Upper Room Christian Assembly

Making Repentance Clear - 05

Clarifying Our Commitments

The last of five primary principles of Biblical Repentance is presented in this study, namely: Biblical Repentance Clarifies our Commitments.  A clear pattern is present in the experiences of repentance found in Daniel 9, Psalm 51, Psalm 69, 2 Samuel 24, Joshua 7; James 5:16, Acts 9:4 with 1 Corinthians 15:9, etc.

In every case a movement from personal conviction to public commitment to the great concerns of Almighty God is demonstrated.  Charles Spurgeon expresses the essence of this working out of repentance, this desire to “undo the evil” one has committed against the Plan, People, Place, and Person of God, as it occurred in David’s life with the following words:

[David] had done mischief by his sin, and had, as it were, pulled down [Jerusalem’s] walls; he, therefore, implores the Lord to undo the evil, and establish his church. God can make his cause to prosper, and in answer to prayer he will do so. Without his building we labour in vain; therefore, are we the more instant and constant in prayer. There is surely no grace in us if we do not feel for the church of God, and take a lasting interest in its welfare.  Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 27-57 (Vol. 2, p. 407). Marshall Brothers.

Making Repentance Clear - 04

Turn Toward the Truth

The 4^th of 5 primary principles on clear repentance is presented in this study drawn from Daniel 9:11-14. Daniel identifies the active aspect of Israel’s sin; namely, departing from the voice of God or turning from the Truth. 

The remedy, therefore, is nothing short of turning toward the very Truth that had previously been resisted.  The Thessalonians did not turn from their idols toward alternate creations of religious man.  They turned toward the one True and Living God and began to practice Worship according to the Word (1 Thess 1:9).

This movement of repentance is critical because without a clear turn toward Jesus – The Way, Truth, and Life – pure religion before God and the Father cannot be reached.  The Temple cannot be restored, nor Jerusalem rebuilt, unless the Remnant follows this example of Daniel’s Repentance. Likewise, Jesus’ Church cannot be built toward the original pattern apart from departing from our golden calves and turning toward the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, so help us God.

Making Repentance Clear - 03

Who Owes Who? 

This study investigates the 3^rd of 5 principles drawn from Daniel’s portrayal of clear repentance as described in Daniel 9:7-10.   Daniel’s relationship with God included a clear understanding of what belongs to God and what belongs to sinful men.

Unlike Esau, who mourned his loss but not his sin, Daniel did not barter with God for a blessing while bypassing shame for his sinful behavior.  A profound sense of personal and public debt produced “confusion of face” (KJV) or “open shame” (NKJV).  Daniel was not interested in a tickling message that touched the sin wound lightly while pronouncing, “Peace, Peace; when there is no peace.”  

Knowing something of the glory, honour, and blessedness of His Redeemer, Daniel poured out his heart in the language of mourning love, otherwise known as Repentance.

Making Repentance Clear - 02

Daniel’s Display of Clear Repentance

This study presents the first two of five primary principles drawn from the display of clear repentance detailed in the ninth chapter of Daniel’s book.  The first two principles are the following:

1. Biblical Repentance Understands BY THE BOOKS the Characteristics and Consequences of Sin – Daniel 9:1,2.
   
   
2. Biblical Repentance Clears Things Up with God FIRST through Personal Conviction and Private Petition (Seeking and Praying) – Daniel 9:3-6.

Making Repentance Clear - 01

Repentance Unto Salvation

Repentance is a first principle or elementary doctrine of the Christian Faith (Heb 6:1).  Indeed, entrance into the Christian life is impossible apart from repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21; 2:28). 

Beyond this, Scripture makes it clear that the Churches of Jesus Christ must live in a disposition of repentance, ever ready (in Paul's language) to put off the old man in order to put on the new (Eph 4:22).  James expresses the same idea with these words, "lay aside all filthiness, and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21 NKJV).

Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your hearts, but rather be zealous and repent for godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation never to be regretted (Heb 3:7,15; Rev 3:19; 2 Cor 7:10).

