Repentance | AdventAI

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 2, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 34.

Repentance.

Without repentance there is no remission of sins. He who wishes to be saved, must confess his sins and do the work of repentance. To confess sins is to know evils, to see them in himself, to acknowledge them, to make himself guilty, and to condemn himself on account of them. When this is done before God, it constitutes the confession of sins. To do the work of repentance is to desist from sins when he has thus confessed them, and from a humble heart has made supplication about remission; and further, to lead a new life according to the precepts of faith.

He who only acknowledges universally that he is a sinner, and makes himself guilty of all evils, and does not explore himself, that is, see his sins, makes confession but not the confession of repentance; for he lives afterwards as before. He who lives the life of faith, does daily the work of repentance; for he reflects upon the evils appertaining to himself, acknowledges them, shuns them, and supplicates the Lord for aid. For man of himself is continually lapsing, but is continually raised up by the Lord. He lapses of himself when he wills to think evil, and is raised up by the Lord when he resists evil, and hence does it not.

The work of repentance which is done in a free state, is of avail; but that which is done in a state of compulsion, is of no avail. A state of compulsion is a state of sickness, a state of dejection of mind in consequence of misfortunes, a state of imminent death; in a word, it is every state of fear which takes away the use of sound reason. He who is evil, and in a state of compulsion promises repentance and also does good, when he comes into a free state returns unto his former life of evil. The case is otherwise with a good man, the above states being to him states of temptation in which he conquers.—Arcana Cœlestia.