OUR BELIEFS: REPENTANCE
The first stage of salvation is when God, by His Holy Spirit, draws a person to Himself through repentance.
Repentance is when we combine the New Testament (metanoeó) meaning with that of the Old Testament (shub). Thus, repentance is a change of mind resulting in a change of direction; towards God.
Repentance comes when we realize that we have rebelled against God’s authority, broken His laws, spoiled His creation, ignored the fact that He wants fellowship with us, provoked His anger and we deserve His judgement.
This will of course produce an emotional response of deep sorrow. This is very natural, and it is what the Bible calls ‘a sorrow that God intended that results in repentance’ (2 Corinthians 7:9).
Now, the primary direction of repentance should be towards God.
However, there will, no doubt, be an element of sorrow or simply regret as to how our actions have had a negative effect on ourselves and others.
The apostle Paul is a good example of someone feeling convicted by his wrong actions towards others. In Acts 9:1 and Philippians 3:6, we see how he recalled persecuting the church.
Conviction of wrongdoing and sorrow don’t necessarily always lead to true repentance. Here are two examples; one from the Old Testament and another from the New Testament:
Ahab – 1 Kings 21:1-29; 1 Kings 22:1-38
Judas Iscariot – Matthew 27:3-5; Acts 1:18)
There will be a process involved in repentance that will move from thought, confession and then on to action or deeds (that demonstrate true repentance).
It is not just an intellectual change of mind; it needs to come from the heart.
The New Living Translation of Joel 2:13 puts it like this: “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief but tear your hearts instead.”
David demonstrated this repentance from the heart in Psalm 51:17, “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
The means by which repentance can come.
The Bible shows us some of the following ways, through which the Lord can bring about repentance in a person:
The Holy Spirit.
And when He (The Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8).
The Preaching of His Word.
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).
The Word of God
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).
A Prophetic Word
On being exposed by Nathan, the prophet, David stated: “I have sinned against the Lord.” Upon which, Nathan replies, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” (2 Samuel 12:13).
God’s Impending Judgement
Even now the axe of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:10).
In a sense, there are far too many examples in scripture that warn us of God’s impeding judgement. However, the book of Revelation is perhaps the most explicit book that really should prompt every reader to repent.
Natural Disasters
In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus urges people to consider what happened to eighteen people who suddenly died when the tower in Siloam fell on them. He implores them to repent before any such accident should happen to them and then it would be too late!
Creation
Psalm 19:1-4 states that: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard in them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Romans 1:18-20 states that: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
When we see the beauty, complexity and awesome wonder of creation, we are without excuse. This alone should be enough for every person to want to repent and seek the Lord.
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21)
“You shall have no other Gods but me.”
“You shall not make for yourself any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it.”
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”
“You shall remember and keep the Sabbath day holy.”
“Respect your father and mother.”
“You Shall Not Murder” – Jesus tells us that this includes anger & hatred (Matthew 5:21-22; 1 John 3:15).
“You Shall Not Commit Adultery” – Jesus tells us that this includes looking lustfully at someone who is not your spouse (Matthew 5:27-28)
“You Shall Not Steel”
“You Shall Not Give False Testimony About Your Neighbour”
“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”
What are the fruits of repentance?
Confession
The bible very clearly shows us that what comes out of our mouths, what we say, really does reveal a lot about the condition of our hearts.
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34)
But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. (Matthew 15:18)
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (Luke 6:45)
What does the Bible say about confessing sin?
Well, John the Baptist would seem to have required it before baptizing people in relation to the repentance of their sin. In Matthew 3:6, we read: “Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
In 1 John 1:9, we read: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
“Confessing” is not just speaking; it is agreeing with God, that He is right and what we have done (or even thought!) was wrong.
Deeds of Repentance
Not only did John the Baptist require confession of sin before he baptised people, he also admonished everyone to “produce fruit worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8).
The apostle Paul said the same during his ministry to the gentiles and he said that he: “preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds (Acts 26:20).
Here are some Biblical examples of “fruits of repentance”.
Advice from John the Baptist
Luke 3:11-14
John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptised. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely–be content with your pay.”
Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. So, he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So, he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
People of Ephesus
Acts 19:18-19
Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practised sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas (worth approximately £3,630,500 today!)
Stop Sinning
One essential clear evidence of repentance is that a person will either stop a particular sin altogether or they will sin less.
Proverbs 28:13:
“Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy,”
To renounce sin means to leave it behind, turn from it and forsake it.
A similar verse can be found in Isaiah 55:7:
“Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”
Jesus said: “Go, and sin no more!” (See John 8:11; 5:14).
