Words of Grace: Repentance
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3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
Sermon Scripture
Sermon Scripture
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Well, in preperation for Christmas we spoke on Believing and now in preperation for the new year we are fitingly going to speak on repentance, or a “changed mind.”
There are actually two Greek words which are translated “repentance” even though there meanings are very different.
Metamelomai: To be sorry, To have regret.
This word is not used of our repentance before God. Though we may certainly and rightly be sorry for our sin or regret that we have done something that is not pleasing to God, this repentance is not part of the doctrine of salvation (soteriology)
Metanoeo: To change the mind.
This is where we will spend our time and is the word used in this mornings scriptures dealing with salvation.
8 Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;
The Pharisees and Sadducees are coming for baptism. Jesus says, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”
Repentance is to literally perceive afterwards. The after (meta) is implying change.” The noeo is to perceive. It is a change of mind.
Jesus says to the pharisees who are coming to be baptized to bear fruits, to demonstrate that they have a changed mind.
What the changed mind is towards is answered in the following verse. Verse 9 says:
“do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘we have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham....”
Fruit of repentance, fruit of a changed mind would be to demonstrate that their security was not in a prideful place of being “descendants of Abraham”, but rather, in a place of humility to be those in need of, seeking and looking unto a Savior as promised by God.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This is where Jesus begins His ministry.
The first recorded words of Jesus ministry are:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Change your mind. You are looking for the wrong thing. Your knowledge and understanding on this is wrong. Chang you mind.
And what is it to change to?
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
How?
Jesus the Christ, the messiah, the promised one of God.
The ministry of Christ begins in proclaiming who He is.
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Luke 24:
Now, here is a insightful passage.
This is after the crusifixion and resurrection and just before the ascension.
If you would go back a few verses, then you see that this is taking place in the middle of the disciples and others sharing their stories of their encounters with the resurrected Christ, and then in verse 36
36 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it before them.
Luke 24:36
Friends, the main emphasis of these passages is not wether or not Jesus could walk through walls, but rather that Jesus is present. He is truly present. He stood in there midst and called their doubts to subside. Jesus is truly in our midst. This is true of nobody else. But God, is omnipresent. Whether or not we see Him makes no difference, He is present.
And now that He has their attention He says:
44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
Luke 24:44
Jesus says:
These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you,
What you are seeing played out, is the Word of God. It is what Jesus had been discipling and training them in. All of what happened happened under the sovereign plan of God, according to the perfect design of God.
The disciples get scared wonder whats going on, Jesus appears and says everything that is going on is exactly what I told you.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law (of Moses), the Prophets, and the Psalms.
From the law, to the prophets to the poetical books, it all points to and finds it’s fulfillment in Jesus.
When you are working to understand scripture and you are studying such books, if they do not lead you to Jesus as the fulfillment then you have the wrong interpretation.
Jesus gives understanding.
Jesus spoke the words while with them, the words are written about Jesus in the scriptures and yet understanding only comes when Jesus opens ones mind to understand the scriptures.
Now knowing these three things:
Jesus spoke the words
Jesus fufilled the word
Jesus gives understanding to the Word.
We read:
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
:
And right there you have our word “repentance”
“repentance for forgiveness of sins”
Remember our equation so that you don’t start down a wrong path here: grace + anything= no grace.
Now remember our word and it’s meaning:
To change mind - There is no idea of sorrow or regret in this definition
It is the changing of mind and leaving behind of sin.
A translation could read:
A change of mind (in respect to or towards) remission of sins.
The pagan mind is one of religious gimics
The mind under the law was that it was accomplished by sacrifice of a lamb or goat. The change of mind is that was only a shadow. No longer a temporary remission but a one.
The change of mind is that the remission of sins is accomplished in Jesus Christ and this is proclaimed to all the nations.
This fall directly in line with what Jesus says just prior to granting this understanding.
Jesus said: I spoke to you what I was doing, I fulfilled the Word which speaks of me and I gave you understanding, a changed mind to now see that in all of this that I am He who grants the remission of sins.
A daily life of repentance, is not a daily life of “I’m sorry”.
It is a daily life of exercising proper understanding of who Christ is and in that recognizing the love and grace of God.
That repentance bears good fruit. That repentance in itself is good fruit.
There is however a danger in the suppression of repentance. A danger in those who
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?
The goodness of God is that He is patient. But we can not think lightly of His kindness. God is patient as he brings us to proper understanding.
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,
No matter where, when, what or how, when one comes to proper repentance by the grace of God, it is something to rejoice in.
without changed mind
We often don’t know the why answer to the things that take place in this life, but I can tell you this:
If it is by the great mercy of God that we endure suffering, sorrowful, or made to bear some deal of distress or grief to be brought to a place of understanding or of right thinking or repentance, then let us rejoice.
Rejoice not that we were made sorrowful, but that we were brought to a point of repentance. A point of thinking rightly of Christ Jesus in the midst of our sorrow and beyond.
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.
No matter where you are in life, the question is “are you repentant?”
-caused distress or grief to the point of a changed mind toward the will of God.
The command is “repent the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
The declaration is that repentance for the remission of sins comes through Christ alone.
To have repentance or to be repentant is to understand what Jesus has done, not in such a way as you are sorry for your sins (though that may be part), but in such a way that you bear the fruit of it.
It is that you know that there is no other name under Heaven by which man is saved but the name of Jesus.
There is no other name by which one can live but the name of Jesus - that is the Word of God fulfilled in Christ the Lord and His Spirit born in you.
Jesus grants repentance and that my friends is the kindness of God.
It is to change our minds to understand that God has nothing against us and therefore sin shall not have dominion over us. We are righteous, dead to sin and alive unto God. - Amen.