“God’s Goodness Leadeth To Repentance”

Romans 2:1-5

1) Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

2) But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

3) And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

4) Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

5) But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

O

ften, as human beings, we try to get out of having to be responsible for our deeds. We all want to receive God’s blessings, but most are unwilling to return what he requires—submission and obedience. As opposed to hardening us in our ways, the blessings of God should bring us to the recognition of His goodness and cause us to turn from sin.

Many don’t understand why we must be tested. Often, we may find ourselves trying to blame other men for our problems. The fact is that God allows tests for the purpose of working things into and out of us, meaning that any “complaining” is necessarily against Him.

It is time for those ministering the Word of God to come into alignment with it. Though we are responsible for ourselves as hearers, “masters” of the Word must realize that the acceptance of what they say will be greatly affected by how they live. Therefore, whoever proclaims that God is real must be willing to show others that He is real. If we proclaim God to be a deliverer, we must be the first to show others that He has delivered us. If we will proclaim to others that we are saved by God, then we must live so as to show others that we are saved.

Though perhaps, sometimes one would want it not to be so, it is necessary that all things be turned over to the Lord before we can expect His blessings. God works through faith, not the “exchange system.” It is precisely His goodness which is to lead us to repentance.

The sooner we learn that we are not control, the better off we will be. At best, the devil tricks us with the illusion of control. Just think, if we really had control over anything (ourselves or events) we would never do anything detrimental to ourselves. Some of us can say that we were never “strung out” on alcohol, sex, drugs, or anything else. This is good in some respects, but very deceptive in others, for generally this individual was strung out on himself. And often “ego trips” are the hardest ones to stop taking.

Undoubtedly, God requires repentance from sin if we expect to gain heaven, but there are other things from which we must turn. No vestiges of self can remain in our lives if we are to be what God has called us to be. We cannot stop short of doing all that God has decreed for us personally.

The world is into acquiring things with minimal effort. However, whether speaking of products, food or salvation, there is always a price to be paid. There is a trend toward “biologically engineered” meats, which are pumped full of chemicals. All is in an attempt to make money faster. Consequently, there can be side effects to the human body which ingests these foreign substances. Just as there is absolutely no “quick” way around nature, there is no short cut around what God wants. After all, if we could bypass Him and do things our way we would be able to take the credit for success. In the same way, if He had not had an absolute standard, but would allow each of us to establish our own, we would never learn obedience, and man without obedience is lost.

There is no other way to make the following point but like this: many of us have a lot of “nerve.” We will not commit or submit to Him, but we expect Him to bless us. There is no excuse for this mentality, for we are not to be bound to anything but Him.

It is imperative that we begin to accept responsibility for our actions. Saints, if you don’t live it you have no business trying to talk it. Once-and-for-all, if you are going to say that Jesus is a healer, accept your healing. If you want others to believe that the God you serve is real, let Him handle all your problems! Finally, if you claim God is your provider, then you should not always be in need. Others seeing His goodness to us is the only way many will be led to repentance.