Repentance

Luke 24:46–47 “and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Intro:

We will look at:

meaning… motivation… the gift

The very cor of the NT: repentance

John the Baptist… “repent for the kingdom of God is at hand”

Ministry of Christ

Ministry of the apostles.. to call people both Jews and Gentiles to repentance

Acts 17:30 “30 “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,”

All but disappeared today!

The evangelism of many churches, exclude repentance!

“Ask Jesus into my heart”…

“Raise your hand”

“Say the sinners prayer”

“Just believe and you are saved!”

These statements, are simply not true!

… it’s an effort to make it easyyy as possible for people to join their denomination, while concealing altogether the Biblical mandate to repent!

& what’s so dangerous is that people will answer that method that someone prescribed to them, and walk away believing that they are indeed Christians, which can be to their everlasting peril!

To think “I am a Christian BECAUSE I walked the aisle, said a prayer, asked Jesus into my heart.”

To have never experienced true saving faith and true repentance from their sins

Faith / Repentance

Distinction is there, but a divorce is not

They are inseparable!

True faith always involves repentance

& true repentance always involves faith.

There is a clear difference… between MAKING a profession of faith, and POSSESSING that faith you possess.

That there are those who come to worship and are involved in the life of the church, but whose lives are still unchanged

Serious trouble

Pretending… rather than repenting

Meaning of repentance

“metanoia”

Turn from, change your mind

An argument has been put forth in recent years… is that repentance is merely to change your mind about Jesus… to say that ‘ALL you must do to meet the Biblical requirement of repentance is to change you mind about Jesus’.

But that’s not quite true

Words change over time:

“Lame” … weird, crippled

The word “love” wasn’t understood in it’s fullness til Jesus preached on it!

Additionally, We change our minds all the time!

I hated as a kid… when mom & dad were driving home from church choosing a place to eat, would proceed to say, and I quote… “Well we could just eat leftovers at the house…”

YOU WERE JUST WANTING TO GO TO THE MEXICAN RESTAURANT WHAT HAPPENED??

But no, the meaning associated with repentance in the NT… is NOT an external, spur of the moment, non-consequential “changing of the mind”…

It’s a change within the very core of your heart, the very core of who you are as a person… the fabric of your existence was unrooted, and has changed in response to the message of Christ!

We who were once dead in sin, who formerly walked according to the course of this world (Eph 2:1) NOW walk in the light of God!

Others, if I were to ask what repentance is… would say “it is Godly sorrow over sin”

Not quite true either

It is true that there is no repentance without sorrow for sin, but it is not exactly what the Bible calls repentance

2 Corinthians 7:8–10 “8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— 9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

Paul was hurt by the fact that they were hurt.

That THEY had become filled with sorrow!

Oh but he was all the more glad in knowing, that sorrow produced something in them: repentance

Therefore others have tried to define the word… to mean “a reformation of life!”

But this is another mistake

John the baptizer emphasized that reformation of life is a FRUIT OF repentance!

Matthew 3:8 “8 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;”

What he was telling the Pharisees and Sadducees was to exhibit a better conduct

Luke 3:14 “14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.””

For there to be a change, or reformation in their life! … an effect of biblical repentance

So what is it???

Repentance, is something that stands between:

Godly sorrow…

Change in your life where all sins are abandoned and you are walking with God

It must then be… a change of that stubborn will in out hearts towards God

We were dead in sin

We were rebellious against God…

Yet for the Christian, our heart was FILLED, with genuine sorrow over our sin

Leading… to a change, WITHIN. An UPROOTING of our life, a TURNING of the page!

It’s a change within the very core of your heart, the very core of who you are as a person… the fabric of your existence was unrooted, and has changed in response to the message of Christ!

The motivation to repent

1. The judgement of God

Acts 17:30–31 “30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.””

Have you ever sat down, in silence, and thought about your soul?

Thought about the consequence of the decisions you’ve made, and the sin you’ve committed?

That penitent thief of the cross… although abused theologically like no other person in the Bible ever, is still an example of one who MOCKED Christ! … yet repentance took place from within!

Psalm 7:12 “If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready.”

Ezekiel 18:32 ““For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live.””

2. The goodness of God

Romans 2:4–5 “4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,”

How is it that you may be led to repent this morning?

Jonah

Matthew 12:41 “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

The gospel

A picture of repentance

“I repent in dust and ashes” — Job 42:6.

It accepts correction — Jeremiah 5:3 “3 O Lord, they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent.”

It says ‘what have I done?’ and conforms to God’s course — Jer 8:6.

Concluding thoughts

Acts 2:38 “38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9 “9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

flee from your former life… to the open arms of Christ… and be forgiven today