Offend No More

For has anyone said to God, ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more; teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’? Will he then make repayment to suit you, because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I; therefore declare what you know.
Job 34:31–33
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Offend No More
Elihu demands that Job come to realize that He has offended God and must repent. He instructs Job in the ways of repentance. We would be wise to understand repentance as well. Frequently we think a simple I’m sorry counts as repentance, and so we go on without a change of heart, without a desire to offend any more, without a yearning to learn from our mistakes.  Elihu suggests this in Job. And though Job may not be guilty of this, we certainly are. Too often we flippantly throw out the phrase “I’m sorry” without ever really thinking about it. If only we would be reminded of the consequence of our sin, what happened because we sinned against another and had to repent.  If we were to look to the cross and see the limp and bleeding body of our Savior and know that we did that, then it might help remove the callouses on our hearts, built up by constant sin.  So, we approach the cross of Christ in recognition of why He was there in the first place.  To reconcile us to the Father because no matter how sincere we might be in our apologies it would never be enough. Nothing we could do could have ever made right what our sin destroyed.  It was Christ alone who would bear the burden for us. It was Christ alone who would pay the price for our iniquities. And it is Christ alone who won forgiveness for us.  So now we can come to Him in true contrition and repentance knowing we are forgiven.  And in return offer forgiveness to those who have sinned against us.  We are cleansed. We are forgiven in His blood. Therefore, we go and sin no more (John 8:11).