The verse "as long as it is called today" comes from Hebrews 3:13, which urges believers to encourage one another daily to prevent hearts from being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. It emphasizes immediate, daily action in faith, as "today" represents the current opportunity to follow God before it's too late.
- Key Verse (NIV): "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness".
- Context: The passage warns against repeating the rebellion of Israel in the wilderness (Hebrews 3:12-15).
- Key Phrase: "As long as it is called 'Today'" highlights the urgency of faith and obedience while there is still time (or opportunity).
Common Translations of Hebrews 3:13:
- NIV/NLT: "encourage one another daily," "warn each other every day".
- KJV/ESV: "exhort one another daily".
- AMP: "continually encourage one another every day".
Daily repentance keeps the heart soft before God. Scripture presents repentance as a continual returning, not a one-time event. Jesus teaches His disciples to pray "forgive us our sins" as part of daily communion with the Father in Matthew 6:12. The very structure of the Lord's Prayer assumes ongoing need for confession, placing it alongside daily bread as a fundamental rhythm of kingdom life.
Paul urges believers to "put to death" the deeds of the flesh in Romans 8:13, which assumes a rhythm of honest self-evaluation. This is present-tense, continuous action—not a past accomplishment but a daily practice. Similarly, in Colossians 3:5-10, Paul instructs believers to "put to death" and "put off" the old self while "putting on" the new self, using language that implies regular, repeated action.
David models continual repentance in Psalm 139:23-24 when he asks God to search him, expose any offensive way, and lead him in the way everlasting. This prayer becomes even more powerful when placed alongside Psalm 19:12-14, where David asks, "Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins." David recognizes both known and unknown sin, both conscious rebellion and unconscious offense. His response is not despair but invitation, asking God to do the searching work the human heart cannot do alone.
First John 1:9 frames confession and forgiveness as an ongoing relational practice: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." The conditional "if" paired with the present tense "confess" establishes confession as a continuing practice for believers who walk in relationship with a faithful God.
Repentance is the steady turning that keeps a disciple aligned with Christ. Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us that God's mercies "are new every morning," which implies the need for daily grace and daily return. Jesus calls His followers to deny themselves and take up their cross daily in Luke 9:23, establishing the rhythm of death to self as a daily spiritual discipline. Proverbs 4:18 describes the path of the righteous as "like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day"—a progressive journey requiring daily realignment toward the light.
The prophets consistently call God's people to return. Hosea 6:1 says, "Come, let us return to the LORD," and Hosea 14:1 echoes, "Return, Israel, to the LORD your God." Joel 2:12-13 calls for return "with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." Jeremiah 3:22 offers the invitation and the promise: "Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding." God never tires of the returning heart.
Confession as Spiritual Hygiene
Confession functions like regular cleansing that keeps the inner life healthy. The Psalms show the consequences of withholding confession. Psalm 32:3-5 describes David wasting away in silence until he confessed his transgressions and found release: "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long... Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity... and you forgave the guilt of my sin." Physical deterioration accompanied spiritual concealment. Relief came through honest speech.
Psalm 51, David's great confession after Nathan confronted him about Bathsheba, reveals the comprehensive nature of true confession. David doesn't minimize ("I have sinned against the LORD," 2 Samuel 12:13) or deflect. Instead, he asks for thorough cleansing: "Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow" (v. 7). He recognizes sin's deep roots: "Surely I was sinful at birth" (v. 5). He asks for internal transformation: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me" (v. 10). Confession becomes the gateway to comprehensive renewal. "Create In Me" from Rend Collective
James 5:16 instructs believers to confess sins to one another so they may be healed, connecting confession with communal health and restored relationships. This assumes a community of grace where confession is safe, not weaponized. It also recognizes that hidden sin festers while exposed sin can be addressed and healed.
Hebrews 4:16 shows that confession thrives in a culture of bold access to the throne of grace: "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." The context (Hebrews 4:12-13) reminds us that God already sees everything: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Since God already knows, confession is not informing Him but agreeing with Him about reality.
Confession removes what corrodes intimacy with God. First John 1:7 says, "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." Walking in the light, living with transparency before God and others, maintains fellowship. Verse 6 warns that claiming fellowship while walking in darkness makes us liars. Verse 8 warns against claiming to be without sin. Verse 10 warns against claiming we have not sinned. The entire passage establishes that healthy relationship with God requires honest acknowledgment of sin combined with confidence in Christ's cleansing.
Confession restores clarity. It prevents the gradual buildup of compromise that blinds the conscience. Hebrews 3:13 warns believers to "encourage one another daily... so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Sin deceives. It promises what it cannot deliver and conceals its true cost. Regular confession exposes deception and maintains spiritual sensitivity. Ephesians 4:17-19 describes what happens when conscience becomes dulled: people become "darkened in their understanding," "separated from the life of God," "having lost all sensitivity," and given over to "sensuality." Confession prevents this progressive hardening.
