Repentence

GreglovesJesus · Apr 24, 2009

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What is repentance?
<table class="MsoNormalTable" style="margin-left: 6.75pt; margin-right: 6.75pt;" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0.75pt;"> 1.
</td> <td style="padding: 0.75pt;"> deep sorrow, compunction, or contrition for a past sin, wrongdoing, or the like.
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<table class="MsoNormalTable" style="" border="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0.75pt;"> 2.
</td> <td style="padding: 0.75pt;"> regret for any past action.
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God has overlooked the times when people did not know him, but now he commands all of them everywhere to turn away from their evil ways. Acts <st1:time hour="17" minute="30" w:st="on">17:30</st1:time> – GNT
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Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. Acts <st1:time hour="17" minute="30" w:st="on">17:30</st1:time> – KJV
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Not many people talk about repentance in our day – even in the church. But repentance is an essential theme in Scripture. The words repent, repents, repented, and repentance appear over 70 times in the Bible. Repentance was the message that Jesus went about proclaiming: "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:2). Repentance is the message that the apostles preached on the first day of Pentecost: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins."
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The Greek word for repentance metanoia is made up of the two words meta meaning "change" and nous meaning "mind,"
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Seeing your sin – 1 John 1:8,10.
Sorrowing over your sin – We must do more than admit it. We must internally engage with it. Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 57:15; 2 Corinthians 7:9.
Confessing your sin – We must put our sin into words and agree with God that what we did was wrong. Psalm 51:4; Hosea 14:1-3; 2 Corinthians 7:11; 1 John 1:9.
Being ashamed of your sin – Watson: “blushing is the color of virtue.” Jeremiah 6:15; 31:19.
Hating your sin – Job 42:5-6.
Turning from your sin “Reformation is left last to bring up the rear of repentance. It is not the heart of repentance, but the fruit of repentance.” Matthew 3:7-8; Acts 26:20.
1. At the very least, this means removing yourself as much as possible from places of temptation (Proverbs <st1:time hour="16" minute="14" w:st="on">4:14</st1:time>-17).
2. If your sin was against other people, then you must go to them and ask their forgiveness (Matthew <st1:time hour="17" minute="23" w:st="on">5:23</st1:time>-24).

If the sin involves stealing, then restitution must be made (Luke 19:8).

GreglovesJesus · Apr 24, 2009

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First you must truly want to repent. You must avoid that caricature (false or distorted) of repentance that is merely a cover for sorrow over consequences. This is called "worldly sorrow" and "it leads only to death" (2 Corinthians <st1:time minute="10" hour="19" w:st="on">7:10</st1:time>). Esau is given as an example of false repentance. He was rejected because he did not really want to change his mind (Hebrews <st1:time hour="12" minute="15" w:st="on">12:15</st1:time>-17).
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“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
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What is God saying?

He wants you to repent!
He commands you to repent!

Only God Can Grant Repentance
It’s also crucial to point out that repentance is a gift from God. We are all born with a sin nature that leads us constantly away from God (Ephesians 2:1-2). Left to ourselves, we will always walk in the wrong direction. No one will ever have the slightest desire to change directions — and no one will have the power to make the change — unless and until God touches that person with the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s why both Acts 11:18 and 2 Timothy 2:25 speak of God granting the gift of repentance. Without that gift, no sinner could ever turn from his sin and find the Lord Jesus Christ.
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The first step in changing the direction of your life must come from within. You’ve got to want to change. If you don’t want to change, no one can make you change. And you must be willing to do the hard work of repentance. Most of us change slowly and often only under great pressure from within or without. That explains why Christians often continue in sinful patterns of conduct even when we know we are hurting ourselves and others. It’s easier to keep on doing what we’ve been doing. Real change is hard work. But if there is no real change, there is no real repentance. Until you can say, “I was wrong,” you will never be able to repent. If you never admit your faults, you can never be healed. Until you admit that you are traveling down the wrong road, you can never change the direction of your life.

