XVI. Покаяние

“Repent,” says St. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2). “Produce therefore fruit worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). “Repent,” says Christ (Matthew 4:17). “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29). “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Matthew 18:11). “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31–32). “Draw close to God, and He will draw close to you; Cleanse your hands, you sinners; straighten your hearts, you double-minded. Lament, weep and howl; Let your laughter turn to weeping, and your joy to sorrow” (James 4:8–9). “Putting aside all malice and all deceit, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander, like newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow to salvation” (1 Pet. 2:1-2). “The Lord is not slack in fulfilling his promise, as some count slackness; but is patient with us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). “Count the longsuffering of our Lord as salvation” (2 Pet. 3:15). “And when sin abounded, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20). “And it is as if God Himself exhorts through us; On behalf of Christ we ask: be reconciled with God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:20-21). “Godly sorrow produces unfailing repentance leading to salvation” (2 Cor. 7:10). “Awake, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Eph. 5:14). “Mortify your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). “Be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:19–20). “Her many sins are forgiven because she loved much,” Christ says to the weeping harlot wife, who washed His feet with her tears (Luke 7:47). “Jesus said (to the wife taken in adultery), “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11). The parable of the sheep that was lost and found again (Luke 15). Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). The parable of the woman who found the lost coin shows the same thing (Luke 15). “There is joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). “He recognized my iniquity and did not hide my sin; he said: “I confess my iniquity to the Lord, and You have forgiven the wickedness of my heart” (Ps. 31:5). “I will talk about my iniquity and worry about my sin” (Ps. 37:19). “I have sinned against you alone and have done evil in your sight” (Ps. 50:6). Repentance cleanses all sins, whatever they may be (Admonition 1 to Theodore the Fallen). Repentance does not come from a long time, but from the fervor of the heart (Admonition 1 to Theodore the fallen). Five days are enough to repent of sins; if you are sober, you will pray, you will be vigilant (Discourse 6 on Blessed Philogony). While we are here, we have a fair amount of hope; and as soon as we move from here, it will not be in our power to repent (Word 2 about Lazarus). We should be ashamed not of repentance, but of sin (Conversation 8 on repentance). Repentance without mercy is dead (Conversation 7 on repentance). For a sinner, repentance is annoying and terrible. (For the repentant) the healing of sins, the destruction of iniquities, the outpouring of tears, hope in God, a weapon against the devil, a sword that takes away his head, the hope of salvation, the destruction of despair (Conversation 8 on repentance). True repentance is not only to abstain from the first sins, but to do even more good (Conversation 10 on the Evangelist Matthew). The prayers of the saints have great power, but only if we have repentance and correct ourselves (Conversation 5 on the Evangelist Matthew). He who repents after a sin is worthy not to cry, but he should be considered blessed (Conversation 11 on 1 Corinthians). I. One must renounce oneself, that is, one’s own will and passionate lusts, strive against all sin, and not only not fulfill it in deed, but also drive away from thought. II. Having thus changed, begin a new life, submit your will to the will of God, try to follow the holy example of the life of Christ, in a word, accustom yourself to every virtue. And if, due to weakness, you happen to stumble or fall, immediately, recognizing your damnation, resort to God’s mercy and ask with deep humility for forgiveness. III. To regret the previously committed sins, even to the end of life, that with them he angered the man-loving God, did not listen, and fulfilled the evil will of His enemy, the devil, and thereby earned himself eternal execution. This is “sorrow for God’s sake, which produces unchangeable repentance leading to salvation” (2 Cor. 7:10). IV. The past tense, because it was lived in vanity, lust, in sins, and therefore lived in evil, should often be pondered and mourned, for this will result in spiritual poverty, which is very necessary for repentance. So, looking around, a person will see his damnation, that he has nothing but sin, and thus is very guilty before the court of God; thus, together with the prodigal son, he recognizes his unworthiness: “Father!.. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21), he will humiliate himself before his brethren, and not theirs, but his own vices will consider and mourn; He will forgive his neighbor’s sins in order to receive forgiveness from God himself; will make every effort to reconcile with those whom he has offended in some way. I. God Himself calls to repentance and commands to repent (Luke 5:32). II. God is patient with us so that we repent; expects everyone and wants to kindly accept the repentant (Luke 15:21–24). III. God in His holy word declared that Jesus Christ will judge the whole universe with righteousness. And thus he mercifully warns and encourages everyone to repentance, so that they can avoid terrible condemnation for their deeds (Matthew 25). IV. God promised those who repent not to remember their sins: “all the sins he, the wicked repentant, have committed will not be remembered” (Ezek. 33:16). V. God confirmed His promise and His oath, so that we would not hesitate to come to Him in repentance. “As I live, says the Lord... I do not want the death of the sinner, but that he should turn... and live” (Ezek. 33:11). VI. The examples of those who repented and received mercy from God testify to this; also the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15) and the parable of the sheep lost and found again show the same mercy of God towards sinners (Luke 15). Chetyi - Read the Menaion and you will see satisfied examples of those who repented. VII. This is why Christ came into the world to save sinners: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). VIII. The Heavenly Father rejoices with all the Angels over the repentant sinner. “So, I tell you, there is joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents,” says Christ (Luke 15:10). Show mercy to everyone; forgive offenses to one's neighbor; stand firmly against sin and call on Christ for help. (See this also in the discussion about sin). You might be interested in: