Pokajanje

The principle that anyone who wishes to become a true Christian must admit their sin – and turn away from it – is central to the teaching of Jesus.

Od tog vremena, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Pokajte se! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Mat 4:17)

The word, ‘repent’ u izvornom grčkom je, ‘metanoeo;’ a njegovo značenje je definisano kao, “to think differently ili poslije, to je, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): – repent.” (Jaka analitička usklađenost). Dakle, its primary meaning is ‘to change the way you think:’ but this entails far more than a mere intellectual assent to a different way of thinking.

John the Baptist began to prepare the way for Jesus’ coming with the message, “Pokajte se, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Mat 3:2) Those who received his message were expected to publicly acknowledge their faults and their need to change by submitting to baptism – a ceremonial act of cleansing – in the Jordan river. But this, however humbling it might have been, was not enough; John also insisted that they must produce ‘fruits worthy of repentance’ (Lk 3:8). When asked, “Šta onda moramo da radimo?” he answered, “Onaj ko ima dva kaputa, neka da onome ko nema. Onaj ko ima hranu, neka uradi isto.” To tax collectors, on je rekao, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you;” and to soldiers, “Ne iznuđivati ​​od nikoga nasiljem, niti kriviti nekoga pogrešno. Be content with your wages,” (Lk 3:10-14).

So repentance requires far more than just a change in our value system and more than a public (and possibly humiliating) acknowledgement that we have done wrong. It must result in a change of lifestyle from selfish and wrongful actions to compassion and justice.

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Podizanje letvice

Jesus began his public ministry by echoing John’s call and similarly requiring people to be baptised (Jn 3:22-4:2; Mat 28:19; Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38). But Jesus does not merely endorse what John said about producing fruits worthy of repentance: he dramatically raises the standard! We find this vividly illustrated in his famous ‘Sermon on the Mount.’

In this he tells us:

“Nemojte misliti da sam došao uništiti zakon ili proroke. Nisam došao da uništim, već ispuniti. Za sasvim sigurno, Kažem ti, dok nebo i zemlja ne prođu, ni jedno najmanje slovo ili jedan sićušni potez olovkom ni na koji način neće preći iz zakona, dok se sve stvari ne završe. Ko god, dakle, prekršiće jednu od ovih najmanjih zapovesti, i podučavati druge da to rade, zvaće se najmanji u Carstvu nebeskom; ali ko ih bude činio i poučavao, veliki će se zvati u Carstvu nebeskom. Jer, kažem vam, osim ako vaša pravednost ne bude veća od pravednosti književnika i fariseja, nema šanse da uđete u Carstvo nebesko.” (Mat 5:17-20)

“Čuli ste da je to rečeno starima, „Nećeš ubijati;’ i 'Ko god bude ubio bit će u opasnosti od presude.’ Ali kažem ti, da će svako ko je bez razloga ljut na svog brata biti u opasnosti od presude; i ko kaže bratu svome, 'Rack!’ biće u opasnosti od saveta; i ko god da kaže, „Budalo jedna!’ shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.” (Mat 5:21-22)

“Čuli ste da je to rečeno, ‘Ne čini preljubu;’ ali ja vam kažem da je svako ko zuri u ženu da bi je poželeo, već je učinio preljubu s njom u svom srcu.” (Mat 5:27-28)

“It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’ but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.” (Mat 5:31-32)

“Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ but I tell you, don’t swear at all… But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.” (Mat 5:33-37)

“Čuli ste da je to rečeno, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ Ali kažem ti, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” (Mat 5:38-41)

“Čuli ste da je to rečeno, ‘Ljubi bližnjega svoga, i mrzi svog neprijatelja.’ Ali kažem ti, volite svoje neprijatelje, blagoslovi one koji te proklinju, čini dobro onima koji te mrze, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you… (Mat 5:43-44)

I, as if all that wasn’t a daunting enough prospect, Jesus summarises this part of his discourse by saying,

“Stoga ćete biti savršeni, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Mat 5:48)

Ali to je sigurno nemoguće – ili jeste? Let’s take a closer look at what Jesus and his disciples had to say about this.

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Sin No More

There are two occasions when we find Jesus telling people to ‘sin no more.’

Isus, standing up, saw her and said, “Žena, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?”
rekla je, “No one, Lord.”
Isus je rekao, “Ni ja tebe ne osuđujem. Idi svojim putem. Od sada, ne greši više.” (Jn 8:10-11)

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, i rekao mu, “Gle, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”(Jn 5:14)

In the first of the above examples, it can be argued that Jesus is simply referring to the specific sin of adultery. But in the second there is no reference to any specific sins. Was Jesus seriously suggesting that it is possible to live without sin?

No Excuses?

Is this really as unthinkable as it sounds? The apostle Paul comments,

“No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1Cor 10:13)

If that’s the case, it seems that Christians have no excuse for sinning in future. So – what if we do?

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