GreglovesJesus · Apr 24, 2009

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It’s not hard to find many examples of true and false repentance in the Bible. On the positive side we have the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32)
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On the other hand consider Judas who betrayed the Lord for the price of a slave. When he realized his error, he returned the money to the high priests and tried to cancel the deal, but it was too late (Matthew 27:1-10)
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What made the difference between these two men? Both knew they had done wrong, both felt deep remorse. Yet one was forgiven and the other was not. Why? Surely the crucial point must be that the prodigal son cried out to his father for forgiveness while Judas did not. He confessed his sin — but not to God — and that made the difference between heaven and hell.
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When Paul said that by the Spirit we should “put to death the deeds of the flesh” (Romans <st1:time hour="8" minute="13" w:st="on">8:13</st1:time>), he was talking about repentance.
When he said, “If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged” (I Corinthians <st1:time hour="11" minute="31" w:st="on">11:31</st1:time>), he was talking about repentance.
When Peter said to his readers, “Rid yourselves of all malice and deceit” (I Peter 2:1), he was talking about repentance.
When James said, “Wash your hands, you sinners” (James 4:8), he was talking about repentance.
When John said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9), he was talking about repentance. The words are different but the meaning is the same.
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One reason revival does not come is that we take our sins too lightly. Repentance is hard work. It demands we stop excusing ourselves. It means looking at life from God’s point of view. The reason we don’t want to repent is because we know our lives would have to change, and that makes us uncomfortable.

GreglovesJesus · Apr 24, 2009

What Repentance Looks Like
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What does repentance look like in practical terms? Here are five statements that help us answer that question: I know I have repented when…

A. I admit I did wrong.
B. I feel sorrow over my sin.
C. I confess my sin to God and to others.
D. I resolve to make restitution where possible.
E. I walk in the path of new obedience.

The Gospel invitation begins with repentance. The first step in becoming a Christian and moving towards God’s plan of salvation is changing your mind about Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you too will perish.” It would be terrible to go to hell because you never repented of your sins. Terrible because God has already done everything necessary for you to go to heaven. He sent his own son to die on the cross, bearing your sins, taking your place, paying your penalty.

judgement · Apr 27, 2009

repentance, warning from 2 peter

2 Peter 2:19-22 (21st Century King James Version)

19While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption; for by whom a man is overcome, by the same is he brought into bondage.

20For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

21For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they had known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

22But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb: "The dog turns to his own vomit again," and, "the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire."

Gideons 300 · May 3, 2009

GreglovesJesus said:
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If the sin involves stealing, then restitution must be made (Luke 19:8).

Actually, that is not what God commands but what one man did. Certainly it was commendable but not demanded. What the bible says is that he that steals should steal no more and rather work with his hands to provide for himself.

I am really not trying to nit pick, but think about it. How man Christians have "fudged" on their income taxes? Ok, such a nice name- fudge. How about cheated and stole? Should they? No. Do they or have they? Yes. Certainly millions of Christians are not going to be required by God to make restitution to the government and turn themselves in as cheats. If what you said is right, then in all honesty, we must make restitution for all our sins. I just don't want someone walking away from God becasue they cannot face their "music" of what they have done, becasue if that is the case, many men are going to have to confess to adultery to their wives for lust, correct?

dchena · May 4, 2009

Repentance is more than regret for our actions.

Strong's 5162 - Repent

-to relent, repent, change one's mind: be grieved: to comfort, console, express sympathy: to be comforted, be consoled: to console oneself; to change one's mind; avenge oneself:-

2 Corinthians 7:10 (New American Standard Bible)

<SUP class=versenum id=en-NASB-28927 value="10">10</SUP>For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a <SUP class=xref value='(A)'>(A)</SUP>repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Our own regrets can lead us to sorrow and to repentance, but repentance leads us home, to the loving arms of our Heavenly Father and the change that comes from that love. That's how I see it.

