We need to break the religious cycle

First by not sinning, not crossing our conscience

There is no such thing as guilt free sin, if your sinning stop it!!

Sin will use the system against you,

The bible says sin is deceitfully wicked; it is described by God as one waiting crouched at the door desiring to rule over you, Paul said it being deceitfully wicked took what God intended for good and used it to kill me.  Sin is the kingdom of darkness at work.

• It will use Gods things against you to kill you (eg Law)

• It will poison your faith, your life

• Blind you, trick you, enslave you

• It will attempt to shipwreck your faith

• It will try and make you look in, hide, to try and clothe yourself, to blame

• If it can get you it will put you under the law

• Fear sin, he who pulls down a hedge will be bitten by a serpent

How the Spirit of religion (sin) uses repentance

The religious spirit will happily use the system against you,

• It will get you in a cycle of sin and repentance

• It will make you very sorrowful for your sin

• But it wont have the power to set you free

A religious person …

Restore righteousness > thinks God accepts them by how clean they are

In the past we have repented with tears and sorrow;

• There is a repentance that doesn’t produce faith

• But true faith always produces repentance

Let’s get it straight, let’s kill a sacred cow!!

• Repentance doesn’t earn anything,

• Repentance doesn’t even get you ready for Christ,

• All repentance does is gives you the same heart and mind, it agrees with God,

• It restores relationship and it hopefully stops you from offending the gift giver.

• Jesus earnt everything I’m ever going to get from God

But even if your not repentant you’re still saved, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, not while I was yet trying not to sin, or it doesn’t say while I was yet repentant, or while I was yet of a pure heart.

Even my best repentance is as filthy rags,

• Repentance doesn’t restore salvation is restores your relationship,

• If you try and earn your salvation by repenting you might as well throw away Christ

Story: Guy coming to get right with God on altar a few weeks ago

Repentance is extremely important in the Christian faith (and has its place) but it can get hijacked by the religious spirit to weary God with endless repenting.

 The religious way has been to restore repentance

• Don’t teach your people how to repent teach them how to love God, with all there heart soul mind and strength …. Say do you love God? Then say why did you do that then? Teach them how to love!!

• Repentance will flow out of love!

• Jesus said those that love me obey me

What you need is faith, freedom and love  

The aim is to restore love, but how do you restore love? 

We are love responders, we respond to love

• We are a mirror of Gods love,

• Like a wife is the mirror of her husbands love

• We love him coz he loved us first

Love always produces repentance 

• Restore faith > produces freedom > thanksgiving > Love > Godly repentance

This is where we need a new way of getting right with God

How did Jesus restore Peter?