repentance
Maybe we
need a definition, on this one, so that we are all on the same page, to
begin this subject.
repentance:
1. The act or process of repenting.
2. Remorse or contrition for past conduct or sin.
repent:
a. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
b. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: repented of intemperate behavior.
c. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.
Now let us
take in order, what the original anonymous text has to say about this
requirement. We quote from page seventy, at the end of the chapter,
"How it Works:"
If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. We are not theorizing. These are facts out of our experience.
There is a
class of people that believe that one day, they will be
"raptured" from this earth. That may be true, but let us
state that Enoch was raptured to heaven. My experience was that I
was raptured from my career, and my life, when the spiritual awakening was
to begin, much to my chagrin. That event happened at close to six
years into abstinence.
Next let us
present chapter three, in the Gospel of Matthew, concerning what I believe is a prerequisite,
on the path to God, whether we like it or not. I have not met anyone
yet, that has enjoyed this process. And for any that have time, or
would like to come back to the theme of this web page, at a later time by
bookmarking this page, we have a few more translations on this chapter, linked
to this page,
which we strongly urge being read.
Matthew 3
21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
2 and saying, "Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: `Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.'"
4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then there went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about the Jordan.
6 And they were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance,
9 and think not to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father.' For I say unto you that God is able from these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
12 His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
13 Then came Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John to be baptized by him.
14 But John forbad Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by Thee, and comest Thou to me?"
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness."
Then John suffered Him.
16 And Jesus, when He had been baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him.
17 And lo, a voice came from Heaven, saying, "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED."
Now to
continue this thought that we are on, let us quote what Jesus said, while
talking with Nicodemas, in the third chapter of the Gospel of John:
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
(John 3:5-8 NIV)
Now that we
have those opinions, let us take a look at what the bigbook states, and
then you can make up your own mind, as to what the process might
include. We offer a quote from "How it Works," on page
sixty three:
When we sincerely took such a position, all sorts of remarkable things followed. We had a new Employer. Being all powerful, He provided what we needed, if we kept close to Him and performed His work well. Established on such a footing we became less and less interested in ourselves, our little plan and designs. More and more we became interested in seeing what we could contribute to life. As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the
hereafter. We
were reborn.
Now we
need to focus on "good fruit" and worthy deeds.
Vividly
remember, my earliest days, in the beginning of abstinence, sitting there,
while they were reading those darned traditions, and thinking, "I
need to learn about the steps, why are they reading those damn traditions
at every meeting?"
Was chairing
a study meeting at about a dozen or so years into abstinence, at my home
group, with fourteen people in the room. We were discussing the
promises of recovery, on page eighty four, in the bigbook. There
were always two other options available at all discussion meetings, which
were a non-smoking room, and an open topic discussion meeting, in the
third room, which was always the largest group, within that group.
Based on the comments coming from the participants, I asked the question,
"How many have a desire to stop drinking?" Only two people
raised their hand. Twelve were there, so that they could report to
the court about attending meetings, so they could get their drivers
license back.
So, I know
how selfish we all are, when we get to the doors of abstinence. And
I also know how self-serving our desires are, relative to wanting to get a
friend into the fellowship, for selfish or prideful reasons, and the most
important aspect of all. Some of us have done such horrendous stuff,
and we are finally getting our lives turned around, which makes us feel
really good, we are apt to try anything, some of which have been
dangerous.
Any of you
all ever heard, take a friend with you, when you go on a twelfth step
call? Remember taking a friend to a treatment facility, about one
hundred and twenty five miles away from the group that we both
attended. It was a business day, and I could not find anyone to go
with me, so attempted the trip, by myself.
About an
hour or so into the trip, we finally got to a four lane, and the speed of
the car was increased. Much to my surprise, the door opened, at
about sixty five miles per hour, and my passenger, in the back seat, was
threatening suicide, by wanting to throw themselves out of the car.
The original
pioneers were judged as being altruistic. They also mention, most
all of them, that they were enthusiastic. And until we are doing a
deed, without any benefit, and with enthusiasm, we are kidding ourselves
about worthy deeds, as mentioned by John the baptist, in his water
baptism, to repentance.
Maybe the
sixth step, in the noahhite
twelve
needs to be read, so that all can get a real handle on how important this
process is to God.
Repentance
is the water baptism, that gets us through step nine, so that all of the
promises can be fulfilled.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being
fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
They will always materialize if we work for them.
This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then
we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code.
(bigbook page 84)
