Second, you will not be likely to practice repentance if you are ignorant of the law of God. As Paul taught in Romans 7, he didn’t know what sin was until he began reading and meditating on the law of God. If you choose to ignore the law of God — that glorious standard of holiness, justice, and goodness (Romans 7:12) — then you’ll have a hard time being sensitive to those times you violate that standard. So, if you want to practice repentance, taking up daily meditation in the law of God is the indispensable requirement, the sine qua non (Psalm 1).

Finally, you will be greatly aided in your practice of repentance by maintaining some kind of accountability at the human level. Be willing to be confronted, rebuked, and corrected by those who love you, and you’re on your way to a fruitful life of repentance. Share your needs for repentance with those who love you; seek their prayers and support; let them rejoice with you in the victories God grants. Repentance will become more a part of your life in the kingdom of God if you have others to help you along the way.

Great joy, freedom, hope, and power accompany the life of repentance. Make it your way of life, beginning today.

For Reflection
How would society be different if our churches were more faithful in teaching about repentance? How can you help your loved ones know the joy that repentance and kingdom living can bring?

T. M. Moore is dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of seventeen books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics, (Waxed Tablet). He and his wife and editor, Susie, make their home in Concord, TN