Confession, Repentance, Intercession, Accusation, Acceptance, Pardon, Covering

1 John 1:9, Acts 3:19, Hebrews 7:25, Rev 12:10, Acts 10:35, Isaiah 55:7, Zech 3:2-5

What do the above words have in common? They are all steps in the process of obtaining Christ’s robe of righteousness. When we sin, in order to obtain acceptance with God, we have to confess that sin and repent of it or turn away from it. Confession without repentance is null and void and merely serves to alleviate feelings of guilt.  However, once we repent and turn away from that sin, Jesus begins to intercede in the heavenly courts in our behalf. He represents us and pleads our case to the Father. But while Jesus is defending and arguing for us, Satan is acting as prosecutor and is accusing us and arguing against us to the Father. He is pointing out why we aren’t entitled to pardon.  At the close of all of the evidence, if we have confessed and repented, the Father denies the claims of Satan and accepts the arguments of Jesus and pardons our iniquity. Jesus then removes our filthy garments from us and places his spotless robe of righteousness upon us, covering us. It is this robe of righteousness that enables us to walk in newness of life!

The Man In The Pit

The Man In The Pit

Ezekiel 12:2, Isaiah 32:3

There was a man sitting in a pit. He wasn’t sure how he got there but he had been there a long time. He mourned and wailed day in and day out because of his isolation, loneliness and depravation. He wailed so loudly that his friends at the top of the pit heard him. They gathered round the top and yelled down to him. They wanted to help him so they told him how to get out of the pit. But the man in the pit never responded. He just continued to moan and wail day in and day out. Finally his friends climbed down into the pit with him to help him.  They took ropes and a map and a light to show their friend how to get out of the pit. But their friend continued to moan and wail day in and day out. The friends showed him their map, and assured him the rope would hold him on the journey to the top. They cast the beam of light onto the pathway to the top to show him the way of escape. But the man continued to moan and wail day in and day out. Finally, his friends in exasperation, fearing they would become accustomed to the darkness, decided they could no longer delay their return to the top so they bid their friend goodbye and began their assent back to the top. And the man continued to moan and wail over his condition day in and day out. The moral of the story is: no matter how much light is cast onto our paths, a man who has become so accustomed to the darkness that he has become blind will never comprehend the light. But even a blind man can be safely led by his friends if he allows himself to be led.