He begins with “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs in the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
In the book, God’s Psychiatry,* Dr. Charles L. Allen explains that the word “blessed” really means a “oneness with God.” Isn’t that is the true goal of our relationship with Him?
Allen also explains that those who are “poor in spirit” realize that they lack “something which only God can supply” and “though we possess all things, without God all our things are nothing.” It is the “realization of our lack of God and our desire for God.” This attitude is represented in Scripture by the man who prayed “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:10-13) and by the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:18). (Allen, pp. 210-211.)
Further, those who mourn are those who are “so grieved over our moral and spiritual shortcomings that we cannot rest until we have found God and our souls are satisfied” and “…as we see the suffering of the Saviour, surely it must bring suffering to us. Only a dead soul can see Him without mourning.” (Allen, pp. 215-217).
I don’t think it is a coincidence that these two Beatitudes were the first ones in the Lord’s Sermon. The “Sinner’s Prayer” is not a one-time thing. For all of us, the realizations of our need for God and of our need for forgiveness and gratitude that He has made a way for us, are foundational to our relationship with Him. The truth is, we begin again every day. Thank you, Jesus!
*Allen, Dr. Charles L. (1953). God’s Psychiatry. Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Notes/Disclaimers:
*”ASV” refers to the American Standard Version of the Bible and “KJV” refers to the King James Version of the Bible, both of which are in the public domain. Links are to the New International Version on BibleGateway.com.
**I am not affiliated with any of the websites that I mentioned above (other than I may have donated a time or two), nor have they endorsed this website in any way. I am just listing them because I have found them to be very helpful references.
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Wow, what a great topic to discuss. As always, it goes back to our Savior, His Work on the Cross, and His Great Love and Sacrifice for those who are called: John 6:44. We sin at times. The HS deals with us. There’s no hiding. Hopefully we repent ASAP ; a Good Father disciplines those He loves. I looked into my bible program and found this. It is so good.
Confession is supposed to free people to enjoy fellowship with Christ. It should ease their consciences and lighten their cares. But some Christians do not understand how it works. They feel so guilty that they confess the same sins over and over; then they wonder if they might have forgotten something. Other Christians believe that God forgives them when they confess, but if they died with unconfessed sins, they would be forever lost.
These Christians do not understand that God wants to forgive people. He allowed his beloved Son to die just so he could offer them pardon. When people come to Christ, he forgives all the sins they have committed or will ever commit. They don’t need to confess the sins of the past all over again, and they don’t need to fear that God will reject them if they don’t keep their slate perfectly clean. Of course, believers should continue to confess their sins, but not because failure to do so will make them lose their salvation. Believers’ relationship with Christ is secure. Instead, they should confess so that they can enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with him.
Life Application Bible Commentary – Life Application Bible Commentary – 1, 2, & 3 John.