The 7 R's of Repentance

One of my passions is teaching that confession and repentance are different. Below is a simple alliteration detailing the 7 R's of repentance:

1. Recognize how your life doesn’t line up with Christ. Psalm 119:9-20

2. Request help and accountability from God and a loving and mature member (or members) of Christ’s body. Accountability partner(s) help by praying for you, pushing you, and pointing out blind spots. Galatians 6:1-2

3. Review your influences, such as friendships, the media you watch, the music you listen to, and the places you visit. Ask yourself if this activity, media, conversation, or way of thinking is portraying or encouraging the sin you want gone? Is it something you would watch with Jesus? Is it holy? Deuteronomy 7:6 Is it going to drag you down? John 8:34

4. Ruthlessly Reject all the ways you willingly feed the sinful nature. You cannot avoid everything, but you can do a lot of cleaning. Stop listening to that music or watching that media you used to choose. Tell your friends you need to avoid certain conversations or situations. Matthew 5:29-30, Romans 13:14, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Ephesians 4:21-22. 

5. Run after Christ in Spiritual disciplines like prayer, praise and worship, Bible study, sermons and instruction, and service to others. Be renewed with truth and righteousness. Ephesians 4:23-24

6. Remain humble, expectant, and steady. Steps 3, 4, and 5 may be quick or take some time. If every ounce of your being loves God and hates sinfulness, it will go smoothly. Unfortunately, sometimes there is a part of us that wants to hold on to that sin or continue to try to do it on our terms. 1 Corinthians 15:58, 1 John 1:6. Keep praying, confessing your sin, and asking for help. 

7. Rejoice in the miracle. Freedom from sin is excellent, but repentance leads to becoming more Christ-like, which is far more extraordinary. Never take a miracle for granted; always offer public praise. Luke 17:16-17

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