Staying Mission-Ready
A repentant, cleansed heart is ready for the mission Christ gives His people. Isaiah's commissioning shows the pattern. Isaiah experiences cleansing ("your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for," Isaiah 6:7) before he hears God's call and responds, "Here am I. Send me!" in Isaiah 6:8. The sequence matters: conviction of sin (v. 5), cleansing (v. 7), commission (v. 8). Isaiah could not bear the mission while carrying unaddressed guilt.
This pattern repeats throughout Scripture. When Joshua prepared to lead Israel into the Promised Land, God commanded him to circumcise the people at Gilboa, symbolically removing "the reproach of Egypt" before the conquest began (Joshua 5:2-9). The people had to be consecrated before they could advance.
3 Days, 21 Days, 40 Days, 7 years, 49 years
Before Pentecost, the disciples waited in prayer for ten days (Acts 1:14). This period of preparation preceded the outpouring of the Spirit and the launch of the church's mission. Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received power (Acts 1:4-5). Spiritual readiness preceded mission effectiveness.
The Old Testament priesthood required ritual cleansing before service. Exodus 29:4 describes Aaron and his sons being washed with water before being clothed and anointed for service. Leviticus 16:4 requires the high priest to bathe before putting on sacred garments to enter the Most Holy Place. These physical cleansings pointed to the spiritual reality that those who serve God must be cleansed.
Jesus ties purity of heart to clarity of vision in Matthew 5:8: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Purity enables perception. Sin clouds spiritual sight. First Timothy 1:5 identifies "a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith" as the goal of Paul's instruction. Second Timothy 2:22 tells Timothy to "flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
Paul tells Timothy to "cleanse yourself from what is dishonorable" so that you will be a vessel "useful to the Master and prepared for every good work" in 2 Timothy 2:21. The image is of household vessels, some for noble purposes, some for common use. The difference is cleanliness. A cleansed vessel is ready for the Master's use.
Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:22, "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for one another, love one another deeply, from the heart." Purification enables authentic love. Sin undermines genuine fellowship and ministry effectiveness.
Spiritual readiness grows when sin is not ignored but addressed quickly. Ephesians 4:26-27 warns, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Unresolved sin creates openings for the enemy. Quick confession and repentance close those gaps. Hebrews 12:1 instructs believers to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles" before running the race marked out for them. You cannot run well while entangled.
Biblical perspective on Active Listening (Luke 6:27-49, 8:8,18)
Discovering the Light of listening and being Salt (Luke 8-14)
Restoration Versus Condemnation
God's goal in repentance is restoration, not shame. Condemnation is the enemy's counterfeit. Romans 8:1 states emphatically, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." This follows Paul's honest struggle with sin in Romans 7 and precedes his description of life in the Spirit in Romans 8. Conviction of sin leads to confession and restoration. Condemnation leads to despair and hiding.
Revelation 12:10 identifies Satan as "the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night." His voice condemns. God's voice convicts and restores. John 10:10 contrasts the thief who "comes only to steal and kill and destroy" with Jesus who came that "they may have life, and have it to the full." Condemnation steals joy, kills hope, and destroys purpose. Conviction leads to abundant life.
Jesus restores Peter after failure, not by rehearsing his sin, but by reaffirming his calling in John 21:15-19. Three times Peter denied Jesus. Three times Jesus asks, "Do you love me?" and gives Peter mission: "Feed my sheep." The conversation happens over breakfast, an intimate, nourishing moment, not a courtroom interrogation. Restoration leads to renewed mission.
The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 reveals the Father's heart. The son returns prepared to confess and ask only for servant status (vv. 18-19). The father runs to him, embraces him, kisses him, and interrupts his confession to restore him fully as a son (vv. 20-24). The father throws a party. He gives a robe, a ring, shoes - symbols of full restoration, not probationary status. This is God's response to repentance.
Second Corinthians 7:10 separates godly sorrow, which produces repentance leading to salvation and leaves no regret, from worldly sorrow, which produces death. Godly sorrow acknowledges sin, turns from it, and receives forgiveness. Worldly sorrow wallows in guilt without turning to God. Judas experienced worldly sorrow and hanged himself (Matthew 27:3-5). Peter experienced godly sorrow and was restored to leadership.
Condemnation locks people into regret and fear. First John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." God's love casts out the fear that condemnation produces.
God's pattern is always restorative discipline, as taught in Hebrews 12:5-11. Verse 6 says, "The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." Verse 10 explains that "God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness." Verse 11 acknowledges that "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." His correction reestablishes relationship and strengthens endurance.
Joel 2:25 promises restoration: "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten." Even when sin has brought devastating consequences, God's heart is to restore. Psalm 103:10-12 declares, "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
When Jesus encounters the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11, He refuses to condemn: "Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin" (v. 11). He offers both grace ("neither do I condemn you") and truth ("leave your life of sin"). This is the gospel pattern, full forgiveness paired with a call to transformation.
Condemnation is never God's voice. Romans 2:4 asks, "Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" It is God's kindness, not His condemnation, that draws us to repentance. His goodness melts hard hearts. His mercy creates space for honest confession. His faithfulness guarantees forgiveness. His love completes restoration.
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