Read 1 Samuel 15: King Saul practiced selective obedience. He basically followed what God asked. He was mostly obedient. Surely he was close enough to compliance. The shock to most people is that God indeed expects exact and complete obedience. Anything else on our part is prideful: We are reasoning that we know better.

p.54, The Prideful Soul’s Guide to Humility, Fontenot/Jones

MISSIO DEI

Discipleship Point

Part four of “What is the significance of confession and repentance in receiving and participating in the Missio Dei?

As disciples who were locked behind doors for fear on Resurrection evening and again a week later, God’s chosen men carried out Christ’s great sending with sins forgiven, with Christ’s peace, and as Spirit-energized missionaries to the world.

Repentance, which is a change of thinking and behavior, and forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47) is essential for Christ-followers to participate in the Missio Dei. Treasured people of God must confess their sins – sins of fleeing, sins of disobedience to God’s sending, failures to submit to His authority, sins of apathy, sins of arrogance. Above all, though, believers must receive forgiveness. Are repentance and forgiveness significant in the great sending of God? Yes!

If there is to be any receiving of and participation in the Missio Dei, under the power of God’s Word and grace and by the mercies of God, individual Christians and congregations must lay their sins on Christ, the scapegoat, and heed Christ’s call: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In Christ, the sent are forgiven, cleansed, and given transformed (changed) hearts, for the sake of the mighty sending of God.

See the following Scriptures in your bible or on pp. 278-280 of The Great Sending book: Leviticus 16:9-10, Matthew 4:17, Luke 9:49-50, Luke 18:9-14, 1 John 1:8-10, Psalm 51:10-12, Joel 2:12-13, Psalm 51:17, Matthew 3:8. (For further study see the Ten Commandments and the Office of the Keys and Confession, Christian Questions with Their Answers, Luther’s Small Catechism.)