A Deeper Look at Repentance

Introduction:

Repentance is a biblical command.

• Ezek 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
• Ezek 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
• Matt 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
• Mark 6:12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
• Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
• Luke 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
• Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem .

Repentance is a prerequisite for receiving the Holy Ghost baptism.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Let’s be clear about what repentance is not.

• Repentance is not penitence.
• Sorrow, guilt, shame: part of repentance, but not enough.
• Repentance is not penance.
• Self-punishment, expiatory rituals, discipline.

Repentance involves four elements.

1. Repentance is something you think.
2. Repentance is something you say.
3. Repentance is something you stop doing.
4. Repentance is something you start doing.

Repentance is something you think.

Job 42:1-6 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,  2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.   3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.  4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.  5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.  6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

As Job, you must think differently.

• Think differently about yourself.
• Think differently about the world around you.
• Think differently about God.
• Understand that you are entering into a totally new world with different values, goals, and relationships.

Let’s flesh out an example that makes sense in practical terms.

• How does a military recruit think differently before and after boot camp?
• How does a traffic accident make you think differently than before?
• How does having a baby in your home make you think differently?

What are the different thoughts that a repented person begins to think?

• Identity
• Purpose
• Values
• Relationships
• Possessions

Repentance is something you say.

• Thoughts that never find expression never become real.
• I can’t get in trouble for something I don’t say.
• If I don’t put my thoughts into words, I am not making a commitment.
• I feel it but I can’t say it.
• Why do we say the wedding vows? (Read funny vows.)

(Read the 51^st Psalm)

Express to God your shame and sorrow. Admit your sins to him.

Repentance is something you stop doing.

Not that we ever stop repenting, but we stop doing the things we repented of.

Wickedness.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

False ideas about God.

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Vices

Attitudes

Feelings

Repentance is something you start doing.

Acts 26:19-20  Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:  20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

• Worship and praise.
• Seeking after holy and Godly things.
• Submitting yourself to the will of God instead of the will of the flesh.
• Billy Cole has seen over a half-million people receive the Holy Ghost.
• He begins every Holy Ghost crusade with a call to repentance.
• God begins his re-creation of the soul in the repentant heart.