When Christianity misses the New Covenant GOOD NEWS by teaching moralism and methods, it also fails to see repentance in the light of relationship instead of behavior. Actually, it fails to teach repentance at all because in this paradigm you only need to change your thoughts and actions, rather than die and be birthed by God.
Too often people are told to “trust Jesus” to save them from hell, but you have to work out the rest of this life on your own. To them “repent” means, “I’m sorry I was bad. Jesus forgive me. Now I will try my hardest to be good and keep my Christian “to do list” checked off daily.”
In the story of the prodigal son, the picture does not focus on the debauchery of the son, but shows how his path led to his brokenness and desire to RETURN to his father, a father he knew had no obligation to even accept him as a son any longer. The scene of the return demonstrates the love of a Father who rejoices over his son who was lost, and “dead” but is now alive. Repentance is to return to our Father from our own pathetic devices and desires. Do we come home and party like we did when we were out in the world? Does our Father have to demand that we don’t or do we stand amazed in his mercy as he takes away our shame? Is this not the most transformational relationship you can imagine?
I want to share a statement from a friend of mine whose journey has led her to a similar conclusion. I am always overjoyed to find fellow travelers who have seen the inner core of LIFE.
“The cry of my heart is to try to focus on Jesus … because for me I came from a watered-down nothing church, to a good, Bible-centered church that had somehow or other, in spite of all the wonderful Biblical correctness, missed the New Covenant completely. When a person is truly introduced to Jesus, he will never stand for a counterfeit, and cannot stand to be without Him. Although that person becomes Christ-centered, rather than behavior-centered, he is more sensitive to sin or the slightest unkind thought or action than he could have ever been while concentrating on behavior.”
This echos the statement of Paul here in 2 Corinthians:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
And what John proclaimed in his gospel.
And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
I have probably said this before… but we don’t need a balance of Law and Grace as so many teach. I know these teachers mean well, but are motivated by fear that if you let go of the law, all hell (literally) will break loose. Ironically, when you focus on the law, you will find something similar to that result. If you observe most of the children raised in this environment, you will see the fruit of rebellion and disillusionment.
Grace has a law built in, (Romans 8:2) one that renews and gives life and REAL change, not condemnation. Paul tells Timothy that the Law (previously given) is for the unbeliever, the wicked man. When we are born into Christ, we are no longer under that law. The New Covenant never gives us a list like the Old Covenant had. We find two defining principles which encompass all of life; our First Love – God alone, Who then passes His love through us to each other.
As I wrote in “Our First Love”..
If we loved Him more, we would believe Him more fully in everything He promised. If we believed Him, we would trust Him in all our ways. If we trusted Him, we would follow and obey Him. If we obeyed Him, the world would see Him through us.
This journey begins only when we come to the end of ourselves. I would now add… if we loved Him, we would seek Him. As we seek Him, we know, love and trust Him more. Trust, faith, belief, whatever you name it, produces fruit as surely as a rose bush will bloom a flower given the right soil and fertilization. This is why James says, “Show me your faith”. But we can’t get the fruit by using the fruit as the root… which is what we do when we focus on ourselves and our own performance.
Was I sorry for my sin when God drew me to return to Him? You’d better believe I was sorry… grieved to the core. In the moment I saw Him, I became aware of so many ways I had betrayed His love to me and given Him my rebellion in return. I became keenly aware of my sin as the rejection of His love and sacrifice for me, not that I had broken a list of rules. While the new birth is a one-time event, repentance may be necessary often in the sense of retracing our steps when we lose sight of Him and go our own way. I have grieved deeply for this as well, not just when I was first saved. While He is faithful to show me the truth about myself (which is often painful), He is also faithful to give me hope and to take my hand and move forward. In Him, there is no condemnation.
Let us return to God our Father, look to Jesus without the veil, and be continually changed into His likeness though the Spirit.
8thDay4Life 
This is the heart of the gospel. This should be published in pamphlet form and handed out on the street corners, and placed in every church where our Lord Jesus is honored.
My own precious children were raised in a well-meaning “balance of Law and Grace.” The process of pouring New Wine into old wineskins guarantees the same results every time.