Repentance

JAMES WALDEN (U.S.A. Laboured in the Philippines) - 1995-10 - Repentance - Convention - Harare

In Matthew 1 we read of some of the people in the lineage of Jesus. Some of them had terrible, disastrous pasts, but God was able to salvage them from sin and use them in His work. We read about Judah, Rahab, David.

One of the men in the States makes his living from salvaging wrecked cars, and when he resells them they look brand new!

Genesis chapter 38: "Judah went down from his brethren…" He was alone. That's not good. That's why we have companions and spouses... To help us. Anyway, Judah's wife died and he was lonely, and Judah did something that should never have happened. He went in unto his daughter-in-law and because of that sinful union, she conceived twins... Pharez and Zerah. Pharez is mentioned in the lineage of Christ. The important thing is what we read in verse 26, "And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I." He admitted to his sin. "And he knew her again no more." He learned his lesson, and that thing did not happen again.

When we visit people, sometimes they want to show us their photo albums. "Look! there's Aunty so-and-so... there's little Johnny," etc. And we're not very interested.. But wait till we come across a photo of ourselves! Then we get more interested! Well, maybe when we read through some of these names in Matthew 1, we might see our own face.

In Joshua 2 we read about Rahab. She was a harlot and her past life would have brought shame to her family, but later God used her to save their lives! She tied a scarlet thread at her window, and that saved her life.

She became a mother in Israel. Throughout the Bible, we see the scarlet thread of salvation. When Adam and Eve sinned and tried to hide from God (Genesis 3:21) God made coats of skin to clothe them. A lamb's blood was shed to cover their sin and shame. That scarlet thread (Christ's blood) is still what saves us... A salvage process so that God can make something of our lives.

The only reason that we are talking about these sinful events, these people's pasts, is because we can learn something from it. We can take courage to go on because no one is too much of a wreck for God to make something of their lives. No one cannot be salvaged through Christ's blood if they repent of their sin and do it again no more.

Matthew 1:6 "And David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias (Uriah)." 2 Samuel 11: while Joab and his men were out fighting the enemy, David was at home napping. He rose up from his bed and saw Bathsheba, Uriah's wife. We know what happened... When God sent Nathan to point out his greedy sin, he said, "I have sinned against the Lord." He wrote Psalm 51 then. "Have mercy upon me, O God.... Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin... Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." etc. That woman, Bathsheba, became Solomon's mother... And part of the lineage of Christ.

One of my young companions once pointed out that every time Jesus spoke about someone from the Old Testament, He spoke in a complimentary way. No condemnation. Wonderful that God is willing to stoop down so low and restore, cleanse, forget. I don't know any of you, your pasts, or your failures... Things may have happened that should never have been... But God will forgive and heal and restore if there is true repentance. Some of these wrecks that we read of in the genealogy of Christ were forgiven so completely and today their names are on God's honour roll.