THE TRUTH ABOUT REPENTANCE

WHAT IS REPENTANCE?

KEY SCRIPTURE:  II Corinthians   7:9,10

Repentance means to turn away from all sin; to change one’s mind.  It brings about a change of attitude, action and lifestyle. In Eddie Jones’ tract, “The Truth About Repentance”, he wrote that ”The nature of repentance is not only a turning from, but also a turning to.  It will cause a person to stop a wrong action and begin a right one.”

·         II Peter 3:9

·         Genuine repentance is brought about by a “godly sorrow” (II Corinthians 7:10).  Before one can repent, he needs to feel sorrow for his  sins.  He must be sorry not because his sins have been discovered but because he has broken God’s commandments and grieved God through his acts of disobedience.

WHO PREACHED IT?

A large portion of the following material was taken from the book “Repentance - An About-Face!”  A Seach For Truth Publicaiton.

In the New Testament, the first person we hear calling men to repentance is John the Baptist (Mark 1:3-4).  Then later on in this same, chapter we see that the first message Jesus preached after John the Baptist had prepared the way was “Repentance” (Mark 1:14-15). 

“The first commandment to come from the lips of Christ was  to repent.” 

The first thing one will do when he or she really believes is repent!  This is the first step towards salvation.  True repentance produces results.  It is  telling God (and others) we are sorry and showing our sorrow by turning from sin. The proof of true repentance is the fruit it bears (Acts 26:20).

The third group (person) in the Bible who preached repentance were the disciples. Matter of fact, they were commanded to preach this message (Mark 6:12).

When Christ appeared to His disciples in Luke 24 after His resurrection, He commissioned them to take this glorious Gospel to all the nations of the world.  Notice that the first word in Christ’s message was “repentance” (Luke 24:47).

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter’s first response to the question: “What shall we do?” was to REPENT!  (Acts 2:38)

All throughout the New Testament we see that the first response of man to the Gospel is repentance.  Nothing else can take its place. 

Repentance is a command from God.  A command means “to order or demand with authority.”  Our supreme authority, Jesus Christ, demands that we first repent in order to be saved.  It is not an option.  He commands “all men everywhere to repent.”  (Acts 17:30)

IS REPENTANCE NECESSARY?

KEY SCRIPTURE:  
Acts 17:30

Repentance is a commandment from God.  And any command that we receive from God must be obeyed. 

·         Jesus said in Luke 13:5 “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”  Repentance is vital to the plan of salvation! 

·         Ezekiel announced “Thus sayeth the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.” (Ezekiel 14:6)

·         John the Baptist preached “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)

We know that repentance is a commandment from the Lord.  It is the building block upon which our whole Christian experience is built on.  For without true repentance there can be no forgiveness or remission of sins.

Repentance causes a chain reaction:

REPENTANCE => BAPTISM IN JESUS NAME => HOLY SPIRIT => VICTORIOUS LIVING => HEAVEN. 

However, without repentance, the rest is not possible.

HOW DOES ONE REPENT?

A large portion of this material was taken and revised from a tract entitled, “The Truth About Repentance” by Eddie Jones.

#1  CONVICTION OF SIN

Before one can truly repent, he must have an understanding and acknowledgment that he is guilty of sin (Romans  3:23; 5:12).

1 John 3:4 - The law is God’s Word.  Whoso commiteth sin transgresseth  the law; therefore, they sin against God and deserve the punishment of death (Psalm 51:4; Ezekiel 18:20).

·         Romans 6:23

Unless a sinner repents he will stand condemned before God on the judgement day and will be lost forever (Luke 13:3; Jude 15; Revelation 21:8).

God’s Word will reveal our sins to us  as we study it. This knowledge will bring conviction.  Remember Acts 2:37, when the people heard God’s Word they were pricked (convicted) in their heart. Another experience that adds to conviction is God’s chastisements.  He said in Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”  Conviction of sin may bring an uncomfortable feeling of shame and guilt, but if this is followed by true repentance, it will lead to great rejoicing!

#2  GODLY SORROW

There must be feelings of deep sorrow, regret and remorse over sin when a person truly repents.  One should not sorrow for personal hardship brought on by sin, but rather remorse over the hurt he has caused a loving, forgiving God.  

·         II Corinthians 7:9,10.

·         Joel 2:12;  Psalm 34:18 

#3  WILL TO REPENT

Read what the Prodigal son had to say in Luke 15:18.  If a sinner is willing to repent, God is willing to forgive him of his sins (Acts 3:19).

#4  PLEAD FOR MERCY

Psalm 51:1- The first thing David prayed for was mercy.  Divine forgiveness is not based upon how good we are but on the love and mercy of God. “...While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).  Luke 18:13 - In approaching God, we must cast ourselves without reservation (not holding back) upon His mercy.

