REPENTANCE
(
according to the Nelson’s New illustrated
bible dictionary)
—
a turning away from sin, disobedience, or
rebellion and a turning back to God (Matt.
9:13; Luke 5:32). In a more general sense,
repentance means a change of mind (Gen.
6:6–7) or a feeling of remorse or regret
for past conduct (Matt. 27:3). True
repentance is a “godly sorrow” for sin,
an act of turning around and going in the
opposite direction. This type of repentance
leads to a fundamental change in a
person’s relationship to God.
In
the Old Testament the classic case of
repentance is that of King David, after
Nathan the prophet accused him of killing
Uriah the Hittite and committing adultery
with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. David’s
prayer of repentance for this sin is found
in Psalm 51.
In
the New Testament the keynote of John the
Baptist’s preaching was, “Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt.
3:2). To the multitudes he declared, “Bear
fruits worthy of repentance” (Matt. 3:8;
Luke 3:8). When Jesus began His ministry, He
took up John’s preaching of the message of
repentance, expanding the message to include
the good news of salvation: “The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand. Repent and believe in the gospel”
(Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15).
In
Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom of God is
seen the truth that repentance and faith are
two sides of the same coin: by repentance,
one turns away from sin; by faith, one turns
toward God in accepting the Lord Jesus
Christ. Such a twofold turning, or
conversion, is necessary for entrance into
the kingdom (Matt. 18:3). “Unless you
repent,” said Jesus, “you will all
likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). This is
the negative, or judgmental, side of
Jesus’ message. The positive, or merciful,
side is seen in these words: “There is joy
in the presence of the angels of God over
one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).
After
Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, His
disciples continued His message of
repentance and faith (Acts 2:38; 3:19;
20:21; 26:20). Repentance is a turning from
wickedness and dead works (Acts 8:22; Heb.
6:1) toward God and His glory (Acts 20:21;
Rev. 16:9), eternal life (Acts 11:18), and a
knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 2:25).
Repentance
is associated with prayer (1 Kin. 8:47),
belief (Mark 1:15), baptism (Acts 2:38), and
conversion (Acts 3:19) and is accompanied by
humility (Matt. 11:21). Repentance is
God’s will and pleasure (Luke 15:7–10; 2
Pet. 3:9), as well as His command (Mark
6:12; Acts 17:30). It is a gift of His
sovereign love (Acts 5:31; 11:18; Rom. 2:4;
2 Tim. 2:25), without which we cannot be
saved (Luke 13:3)
I
remember as a young man how repentance was
such a frightening subject. It was a word
which invoked fear into me and the quicker I
could get away from that conversation the
better off I was in not having to deal with
the matter! But as I later found out with
time and age.( reading also) Repentance does
have to be a frightening experience if you
allow yourself a quiet meditation on the
biblical aspect of repentance. But at least
it can be followed by a great sense of peace
and mercy.( Its to ask Jesus the courage to
go through this important process that makes
it all worth everything)
One
of the reasons the word repentance had such
a frightening connotation was because of my
ignorance of the bible which
declared the Word of God sharper than
any two edged sword. Hebrew 4:12. I
was being condemned by the very words
which we’re later to bring life instead of
death!
Given
that I have had such an unusual life filled
with rebellion and hatred. I was amazed to
find the bible the only book ever to have
made an impact on my conscience. (Thank God
it did.)
However,
before I could be led to repentance , I had
to be led to condemnation. And since I have
been condemned more than once in my life. I
found this no less an unpleasant experience.
The
best way for me to tell you about this is to
relate to the two thieves who we’re hanged
with Christ. One on each side of Christ on
that final day of Jesus’ trials. Mark
15:32
There
were two convicted criminals that day. And
both of them were hurling abuses at Jesus
Christ. ( just like me when I was
unrepentant) But the one convict who
throughout the day keep hearing and seeing
Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:17) Was eventually
convinced and convicted of his sins and thus
had a true conversion (repentance) Luke
23:39-43
So
it is with all of us. Although we may not
agree that we are like these convicted
criminals. God declares that we are( Romans
1:18-32) And until we face our
responsibility in one way or another about
what has been handed down to us through the
ages.( The word of God through His bible) We
will be left convicted as the other thief
who forfeited his soul to Hades..
C.H.
Spurgeon once made the statement:
"Brethren, we shall not adjust our
Bible to the age, but the age to the
Bible."
We
are living in a day and age where man is
taught to think good thoughts, high
thoughts, wonderful thoughts about himself.
Within the last 20 years or so there has
been a covert invasion in Christianity in
North America without hardly a whimper of
protest. This invasion can best be described
as "Christian" psychology, which
is nothing more than watered-down humanism.
