Forgiven First

“...Repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven… The sequence of forgiveness and then repentance, rather than repentance and then forgiveness, is crucial for understanding the gospel of grace.” -Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel.

Sometimes, when one of us is struggling with something, my husband and I will remind each other about some aspect of our identity in Christ. Almost every time, the remindee will say “I know!” to which the response is always something along the lines of, “I know you know. You still need to hear it.”

That’s where the quote (above) comes in. Some of you may have read that and thought, “yeah, of course that’s how it works. Thanks, Captain Obvious.”

But, you still need to hear it.

The gospel starts with grace. It’s not the end result or a reward for doing something right. God offers us grace first, forgiving us before we even think of asking. Our repentance does not earn that.

Many times, though, I’ve lived as though repentance was a prerequisite to forgiveness. I’ve put off (and put off some more) prayers of repentance because I was stuck in this mindset that I somehow needed to clean myself up before I can come to God and ask His forgiveness. But that is work we’re not called or expected to do.

We are called and instructed to repent-but as a response to God’s grace. There’s so much more freedom in the times that I’ve praised God for His grace and forgiveness before surrendering the sins with which I struggle.

Once we fully realize the realness of the forgiveness we’ve already received, our souls will instinctively lean toward repentance. Repentance is meant to be “an expression of gratitude” for God’s grace to us, not a pathway to earning it.

Church, whatever you’re struggling with, whatever is leaving you filled with shame, guilt, despair….you are already forgiven. For all of it. Start there.

Connie