Lesson 1: Repenting from Evil Deeds
Elementary: Growing in Understanding • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 29:24
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· 28 viewsThe author of Hebrews says repenting of evil deeds is one of the fundamentals truths in the church. As we unpack it, there are major implications of this passage, and it is certainly a foundational truth for a Christian.
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Intro
how many people have successfully broken a bad habit? How many have a habit you want to break and you keep trying, but it just seems to hold on? How many of us have habits that we have just given up even trying to break them anymore?
a bad habit can really disrupt life. It can be a guilty pleasure, a response to stress, or any number of things that offer momentary relief but long term guilt and regret.
this morning, we are going to be talking repenting from evil deeds, and one of the things I’m going to suggest is that the way we deal with a bad habit might be the same way we deal with those other things that take away from life.
Lesson #1: Repenting from Evil Deeds
So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.
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the first truth that the author of Hebrews brings up it repenting from evil deeds. This morning we are going to break that into 2 parts; repentance first, because it is a big one, and evil deeds, which may be a bigger topic than meets the eye.
so first
1. Repentance
repentance, or at the very least the concept of repentance, appears in Scripture 209 times.
it is clearly a big deal. In Matthew 4, we read that when Jesus started His ministry on earth, He proclaimed
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
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Now I want to point this out before we go much further. Most English translations of the Bible simply say, “Repent” but the NLT expands it by saying, “Repent of your sins and turn to God.” This is an intentional point by the translators because they recognized that most people read repent but don’t know the full extent of what that word means.
So what is repentance. The Lexham Theological Workbook says this:
Repentance is an act of acknowledging past wrongdoing, expressing regret, and committing to right behavior or obedience to God. It is a transformative process that involves turning away from sin or transgression and turning back to God.
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So let’s unpack that a little bit
first, it is acknowledging past wrongdoing and expressing regret. As I read this, I thought about how kids apologize for hurting their sibling or doing something wrong. Do they actually regret what they did, do they actually feel bad, or do they just regret getting caught? One of the biggest parts of repentance is not just acknowledging you did something wrong, but recognizing that it was wrong and why it was wrong. It should stir a negative emotion in you. I’m a firm believer that if you don’t actually think what you did was wrong, the next part is really tough.
Second is committing to to right behavior or obedience to God. This is where repentance has a lot in common with breaking a bad habit. It is just simply just apologizing for the wrong thing you did and trying not to do it again. It is committing to replacing that action with something good. If you want to break a bad habit, you need to replace it with a good habit. If you chew your nails, for example, you commit that when you feel that desire, you grab the nail clippers. Maybe even have nail clippers on hand to remove the excuse that they are too far away.
As I was preparing for this morning, I realize that I have left this very important part out in the past. I have taught that repentance is simply turning away from sin. Repentance is turning away from sin and turning towards God.
Why is repentance so important?
It is the only way to escape God’s judgment
“Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you!
Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel?
I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!
It prepares the way for God’s Kingdom
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
It brings forgiveness and restoration
At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you.
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
Repentance is God’s desire for humanity
He wants everyone to be saved
“Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.
His patience with the unrepentant
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
Repentance may not remove the effects of sin
Israel’s repentance could not prevent the 40 years of wandering
Saul’s repentance was too late to escape God’s judgment of his kingship
David’s repentance could not save the son of his adultery with Bathsheba
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Repentance is a major fundamental truth when it comes to our faith, and it is imperative we understand not only how it applies to our own life, but how important it is to God.
What aspect of repentance is new to you? What aspect of repentance do you find most challenging?
2. Evil Deeds
I said earlier that there is more going on here then meets the eye, so I am going to unpack the obvious thing the author of Hebrews is addressing, but also the thing that might be going missed here.
So evil deeds is most commonly understood in the church as refering to sin. So what is sin?
Sin is any action that violates the law or moral standard of God.
Sin is human activity that is contrary to God’s will
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Now there are lists upon lists in Scripture of what would be classified as sin. Everything from sexual immorality, which is any kind of sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and woman, to gossip to stealing. There are a lot of things that fall under this category of sin. But for the sake of time, I will sum up the way Jesus did
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.
One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
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the entire law and demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. In 1 Corinthians 13 the Apostle Paul says that if I don’t have love, it doesn’t matter what gifts I might have, they are useless. So if you are wondering if something is a sin, ask yourself, “Is what I’m about to do loving towards God or the person I’m interacting with?” Note that I said God first. When it comes to life, God comes first, always.
Not Just Sin
however, the author of Hebrews is not just talking about sin in this verse. The literal translation from the Greek is dead works. This is where the NLT falters a bit because evil deeds does lend very well to dead works.
See the author is addressing a group of Jews who have converted to Christianity, and everyone who has been part of Romans Bible Study will appreciate where I am about to go. There was a belief among the new Jewish believers that salvation was something to be earned; that if you acted the right way and did the right things, you would be saved.
But that’s not how salvation works. Romans 10:9-10
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
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Salvation is not something to be earned because you could never be good enough in God’s eyes to earn it. Salvation is a gift, and you just need declare with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and you are saved. As a result of your faith, of your believing, you will just start to live different. You don’t read your bible to keep your salvation; you read because you want to know more about who God is and what His plan for your life is. You don’t pray because it is the right thing to do in a jam; you pray because you have a relationship with a living God who loves you and wants to connect with you.
The author is telling the believers then and now to stop trying to earn your salvation and start living as someone who is saved. Next week we are going to unpack faith, but Romans tells us that it is only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
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