While there are millions of people searching
for answers to their complicated problems
created by their increasingly complex lives,
psychology comes along and attempts to
answer and solve man's sin problems and its
consequences through the building up and
restoration of man's self-esteem and
self-image. We are told today to get in
touch with our inner self and ask the
question: "How do you feel about
yourself?" The bottom line is, it
doesn't amount to a hill of beans what we
think or feel about ourselves, but what does
the Bible say and teach.
This
matrimony between psychology and
Christianity has created an unholy alliance
which is producing some strange children
that are permitting, promoting, and
preaching deceiving, dangerous, and damnable
false doctrines. This diabolical
psychobabble of self-love is sweeping
through churches today among self-seeking
men in a self-centered society whose
greatest problem is a desire to worship at
the altar of self. The apostle Paul warned
us that one of the characteristics of the
last days would be that "men shall be
lovers of their own selves" (2 Tim.
3:2).
I'm
afraid many so-called
fundamental/evangelical churches and
preachers have fallen into the trap of
teaching this mushy self-worth propaganda
that seeks to camouflage itself in robes of
charity and tolerance. Churches and
preachers alike are abandoning their
God-called purpose of holding up the mirror
of God's Word and graphically revealing to
man what he really looks like in the sight
of a holy God. The missing message in
modern-day preaching is the Biblical
doctrine of repentance, where a sinner is
convinced and convicted of his exceeding
sinfulness and lost condition.
Christ
Preached Repentance
"Now
after that John was put in prison, Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of
the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand: repent ye, and believe
the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15).
When
the very Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ,
appeared upon the scene in His public
ministry, He came preaching the narrow and
exclusive doctrines of repentance and faith.
If Jesus felt compelled to preach such a
message before a lost and dying world, so
should we. Galatians 1:6-9 teaches that
there is only one gospel, and if any gospel
message leaves out the doctrine of
repentance or faith or both, you can be
assured it is a false gospel.
Meaning
of Repentance
The
words "repent,"
"repentance," and
"repented" are mentioned over 100
times in the Bible. There has been a lot of
misunderstanding and confusion over what the
word repentance means. When
the word "repent" is used in the
Word of God in the context of Biblical
salvation, it is referring to a truly
God-given, Spirit-led change of heart and
mind toward God about sin.
"Repent
ye therefore, and be converted, that your
sins may be blotted out ..." (Acts
3:19).
The
greatest need for any sinner is have his
sins blotted out, but a man will never have
the pardon of sin while he is in love with
his sin. There must be a hatred of sin, a
loathing of it, a turning from it.
Repentance is a revolution in dealing with
our attitude and view towards sin and
righteousness. Repentance is not something
one does with his hands, but it is an inward
attitude of the soul. Sin must become, in
the eyes of the sinner, exceedingly sinful.
All
Sinners Are Condemned
Everyone
knows they are not perfect, but for most
sinners that is consolation, not
condemnation. But the Bible declares all
sinners are already condemned:
"For
God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved. He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he
that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of
the only begotten Son of God" (John
3:17-18).
The
problem is "all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God" (Rom.3:23).
Man, in his lost, sinful, condemned state,
has failed to glorify God. Until a person
becomes personally exceedingly sinful in his
own eyes, he will never see his need for
repentance. Eph.2:1 says man is spiritually
dead; Rom.3:10 and Isa.64:6 tells us no one
is righteous before a holy God; Rom.3:19
says all stand guilty and condemned before
God; Eph.4:18 declares all sinners are
separated from God whose hearts and minds
are blinded so that they cannot understand
God or the things of God.
Repentance
basically involves two facts: the fact of
sin and the fact of God's grace. If a person
is not a sinner, he would not need to
repent, and if God was not the God of all
grace, it would do no good to repent.
Repentance implies sin, sorrow for it, and a
changed attitude towards God about it.
It
should also be stressed that repentance
itself is not a human act, but comes only
from God (Rom.2:4) -- it is a divine gift
of God (Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25).
The
Nature of Repentance
In
true Biblical repentance, there will be
three things to occur as God does a work of
grace upon the sinner's heart:
1)
Conviction -- where sin is admitted. Man
must see himself as a lost, ruined, guilty,
desperately wicked sinner without hope or
help, in danger of hell. In repentance, a
lost sinner not only sees himself as a
sinner, but he recognizes the fact that he
has sinned against a righteous and holy God.
The message that Paul preached was:
"repentance toward God, and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts
20:21). In repentance, there will be
confession of sin to God (Psa. 32:5;
51:1-4).
2)
Contrition -- where sin is abhorred.
When one sees himself as he appears before
God, he is brought to a place where there is
godly sorrow for his sin and hates it
altogether.