My own personal experience is very different from this description:
"A. I admit I did wrong.
B. I feel sorrow over my sin.
C. I confess my sin to God and to others.
D. I resolve to make restitution where possible.
E. I walk in the path of new obedience."

It has been, for me, a transformation that is not linear or a step by step realization/decision making process. It has been an overwhelming feeling of sorrow and humility for things I was not even usually aware of. It is a round experience, a total experience of body, mind, soul, eyes, ears, heart, desire and then commitment through an involuntary humility of recognizing my Father and my Savior. At the same time becoming aware of my fault(s), becoming aware of the freedom from them, and then choosing the obvious choice - freedom, not because I decided to in my head, but because I have been shown the depth of my transgression, what it does to God and to me and to the world, and the choice is a natural outflow of being given the gift of knowing what I don't want anymore, and of what I now have available to me. It is a discliplining and a love and an acceptance, a pulling me forward to my God, full of promise and hope and indescribable knock-me-to-my-knees beauty. It is a moment of learning my sin without learning failure. It is about the promise that with our Saviour, I can NOT fail, because HE cannot fail. He has me in His 'strong arm', is not letting go and is pulling me to holiness as I can stand to realize and change according to what I need to be aware of and to learn.

It is so much more than regret.

When the experience is over, I am humbled, I am wiser, I am truer, I am wrapped in a sense of security, safety, a comfort that only the One and Only, Powerful, Almighty, Everlasting, Righteous God can give or promise. My trust in the LORD deepens. I am truly blessed and filled to the full.

I hope and pray that everyone here will know what this is like. If there is anything I can do on this earth, I pray that it will be to in some way inspire people to desire this sort of experience and ask for it, and be open to it, that they will love my God as I love my God. To seek Him with their whole heart and whole mind - it leads to repentance. And to communion with the LORD. It is me becoming the law. My body renewing and growing according to God's Commandments. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. It's me becoming obedient through God's growth, like He's blooming me into Truth: I open to new freedom and bask in the glory of His radient living love. It is effortless on my part, all I have to do is allow, desire, follow, and He makes sure that I really don't have a choice, because the choice becomes mute. When we're shown such beauty and peace, and love and are able to witness ourselves becoming everything we ever desired and more, kind of cancels out the possibility of saying "no, I don't want to grow".

And there's tears. Lots and lots of weeping tears. Tears of release, of cleansing, of overwhelming newness and beauty.

And I don't think it always has to be about correcting ourselves from doing wrong. I think it can be about just plain old correction. I have healed some very difficult, old wounds from childhood. I was not to blame, nor hurting anyone through my actions, but I was hurting. And repentance just the same freed me from those. I was corrected of false beliefs about myself, and from old patterns of thinking that kept me from living in God's peace and beauty - and really living out His Truth.

Strong's 5162 - Repent

-to relent, repent, change one's mind: be grieved: to comfort, console, express sympathy: to be comforted, be consoled: to console oneself; to change one's mind; avenge oneself:-

That's my experience, anyway!

God bless.

GreglovesJesus · May 6, 2009

many men are going to have to confess to adultery to their wives for lust, correct?

Restitution is a biblical concept, and there are passages in both Old and New Testaments that reveal the mind of God on this subject. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were under the Law, which specified restitution in a variety of circumstances: “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. . . . A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft. If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double. If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man's field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard. If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution. . . If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies . . . he must make restitution” (Exodus 22:1, 3-6, 14).
In the New Testament, we have the wonderful example of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. Jesus is visiting Zacchaeus’s home, and the people who know the chief publican to be a wicked and oppressive man are beginning to murmur about His associating with a sinner (verse 7). “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 what was lost’” (verses 8-10). From Zacchaeus’s words, we gather that 1) he had been guilty of defrauding people, 2) he was remorseful over his past actions, and 3) he was committed to making restitution. From Jesus’ words, we understand that 1) Zacchaeus was saved that day and his sin was forgiven, and 2) the evidence of his salvation was both his public confession (see Romans 10:10) and his relinquishing of all ill-gotten gains. Zacchaeus repented, and his sincerity was evident in his immediate desire to make restitution. Here was a man who was penitent and contrite, and the proof of his conversion to Christ was his resolve to atone, as much as possible, for past sins.

