Christianity Explained - Repentance
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Object
The object of this study is to answer the question: What is a Christian?
Review of first four studies
A person cannot be a Christian without accepting three fundamental beliefs.
Jesus, his sonship (his divine nature)
Jesus, his cross (his atoning death)
Jesus, his physical resurrection (his lordship)
Why, in the first place, do we think it is important to be a Christian? The chart will help us. (Who God is, what sin does, the choice we all make). Today, we will be talking about what the choice looks like.
Opening
Suppose we were to to go out in public and take a survey. We have only one question: “In your opinion, what is a Christian?” What kind of answers would we get?
The group members may give such answers as: a good person…goes to church…keeps the golden rule…lives in a Christian country…and so on.
Explain that in this session you will deal with this one question: What really is a Christian?
Key verse Mark 1:15
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
In one sentence, a Christian is someone who belongs to the kingdom of God.
In Mark 1:15 Jesus says there are two things a person must do to belong to the kingdom of God. What are these? (Read)
REPENT - The transfer of our allegiance from sin to Jesus
BELIEVE - The transfer of our reliance from self to Jesus
A Christian is one who turns away from sin and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ - to save him from sin and the coming judgement.
What is repentance?
When a person is saved, repentance and faith always go together. Repentance is a new attitude toward sin, and faith is a new attitude toward Jesus. This study, we will look at Mark’s Gospel to think about what it means to repent.
Before my will.
Read Mark 8:34-38
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
What does it mean, in practical terms, to repent? It means I put Jesus first in these things:
Jesus says a person must forget, or deny self, carry his cross and lose his life. The cross was an instrument of death. Jesus tells me that if I am to follow him, I must go through I kind of death experience. I must die to the right to run my own life (sin). I am to surrender to the God-given right of Jesus to be my King.
Use the house illustration to explain what this means. Moving-in day happens only once. Renovation goes on progressively for a long time. The point is clear. When I become a Christian, I must be willing for Jesus to be Lord. This willingness is the beginning of repentance. What this means in practice will be worked out progressively as I grow in this new life, by his Spirit.
Before my ambitions.
Focus on Mark 8:36-37
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
People everywhere are trying to “gain the whole world.” To a greater or lesser degree, their aim is to accumulate power, money, popularity, pleasure, prestige, business success, or just keep ahead of their neighbors.
Now these things may. Not be wrong in themselves, but they are sin if they are things we live for above everything else. When Jesus is Number One, these things fall into their proper place.
Before my popularity.
Focus on Mark 8:38
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
It is not popular to follow Jesus sincerely. Friends or family members may regard me as strange - some may not want to associate with me anymore. But true repentance will lead to confessing Christ no matter what. To repent involves putting Jesus first, even if it means ridicule.
Before my…???
Read Mark 9:43-48
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Jesus does not literally mean that I am to cut off body parts. He means that if anything or anyone is stopping me from entering God’s kingdom, then radical surgery may be necessary.
Point out that pride is often the cause of this.
Am I too proud to accept salvation as a gift?
Am I too proud to submit to Jesus as King?
In this life, he will repay us “a hundred times” for any cost we suffer.
In the next life, he will give us eternal life.
Too hard?
Read, lastly, Mark 10:29-31
And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
It may sound hard to follow Jesus, but he makes two promises when we do.
Conclusion
With all of this talk of repentance, you may be wondering how repenting and believing are different from salvation by works.
Jesus’ work is what we are trusting in. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”. The attitude of repentance is something we can have because of grace: Romans 2:4, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” 2 Timothy 2:25 “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;” .
