The author of the Letter to the Hebrews listed repentance from dead works as one of the six foundational doctrines of Christ. (Hebrews 6:1 NASB)
Dead works can be defined as our human efforts to make ourselves look good in God’s and people’s eyes through our words and behavior.
People are unable to put themselves in a right standing with God (justify themselves) through human effort. The prophet Isaiah warned us that the attempt to do so is repulsive to God.
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6 (NASB)
Nevertheless, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we can make a few adjustments, try harder, and turn things around spiritually, not realizing that everything originating out of self is a dead work.
Anything that does not originate with God’s Spirit and derive from faith is a dead work.
Sin is much deeper than words, acts, and attitudes. It infects us to the core and is part of what we inherited from our forefathers due to the Fall. When we are born, we come into this world as little sin factories. No matter how hard we try to overcome this inherited condition, we will fail.
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. Romans 7:14 (NASB)
That which originates in our own human effort is called the “flesh,” as opposed to that which originates in God, which is called the Spirit.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. John 6:63 (NASB)
Religion is mostly man’s attempt to gain and maintain a right relationship with God through human effort, which is a dead work. Religion approaches the sin problem and its resultant separation from God in one of two ways. It might deny there is a problem, as do Eastern religions which insist that both good and evil exist in God (Yin and Yang) and should not concern us. (e.g. Star Wars “the Force,” Buddhism, modern psychiatry, and various perversions of Christianity). This approach insists that God does not condemn anyone and salvation consists in coming to that realization. Basically, I’m okay and you’re okay. We don’t need a Savior because we are not separated from God. It is all an illusion, and Jesus died needlessly.
Those who deny that sin is a problem may gain a counterfeit and illusory form of peace, but will still have to account to God for their sinful condition and acts.
The other end of the spectrum is found in the Jewish Law of Moses. Under this system, by keeping God’s laws we gain access to God’s favor and blessing. This approach recognizes that sin is real, separates us from God, and causes death, but insists that we can work hard at keeping God’s commands and earn a right standing with God.
But the Apostle Paul explained that the purpose of the Law is to reveal our hopeless condition and the impossibility of gaining a right standing with God through keeping its requirements.
Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. Galatians 3:21-24 (NASB)
Those who fall for the deception that a right standing with God can be achieved through self-effort either become religious zealots and intolerant of those who fall short of their standards or demoralized when they finally come to end of their striving with the realization that it is a hopeless endeavor.
When we choose this second option, there is no possibility of rest for our souls because we can never be good enough to clear the bar of God’s perfect holiness.
That is why we need a Savior and repentance from all self-effort.
The Essence of Sin: The Self-Directed Life
At its core, sin originates in a mistrust of God. Satan induced Adam and Eve to doubt God’s goodness. The result was their attempt to become independent from him. Sin is a rebellious self-aggrandizing attempt to make our own decisions, run our own lives, and impose our own rules – to be little gods. Satan deceived Adam and Eve into thinking that they could throw off the Creator’s built in limitations on our lives and “be like God” – needing nothing.
Because of the generational aspect of sin, the allure of living a self-directed life pulls at the heart of every person and is the essence of sin.
Repentance and the God-Directed Life
The gospel calls people back into alignment with God’s original plan – living in harmony with God and his will.
Through faith in Christ, we can be forgiven of our rebellion and come back into God’s family and blessing. We can experience his life inside us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. But for this to happen, we must repent. Because of our pride, it is deeply humbling for us to admit our need for God and to obey him; nevertheless, it is the most rewarding way to live. We think that becoming servants of God will strip us of our dignity and freedom and deprive us of some of the things that bring delight to our lives. This is the lie that Satan set up with our first parents and still pulls at us today.
Jesus, the perfect God-man, lived the way God intended. In his own words:
...“I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. John 5:19 (NET1)
When Jesus calls people to repent and enter God’s kingdom, he challenges us to turn away from the vain attempt to direct our own lives and to embrace His rule.
Repentance requires us to stop playing God and to acknowledge the rightful ruler, Jesus the Lord.
The Gospel and Christ’s Lordship
Paul understood that Jesus is both Lord and Savior. He calls us to confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that he is the risen Savior – the Lamb of God.
The gospel challenges and invites us to repent (make Jesus Lord) and believe (receive salvation) – to surrender our “rights” and receive God’s blessings.
...because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 (NET1)
Confessing that Jesus is Lord is the most fundamental act of repentance. Doing so opens the door to receive all the benefits he died and rose to win for us. That begins a lifelong journey of daily surrender to God’s will.
The Restful Life
Attempting to direct our own lives creates stress that we were not designed to carry.
We do not have the wisdom, knowledge, or power to live self-directed lives. Repentance opens the door to life as God intended it to be. Jesus invites us to:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NET1)
Confessing that Jesus is the Lord is the gateway into the blessings he won for us on the cross, which include a life of rest by faith.
We are able to cease from religiously striving to be right with God when we accept that he won that privilege for us through his own perfect life.
So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. 10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. Hebrews 4:9-10 (NLT)
The Lordship of Christ is an absolutely crucial part of the Gospel, requiring us to repent from the self-directed life, which Paul calls the “flesh,” which God refuses to bless, since it is an abomination to him.
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body [repenting], you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:12-14 (NASB)
The only life that can receive the fullness of God’s blessing is the life that we live in cooperation with and dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Surrender to Jesus the Lord is the narrow door through which Gospel blessings are accessed.
Application
If you have never made a conscious decision to surrender every aspect of your being to Jesus, now is the time. This will include the following: relationships, time, money, health, your future, security, provision, self-image and fulfillment – everything, even life itself. Do this and you will begin to experience true freedom and a new level of rest.
In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. Luke 14:33 (NET1)
The Greek word translated “renounce” means to “say good-bye.” Say good-bye to everything that stands between you and a full surrender to Jesus. Say hello to the Spirit-led life and the rest that comes from being in a right relationship with God.
Prayer
Jesus, I am tired of trying to direct my own life. Please forgive me for living independently from you. I surrender myself and all I have to you. Thank you for forgiving my sins and including me in your forever family and blessings. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to live inside me. I look forward to seeing what you will do with my life. Have your way in me from this day forward. Amen.
