Grace, Repentance, Sin, And Stuff That I've Learned...

This is a letter that I wrote to a friend whom has been asking questions about the Gospel. I liked the way it was worded because for once... it was me letting Him speak instead of me trying to find the right words. I am copying it here so that you may read and enjoy... Remember, dear one, the JOY of your salvation!!!

Hey babe!
First off, let me be very very very clear that I am soooooooo far from having all of the answers that it is not even funny. What I am going to tell you are things that I have learned from older and wiser believers and from studying myself what the Bible teaches. And PLEASE know that I am in NO way trying to sound like a know-it-all or that I am perfect or anything... so freaking far from the truth... I told you last night about my struggles with lust...and just like anyone, that is not the only area in my life where I screw up.
Ok, first things first - (well second after all of the above...). First we must establish the incredible perfection of God. The Bible says "be holy, even as I am holy." (1 Peter) - God speaking. God - who is Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit - 3 in 1 - is the epitome of perfection. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that Jesus had no sin in Him.
And Exodus 19:6 says: "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” - Meaning that we are to be holy. As God is.
But the bad news is that we are incapable of doing that. And as you know, anything that is perfect that is touched by something imperfect - like wet paint for example, if I had perfect white paint on a wall and then a child came up and put a finger print on it, would my painting not be marred? A tiny spot, for sure, but a spot nonetheless, right? So if a person came and spray painted over my paint some nasty obscenity, it is also marred? Right? Same with sin. Holiness is a state of being set apart - of being sanctified (clean) and in God's case - perfect.
And we suck at it.
Because life feels good- including all the things in it.... apples from forbidden trees, sex before marriage, the cookie our Mom told us had to wait until after dinner, the bill you skipped paying so that you could have a night out on the town, and the swear you uttered under your breath as someone cut you off in traffic. We do not even think about these things. But all of them, regardless of size, are spots on the perfect paint - the paint - the canvas being us. God requires a house of perfection. And if the walls of the house had fingerprints and obscenities all over the walls that were once perfect, then He could not stay in it.
In answer to your question - anything that ruins that perfect canvas - that perfect paint job - is sin. And ANYTHING is enough to make it so that we cannot be with God. God is not in the business of categorizing us or our sin. He made us in His image (see Gen. 2) and when He made us - we were perfect. But because of Adam and Eve and their desire to be like God (Gen. 3) - they disobeyed God and ate of the ONE spot that God told them not to. At that very moment - imperfection happened. And it changed all of history as we understood it. But God knew it was going to happen. And He didn't say that eating the apple (or whatever fruit it was) was any worse than Cain later killing Abel. It was equally wrong. Because it was disobedience to what God had commanded. What God required - perfection. The punishment - death. Eternal separation from Christ. No matter how we as humans classify it - the expectation was perfect and the result was failure and the punishment was just.
So...this begs another question. Was this something God expected? Umm... yeah. He knew it. He knows all of it... hairs on your head, your exact dna, and that of all of human and animal kind - of all history. :) And He knew that we would be screwing up this perfect creation that He made. This life. And He also loved and loves us. The solution is simple - Jesus. An extention of Himself - perfect. In every way. And tested and tried - in every way. And did not fall. Hebrews 4:15 And so He died. And rose again - 3 days later. So that we can live. If Someone perfect was willing to take our punishment - dying in our place, then we did not have to take it. And only God Himself is perfect, so He was the only one qualified to take it. So since God set the standard and was the only one to live up to the standard - He sent a part of Himself - fully God, fully man at that point - to be the one who bore the death in our place in order for us to be able to live with Him.

Now, this is called grace. Because we deserve death. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 3:23. But God gave us grace - which is defined as getting something that you do not deserve in place of that which you do deserve - for the better. Ie: life instead of death. And this grace is a completely free and clear gift - Ephesians 2:8-9. It is not something that costs us in any way. It cost Him everything, however.
I want it to remain clear that in dying, while Jesus took on our sin, and became sin - in order to kill the sin - to die - He also was capable of rising again. He in NO WAY retained any of that sin after He rose from the dead. So He is STILL perfect. And the Bible says that God is completely just. He demands perfection - even still. And He also provided a way to get it - through Jesus blood.
It was simplified as ABC - admit, believe, confess... Admit that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died for your sin and rose again on the third day -(the fact that He rose and did not stay dead proves not only His perfection but His God-status because NO ONE else has been capable of dying and rising completely separate from divine help except God himself). And confess - this is the repent question that you asked me about.
Repentance - confession - means to recognize our sin and then give it to Him. Scripture says that they are as filthy rags (which literally would translate today as dirty tampons) to Him. But it also says that He will wash them as white as snow. Clean and gone. As far as the east is to the west - so far has He removed our transgressions from us. In this recognition of our sin and giving it away to Him - we are promising to not do it again. I screw up at this part ALL THE TIME. Because like I said earlier, it feels good. But... Again, God is totally faithful and forgiving. And even though I am not given a license to keep sinning, I am given forgiveness for each sin - past, present, future. And to repent means to turn away - meaning that I give it to Him, I ask for that forgiveness, and then I ask for His help to change. He changes my heart, my attitude, and slowly - my actions also follow in changing. And as these changes occur, I start to look more like Him. And in looking more like Him, I start to desire what He desires. And in that, I start to know Him more... which helps me to avoid those sins because I want to please Him.
Ok... I have to get back to work, so I will write more later but PLEASE ask any questions that you feel you need to. I am totally open to talk about anything so no worries. Just give me time to look it up if I don't know the answer. :)
I love you, girl and I am praying. I know things are hard at the moment but I know you are looking for answers... keep looking at the Bible. I promise you will find them there.
- Later, beautiful friend.
Love, Flic