#5  CONFESSION TO GOD

Proverbs 28:13 - A person must be honest and admit (confess) his sins openly to God.

I John 1:9; 2:1  We must specifically name our sins to God and admit our wrong actions if we want His forgiveness.

“The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.” (Quote from the book, Repentance-An About Face! - Lesson 2, A Search For Truth Publication)

When we confess, there must be true repentance (turning from sin and turning toward God), otherwise our sins will not be forgiven.  True repentance involves a godly sorrow.

It is easy to confess and not repent.  But real confession hurts and always involves repentance. 

ILLUSTRATION: Children often confess without repentance. For instance, if you caught your little girl taking a biscuit off the shelf at the store.  She would immediately say, “I’m sorry. Please do not spank me.”  She really is not feeling sorrow for what she did.  She is sorry she got caught and uses the words, “I’m sorry” to prevent punishment or rejection. 

Often we confess or repent of a sin that we did because we do not want to make God angry and we believe it will take away our feeling of guilt. 

But after a while we go back and do the same thing over again.

The sure sign of confession and repentance is a change in our behavior.

#6  FORSAKE ALL SIN

“Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit.” (Ezekiel 18:31) 

Jesus said to the woman taken in adultery, “...Go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11).

·         Other references: I Thessalonians 5:22; II Corinthians 6:14-17; I John 2:15-16; Titus 2:11-12.

When we repent, we crucify our sinful nature at an altar of self denial and begin a new life in Christ (Romans 6:6; Mark 8:34).  Paul wrote in Romans 6:1,2 “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid, How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” 

·         I John 3:4-9

#7  ASK GOD FOR FORGIVENESS

·         Hosea 14:2;  I John 1:9

After a sinner has surrendered all to God, the only thing left to do is ask God to forgive you for all of your sins.

#8  RECEIVE GOD’S FORGIVENESS

Matthew 6:14  If you want to be forgiven by God, you must forgive others.

·         Once you have asked for God’s forgiveness, you must simply accept it and forget your sinful past (Philippians 3:13,14).

·         Isaiah 1:18   

·         Psalm 86:4

REPENTANCE, REMORSE OR REFORMATION?

KEY SCRIPTURE:  Romans 2:4

A lot of this information was taken from a book entitled, “Repentance-An About Face!”. A Search For Truth Publication  “Except Ye Repent”

The first two lessons have given us a clear understanding of the word repentance. 

“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.” (Matthew 27:3-4)

The word “repented”,   found in verse three does not mean repentance.  It comes from a Greek word that means: emotion, remorse or anguish.

Judas definitely felt a lot of anguish and remorse for betraying Jesus Christ.  Yet he did not experience true repentance.  He did not change his mind, his course, or his direction.  Instead of returning to Jesus for restoration, he went and hung himself.  Judas’ remorse and despair led to self-destruction. This was not repentance; it was remorse.

True repentance brings about a change. 

For example, look at the life of Peter.  He denied Jesus three times in Luke 22:54-62, but afterwards, when he realized what he had done he repented. He did not stop with emotions of regret.  He changed his ways and found a deeper relationship with his Lord.

Repentance will always bring about a change.  It will make you a better person and free you from guilt, shame and remorse.

Remorse is a feeling of deep regret, of hopelessness and even despair.  But it does not lead to real change. It does not help us believe in God.

Repentance causes us to turn away from sin and helps us have faith in God to be filled with His Spirit.

Remorse is destructive; it turns us against ourselves.  Repentance gives life by helping us turn to God (II Corinthians 7:10).

Repentance is more than Reformation

To reform means to “improve one’s character or conduct; to become better; to behave better; to give up misconduct; to make better by removing faults or defects.”

When one truly reforms, he starts to live a better life from that moment on.

Although reformation is good, it does not change or erase the past.  It still leaves all the sins we have committed on the pages of God’s record book.  It still leaves the sinner under the sentence of eternal death.

Suppose that a criminal who has broken the law several times and is guilty decides to reform.  From that moment on he decides to obey the laws of the land.  This is good, but it still does not take away the guilt of his past crimes.

If he is caught or if he surrenders to the law, he will still have to pay for his past crimes, unless he is given a pardon.

Psalm 51:1 tells us that we were all born in sin (iniquity) and guilty of death (Romans 6:23).  But through repentance, Jesus has given us a pardon. 

True repentance brings about an immediate change in a person’s conduct. There is great joy and forgiveness in repentance (I John 1:9).