"For
I will declare mine iniquity; I will be
sorry for my sin." (Psa. 38:18);
"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to
salvation not to be repented of ..." (2
Cor. 7:10).
To
hate sin is to love God. In true repentance,
there is not only the desire to escape the
consequences of sin, but to be rid of sin
itself as a thing displeasing to God.
3)
Conversion -- where sin is abandoned. Repentance
involves the forsaking of sin:
"Let
the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him
return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy
upon him; and to our God, for he will
abundantly pardon" (Isa. 55:7);
"He that covereth his sins shall not
prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh
them shall have mercy" (Prov. 28:13).
Repentance
is not only a heart broken for sin,
but also from sin. We must forsake
what we would have God forgive.
It
should be stressed that it is not enough
just to turn away from sin; one must
also turn to God for salvation:
"...
to turn them from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan unto God, that they
may receive forgiveness of sins ... should
repent and turn to God ..." (Acts
26:18,20).
In
true repentance, there is conviction,
contrition, and conversion as one turns from
his sin to Christ for salvation.
Salvation is deliverance of a person from
his sin, not merely from a sinful
environment. Jesus Christ is the Saviour
from not only the penalty and punishment of
sin, but also the power of sin.
Why
Did Jesus Come?
"...
I am not come to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance" (Matt. 9:13).
The
reason Jesus came to this earth was to call
sinners to repentance. Those who did not see
themselves as sinners, deserving God's
wrath, were not candidates for God's
salvation. The sinner must reject his own
righteousness, because Jesus did not come to
call the righteous, not even the
self-righteous. The only way a sinner will
come to reject his own righteousness is by
coming face to face with his own wickedness.
You can take it from the lips of Jesus
Himself as a settled issue that He will not
call the righteous. Only those to whom it is
revealed (by God's Spirit) that they are
lost, depraved, ungodly sinners will respond
to the calling of the Saviour in salvation.
All
Sinners Commanded To Repent and Believe
Jesus
soundly declared the message in His day:
"repent ye, and believe the
gospel." Repentance and faith are
inseparable and occur simultaneously in a
sinner's heart; you cannot have one without
the other. The order as given in the Bible
is repentance and faith (Mark 1:15; Acts
20:21; 26:20; 2 Tim. 2:25; Heb. 6:1).
Repentance
is turning from sin; and faith is turning to
Christ.
Repentance
comes about through the convicting power of
the Spirit of God using the Word of God to
cause a change of attitude, action, and
affection.
Saving
faith is trust in and reliance on the Lord
Jesus Christ as one's personal Lord and
Saviour. Saving faith is believing with your
heart; it is coming to Christ, receiving
Christ, looking to Christ, calling upon
Christ to save your soul.
Yes,
Jesus said you must repent and believe the
gospel, because the gospel of Christ is the
power of God unto salvation, to every one
that believes (Rom. 1:16). The gospel, the
good news for every sinner, is that Christ
died on the cross for our sins, as our
Substitute, and shed His precious blood to
wash away our sins, and arose from the dead
on the third day in order that we might have
the forgiveness of sins and have eternal
life through Him. Salvation of one's soul is
the most important thing in this whole
world.
But
repentance without faith is nothing more
than remorse or regret. And faith without
repentance makes Christ nothing more than a
fire escape. There must be a work of
repentance and faith upon the sinner's heart
before salvation can become a reality.
Repentance is caused by the working of the
Holy Spirit who takes the Sword of the
Spirit and slays the sinner's
self-righteousness, self- goodness,
self-decency, self-esteem, and causes him to
cry out: "God be merciful to me a
sinner" (Luke 18:13) and "what
must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30).
Serious
Questions To Consider
Is
the preaching of repentance important?
Jesus
thought so enough that He preached it. John
the Baptist preached it (Matt. 3:1-2). The
apostles were commanded to preach it:
"And that repentance and remission of
sins should be preached in his name among
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem"
(Luke 24:47).
Who
is commanded to repent?
"And
the times of this ignorance God winked at;
but now commandeth all men every where to
repent:" (Acts 17:30).
The
good, the bad, the rich, the poor, the old,
the young, the educated, the uneducated --
every man must repent because we are all
sinners. Notice it is God's command that
is to be obeyed, now.
What
happens if you don't repent?
"I
tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish" (Luke
13:3,5).
The
worst thing in the world for any person is
to perish in their sins without Christ
as their Saviour and spend an
eternity in the lake of fire, to be
tormented and suffer forever and ever.
"For
God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. For God sent not his Son
into the world to condemn the world; but
that the world through him might be
saved" (John 3:16-17).
Turn
from yourself and sin and turn to the Lord
Jesus Christ to save your soul -- that is
the sinner's only hope
