A Time To Repent...

"I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt [sin]" (Psalm 18:23, ESV). 
"... [A]nd be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23, ESV). 

"Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin," (cf. Ezek. 18:30). 
"... Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near [is at hand]" (Matt. 4:17, NIV).

It's always time to repent, for the first of Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses was that repentance is not a one-time but a continuous and ongoing, progressive event in the believer's heart, testimony, and life.  We must come to believing repentance or penitent faith to be saved, for they go hand in hand and cannot be divorced or separated, but only distinguished.  One cannot have genuine repentance without saving faith!   We must come to the end of our rope and throw in the towel of trying to justify our sins.  If we hide our sin and don't admit it we will not prosper in God's will for our life.  He who confesses his sins and forsakes them will find mercy (cf. Prov. 28:13).

Repentance is an imperative or mandate for all in Scripture and involves a transformation by the work of God of the heart, intellect, and volition, being more than simple remorse or regret, but a desire to make things right and give up the sin. We call a spade a spade, acknowledge our sin before God, and seek renewal in the Spirit.  It is granted by grace (2 Tim. 2:25; Acts 5:31; 11:18) and proved by deed (Acts 26:20; Matt. 3:8).  Note that it means a change of mind literally (from Greek metanoia), but involves much more than a mere change of opinion--the attitudes and life must show change to be a reality. Repentance is a recurring motif in the New Testament and is often used interchangeably with believing, for they are juxtaposed and two sides of one coin. Finally, by definition, repentance is more than turning over a new leaf, making an AA pledge, making a rash vow or promise, making a New Year's resolution, or getting fire insurance; it's getting a new start in life (a clean slate) with Jesus in charge of your affairs as the owner!

We must also beware lest our sin finds us out or catch up with us by living in sin or continuing in a pet sin (which easily entangles us and trips us up) that we refuse to acknowledge or repent of--God insists we repent of all our sins!  There is indeed a time for every purpose under heaven and God will always let us know in grace when He is calling us to repentance of a sin that easily besets us; we can overcome and live in victory if we walk in the Spirit and intimately with the Lord--the key is to keep short accounts with God concerning our sins and to immediately confess and repent sincerely.  (God doesn't require perfection, but unfeigned and sincere repentance.)

Perfection is indeed the standard, progress, and direction the test--we are all works in progress and God isn't finished with us yet, chipping away at everything that doesn't resemble His Son in our lives much like a sculptor chipping away at granite to make a horse.  Cf. Psalm 119:96 saying that the psalmist had "seen the limit of all perfection" and Prov. 20:9, NIV, says, "Who can say, 'I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin'?"  The doctrine of perfectionism (or entire sanctification) is deceptive and wrong, for we never reach a state of sinless perfection on this side of glory.

Abiding in Christ (cf. John 8:31;15:7), a requisite for discipleship, and abiding in fellowship are no cakewalk but require honesty with ourselves, others, and God and to be able to be rebuked by the Word and be accountable, not a spiritual Lone Ranger.  In fact, the closer we get to God, the more aware and convicted we become of our sins and we abhor them, not love them--we have a God-given desire for holiness and to please God.  We can only repent by the grace of God, for it's a work of God in the heart just like its flip side faith and God must first convict us of our sin (we are only responsible for those that we get convicted of). We may not feel so good and even guilty and uneasy, but this may be God's wake-up call to shock us out of our comfort zone and return to fellowship.

In the final analysis, we must bring forth fruit in keeping with our repentance (cf. Luke 3:8; Acts 26:20) to prove its validity and genuineness by our good behavior.  NB:  Our conversion is more than an acceptable way to have a nervous breakdown, but a witness to the power of God to change lives, that He is alive and well in the world, and still in the miracle and resurrection business.   Soli Deo Gloria!