The same holds true for anyone who truly knows Christ today. Genuine repentance leads to a desire to redress wrongs. When someone becomes a Christian, he will have a desire born of deep conviction to do good, and that includes making restoration whenever possible. The idea of “whenever possible” is crucially important to remember. There are some crimes and sins for which there is no adequate restitution. In such instances, a Christian should make some form of restitution that demonstrates repentance, but at the same time, does not need to feel guilty about the inability to make full restitution. Restitution is to be a result of our salvation—it is not a requirement for salvation. If you have received forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ, all of your sins are forgiven, whether or not you have been able to make restitution for them.

dchena · May 7, 2009

GreglovesJesus said:
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One reason revival does not come is that we take our sins too lightly. Repentance is hard work. It demands we stop excusing ourselves. It means looking at life from God’s point of view. The reason we don’t want to repent is because we know our lives would have to change, and that makes us uncomfortable.

I agree with you that it is important to take sin seriously. However, maybe it is a sign that we remain remedying our sin on our own merits if it is feeling like such hard work. What about Mathew 11:30, For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Truly, I tell you, my experience has been that these things are effortless when the change comes from Christ. All we have to do on our part is alllow it to happen. He knocks on the door, we open the door. We knock on the door, He opens the door. It can be as easy as that. The difficulty was, for me, in discerning between what is my own thinking, the enemy influencing, and Christ opening. But I realized one day that both my own thinking and the enemies influence are warned against. All that is left there is Christ, and His 'yoke is easy' and His 'burden is light'.

The more we are telling ourselves, 'Gotta be careful, gotta not sin, gotta get this right, gotta be ashamed of my actions, gotta do this and gotta do that, gotta go through the steps (repent, retribution) because that's what the Bible says it looks like' could be a sign we are relying on our own thinking or the enemies influence - pressure, pressure, pressure.

This is where the commandment to love God with our whole hearts and our whole souls and our whole minds comes in so handy. That is all we have to do, everything else follows. If anyone wants to change their ways, if anyone is inspired by God to change their ways, then pray to love God according to the above commandment. My experience has beent that this is the best, most effortless way for the changes to occur. Not only will God remove the obstacles from us, especially our 'secret faults' (Psalm 19:12), but He will also show us His amazing love, because that is how we love Him - because He loves us first. He will reveal Himself to us, if we ask for it, and this will take us to true repentance. And we will change. We will at the same time be aware of our transgressions, be aware of our shame AND be seperated from shame and lifted up to a place where we don't even want to think about sinning our past sins anymore. It becomes natural, not forced. And our/my commitment to and trust in the LORD increases like the most natural growth, like a flower growing. It just happens, because God wills it.

Looking at sin just according to the law dooms us to difficulty and failure and tryin again and again to get it right through our own efforts. Looking at it with Christ as our Savior, frees us, not from the law, but to the ability to fulfill the law. I know you know this. What I'm pointing out is how subtle the errors can be. My experience has been that repentance is not hard work. It is smooth, effortless, full of grace and the love of God. If it is hard work, there might be a tendancy to be relying on our own efforts, rather than trusting God.

You're above post sounds like you understand what it is about according to scripture and to the examples, but are still using your head to explain it, to us and to yourself. This is not an insult. Please do not be offended. I know how the process goes, up untill my current point of understanding, anyhow. The Word mixes with our head and sifts and the Truth remains. I'm trying add that repentance, retrubution do not come from from our own efforts,as you know, and that our own efforts can be subtly disguised as the 'right thing' because as human we have a need to get it right, especially when the Word is mixing with our heard. Just want to say, keep in mind that the LORD'S yoke is easy and light. And the way is to love God with our whole hearts and souls and minds, rather than through our own efforts.

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