The Behaviour of Christ’s Body – 02

Adorning the Gospel in All Things

Titus 1:5 (NKJV) — For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—

“…Titus is to teach them ‘what is in accord with sound doctrine’ (v. 1). We infer from this that doctrine and practice for a Christian are to keep in step with each other. Soundness in the faith is to be accompanied by a lifestyle that harmonizes with it. And Titus’s responsibility is to spell out in detail what that means for various groups in the church.”  Campbell, D. (2007). Opening up Titus (p. 46). Day One Publications.

The Behaviour of Christ’s Body – 01

Christ The Human and The Head

Hebrews 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

During His Incarnation, Jesus went about doing only good in every facet of His life. “The whole story of his life was nothing else but a catalogue of good works. You find him everywhere going up and down upon this errand, that he might give sight to the blind, limbs to the lame, health to the sick, liberty to the possessed, life to the dead. You will find him either feeding the hungry or healing the diseased, and having compassion on them that are faint, and raising the dead.” Manton, T. (1874). The Complete Works of Thomas Manton (Vol. 20, p. 364). James Nisbet & Co.

While on Earth, godly behaviour was entrusted to Jesus, and He was careful to manifest glorious perfection in His body - the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Eph 1:23).  Now that Jesus is ascended (Acts 1:8-11), His Churches are entrusted with His witness both in terms of pointing back to His unique life; and in terms of seeking to display the fullness of Christ to the Earth in our bodily presence.

Now are ye the Body of Christ and its members in particular (1 Cor 12:27).  No single Christian can fulfill this calling. Indeed, no Church will every reach the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.  But we are exhorted to grow up into Him in all things which is the Head (Eph 4:15) for we are presently the Body of Christ in a very meaningful way.  The collective behaviour of the various members of any Church become the practical expression of the Behaviour of Christ’s Body in that location for good or bad.

God help us to not blaspheme the name of Jesus! (Titus 2:5; 1 Tim 6:1)

Remembering That God Remembers

The historic events that culminated in Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension are in the past, but the resulting Covenant is eternally relevant. The Communion Ordinance calls upon us to observe this relevance by remembering the New Covenant ratified in Jesus’ blood.

Jesus gives a charge to His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me.”   How much more then will He remember His own covenant? Indeed, God remembers His covenant perfectly and His doing so brings the following blessings to the Believer’s life: 1) Exodus, 2) Discipline without Destruction, and 3) Spiritual Advancement.

Remembering is the spiritual discipline of walking in the faith of God’s Word and Acts rather than in the fear of what we face.

The King of Glory – 04

The Categorical Declaration Versus The Categorical Denial – 03

The common trope of a Christian Bible riddled with the relics of religious myths leading its adherents into an unscientific stance toward reality is more of a projection than it is a perception.  It turns out that atheistic intellectuals are often the perpetrators of macro-myths which poison the pot of academic discourse despite the presence of otherwise rational ingredients.

The Myth of Evolution is a classic case-in-point.  The hue and cry directed against Creationists is a diversionary tactic designed to keep the populous from detecting that the scientist hath no clothes.  Richard Dawkins claims that the Christian Creationist is either stupid or insane.  Me thinketh that the evolutionary biologist doth protest too much and should cease pouring his poison down the ears of they who are half asleep.

But their Gertrude – the glory and monetary gain derived from their shtick – is too enticing for their type to cease from betraying their own brethren - humanity.

Thank God for Jesus who tells the Truth even while affixed to the cross of cancel culture so that some can find their way back to paradise while the rest are granted mercy toward a future day of repentance – “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do!”

The King of Glory – 03

The Categorical Declaration Versus The Categorical Denial – 02

The Modern Myth Movement is one of many assaults directed against the Word of God.  Under the guise of a neutral scientific method, satanic science has made its way from the Gentile courts into the holy places where Revelation once occupied a higher seat than independent human deduction.

These maneuvers seek to undermine the Gospel by spraying the graffiti of a big question mark on the foundation of all Biblical Truth: Creation.  This study seeks to scrub off this antichrist ink and restore faith in God’s Holy Writ.