REPENT!

Repentance means a lot of different things to many different people. Jesus said,

"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" Luke 13:3.

Is repentance some mysterious word that few understand? Repentance in the Greek means,  

metanoeó: to change one's mind or purpose

Original Word: μετανοέω

Part of Speech: Verb

Transliteration: metanoeó

Phonetic Spelling: (met-an-o-eh'-o)

Short Definition: I repent, change my mind

Definition: I repent, change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God), repent.

It simply means a change in mind. Coming to Christ involves changing your mind and trusting in the Savior.

Do a search in your Bible and you will find that God repents many times. God has a change of mind. It doesn't mean that God is a sinner that needs repentance. It simply means He changed His mind.

Genesis 6:6, "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."

Genesis 6:7 "And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them."

The Devil has had a long time to confuse our thinking about repentance. Hear a few religious followers and what they have to say about repentance.

"We must repent or stop all of our sinning in order to be saved."

"Godly sorrow and repentance is the ground where saving faith for salvation is born."

"Willful sin causes me to lose my salvation."

In my book the "Cursed Gospel" I speak plenty about repentance.

REPENT!

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

For a sinner just to feel sorry for his sins is not enough. We must turn from them and do them not again. You can't be sorry for sins one day and then the next day repeat the same thing, this is not repentance. God calls all men to repent,

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).

Trying to repent does not get you into the kingdom of God. Many today are trying to repent for salvation. But for some there is just so much sin in their live that it bewilders them into giving up repentance altogether,

“I just can't be like you, I can't make myself perfect.”

Others who spent many years in the arts and science of repenting have finally deceived themselves into thinking that they are the masters of their universe,

“In my life of repentance, I have finally arrived at perfection. At least, that is what I tell my wife.”

Many in the name and claim it crowd think that by believing something to be true, it will be true.

“I believe I have no sin, I think I am sinless, I think I am, I think I am, I believe I am.”

A sinner who believes he never sins is as bad as a sinner who loves to sin. They both sin without remorse. They both believe there are no consequences for their sins or else they would change.

TWO KINDS OF REPENTANCE

There are different ways to repent. One way is to feel sorry for your sins and try to undo what you have done. Judas is an example of this,

“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:3-5).

It says in the Holy Writ that Judas repented himself. Most in religion repent that way. They are not led by God to repent, but are led by themselves to repent in the only way they know how, man's way.

Man's way of repentance is trying to satisfy their own conscience by doing a work or deed that will undo the harm that they have done. They don't seek God's forgiveness and cleansing, but are seeking to make themselves feel comfortable again. Are you one of those who are so deeply into repenting that you have forgotten to ask God for forgiveness?

Your first responsibility is to God and His forgiveness,

“Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest” (Psalm 51:4).

The easiest way to repent God's way is by prayer unto God,

“God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

Jesus said,

“This man went down to his house justified” Luke 18:14).

I think we have learned a principle here. That you can repent of all kinds of sins and still neglect to get forgiveness from God.

What is Godly repentance that has some value?

“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (Romans 2:4).

John’s baptism refers to it,

“John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus” (Acts 19:4).

True repentance is accomplished by trusting in Christ. In Christ you are forgiven of all your trespasses and sins, cleansed from your sins and created into a new man that is not touched by sin but ready to fight evil,

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Colossians 2:13).

The new creation cannot sin,

“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9).

He cannot sin because Christ is not the minister of sin.

“But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid” (Galatians 2:17).

In Christ we are sinless and in right standing with God. Our position is one of standing in grace,

“By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” Romans 5:2).

Christ's blood has cleansed us from sin. We dwell in righteousness.

“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

But we are still waiting for the redemption of our body. We are still troubled by the flesh. We still have our own dead nature trying to get us to yield to sin. Are we lost? No, we are saved by grace.

We are saved, but yet commanded to walk in goodness and repentance of sin. We are to deprive our old body of flesh from living in sin. We are commanded by God to live up to the new person that we are in Christ.

Will God forgive a continual sinner in Christ? First off there is no sin in Christ. The sins you now commit are from your body of flesh, not of the new man in Christ. However, we are to live in obedience to God in the Spirit.

“They that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8-10).

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6).

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22)

As far salvation is concerned, God has already forgiven us through Christ. You are no longer a sinner seeking salvation; you're a part of the family of God. If we do yield to the flesh, we do not try to reclaim salvation; we seek restoration,

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (1 Peter 2:9)”

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).

There is nothing wrong with asking God for forgiveness, even if He had already forgiven us,

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Mathew 6:12).

Neither is it wrong to repent after being forgiven,

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (Revelation 3:19)”

Or be baptized in water after being baptized in the Holy Ghost,

“Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” (Acts 10:47).

Who would object to a salvation that is so stable and sure? And yet there are objectors to the truth,

“A false teacher is one who teaches salvation without the need for repentance or godly living.”

“You are denying the Lord when you claim to do His will and live in sin.”

“You must continue and not give up doing good to reap eternal life, according to true grace teaching. If you give up and start to please the sinful nature you will not reap eternal life—you will go to hell. Do not be deceived. Do not let the heresy of eternal security drag you and your loved ones down to hell. Resist the devil and his lies.”

The false teacher ignores Christ’s death, burial and resurrection by trying to live right and merit His own acceptance. He ignores the teaching of grace and thinks that by his attempts at right living he will bring himself to Heaven's gate.

The only thing that will count for something is the work of God in Christ Jesus, who died for our sin and was raised from the dead. The final work of repentance will be accomplished only in Christ's work of salvation, apart from man's will. Which is better, reforming a dead body of sin, or being transformed into a new spiritual man incapable of sinning?

God likes man's righteous attitude in wanting to eradicate all sin from their lives, but it's his method, apart from God, that stinks to high Heaven above. Only Christ can eradicate our sins and remove them completely from us,

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:12).