Repentance From Dead Works

Repentance Story

Going out for multiple altar calls to give my life to Christ was something was quite familiar with, growing up. I was brought up in a Christian family that created an atmosphere that worked guilt and remorse into me every time I sinned.

This constant conviction of my sins is what made me keep going out for altar calls. I was always making fresh new year resolutions; resolutions I never kept.

I remember that during my secondary school days, I always promised myself that before the start of a new term, I’d be a different person in actions, conversations, everything! But I fell back every single time. And I’d feel so terrible that I had disappointed and failed God.

As I grew, I got to a point where I was slowly giving up on myself and the ‘God thing’. It just wasn’t working for me.

Meanwhile, in between the multiple repentance, I was a strong member of the choir in my local church. Singing in the church choir did not stop me from living in solid sin. I began to have multiple sin partners at some point, and I was meeting them in church. They were church boys!

I got sexually involved with some of them – a lot of them actually. So I kept repeating my usual cycle: falling into sin, feeling guilty, attempting to repent, and falling back into sin again.

When I came to God’s Lighthouse in 2016, I heard the teachings there and they brought a lot of comfort and healing to my soul. I thank God for the lessons, comfort and assurance that the Holy Spirit gave. After attending the class on Repentance from Dead Works, I had to repent properly. First to ’metaneo’ — change my thinking — and then, turn around from evil.

Amongst other things, a major thing this class did for me was, it brought assurance of my salvation, of my place in God. I came to know that He wasn’t going to throw me away. This was the first thing I learnt.

Secondly, I understood that I had always been born again all those years of my rising and falling. However, I was still a baby Christian with stunted spiritual growth. This resulted in my constant falling and rising. I understood that growing up in God takes time and process.

Finally, I realised that a lot of my actions then – singing in the choir and services – were dead works before God. I had thought that those things would make God pleased with me, and get me into heaven even though I lived as I pleased. I got to understand that God first seeks our heart. He wants a heart that is aligned with His so that, out of the heart of a life committed to Him will flow actions deeply rooted in obedience.

Since then, my Christian walk has never remained the same again. I have gone on to learn the ways of God, as well as His acts. I also learnt to be accountable to my discipler and Brethren. This has helped me grow spiritually in leaps and bounds. I have immersed (and I continually immerse) myself in the word of God, and have experienced greatly, the cleansing power of God’s word.

Now, I don’t get to go out for countless altar calls anymore. The knowledge of God’s word has freed me!

Sis F. O.

© 2017