When we look at the Old Testament, we learn that the prophets of Israel were continually calling their nation to repent from idolatry and return to God.  Many of the kings of Judah brought about a reformation (they tried to improve or correct the faults in their nation).  They destroyed many idols and stopped many evil practices that were abominations to the Lord.  But the hearts of the people were not turned to God.

Conditions may have appeared good on the outside, but nothing had changed in the hearts of the people.  

God is never happy until the root of sin in our heart is removed from our lives and we are transformed (true repentance).

Sinners may stop drinking, fornicating or committing adultery and other sinful habits, but that will not bring about salvation.  Only the Holy Spirit can change us within to make us  new creatures in Christ.

Reformation changes only the surface or the bad habits men can see.  Repentance changes the heart.

LIMITED TIME!

There can be no repentance after death.  The time for repentance is now.  No one knows how long he or she will live.  Therefore, it is not wise to say that you will repent later.  The Bible tells us in Hebrews 9:27,  “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

If you have done something that has caused you to feel remorse, that is not enough.  You still need to repent and make things right.

Do not allow sin to remain in your heart. It will keep you out of heaven. 

But this is not the Lord’s will.  He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9).

THE RESULTS OF REPENTANCE

KEY SCRIPTURE:  Luke 15:7, 10

A large portion of the following material has been taken from the tract “The Truth About Repentance,” by Eddie Jones.

#1  Great Joy

When the Prodigal son repented, there was much rejoicing (Luke 15:23).

·         All of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents! 

·         Knowing that God gives forgiveness of sins to all who confess openly brings us great joy.

·         In Acts 8:5-8, when the Samaritans listened to the preaching of Philip, there was great joy in the city. 

#2  New Birth

The new birth experience consists of two elements:  water and spirit.  When a sinner repents of his or her sin, that old sinful nature is dead and the believer is ready for the “new birth”. 

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

Repentance is the seed from which the new birth experience stems from.

A. Water Baptism

When we repent of our sins, we are dying out to the old nature.  And naturally, following a death there must be a burial. 

The old sinful man must be put away.  “Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death.” (Romans 6:4) 

·         Colossians 2:12

Repentance must be followed by water baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38). 

“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the Name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16)

B.  Baptism of the Holy Spirit

According to Romans 6:5; 8:11, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a type of the resurrection of Christ.

Jesus tells us in John 14:17 that the “world” cannot receive this experience.  What Jesus meant was  those who are unwilling to give up the carnal things of the world, through repentance, cannot receive this wonderful gift. A  person cannot receive the Holy Spirit before repentance. 

The requirements for receiving the Holy Spirit are repentance and faith. 

Repentance must come before water baptism and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit completes the new birth experience and makes us new creatures in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17).

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh,... and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:26,27)

The Holy Spirit is promised to all who obey the Word of God (Acts 2:4, 38, 39; 5:32).

Simply repent and claim God’s promise of forgiveness.  Your burdens will begin to lift as  you confess your sins before God and start to feel His love and mercy.  A natural response to this feeling is to worship God, who in turn will pour out His Spirit upon this repentant, believing, worshipping person.

#3  Total Cleansing

Jesus said, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (I John 1:7)

·         I Peter 1:19; Revelation 1:5)

When God cleanses us from all sin we are totally clean!  It is as though we had never committed a sin. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12)

RESTITUTION

Restitution is an important part of repentance. True repentance will produce restitution (Luke 19:8).

Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary defines Restitution as “the right of giving back to the rightful owner; a giving of something as an equivalent (of equal value) for what has been lost or damaged.”

At times, true repentance is expensive.  One who repents may have to return something he has stolen, or ask forgiveness for something he has said. 

The repentant person changes.  He not only says he is sorry he did wrong, he stops doing wrong.

Guilt and condemnation are heavy weights to carry around.  Guilt makes one feel ugly, unhappy, lonely and hateful.  Suppose I gave you a brick to carry for the rest of your life. 

Although the brick was not really heavy when I first gave it to you, the longer you carry it, the heavier it becomes.  So it is with unrepented sins.  The longer you wait to repent, the harder it is.

This applies not only to those who have never repented, but also to those who have received the Holy Spirit.  Repentance is not something we do once like graduating from Senior Secondary School.  It is something we do again and again, like taking a bath.  It is possible to pick up little sins here and there.  We need to repent (unload) daily.

If you have something wrong (maybe no one knows about it but you and God) and it is weighing heavily upon your mind.  Why not repent of it today?  If you need to take something back, or pay for something, or tell someone you are sorry, do it today.  Get it off your mind and let the Lord blot it off your record.

The results of true repentance:

Release

Excitement

Peace

Enthusiasm

New nature

Thankfulness

Acceptance

No guilt

Comfort

Energy