This week was our final lesson on the study of Biblical repentance. For the past five weeks we have been studying L.R. Shelton Jr.'s booklet on Bibilical Repentance. As we finished our study this morning, we looked at a few of the highlights from the past few weeks.
First, repentance and faith are given to us by God alone, and are a simultaneous happening - just as two sides of a coin. We are powerless to accomplish either - God must do the work. You see, we are dead in trespasses and sins. As Eph. 2:1 states a dead man can accomplish nothing, thus the work is all God's.
Repentance results in a change that involves our whole being. This change will affect our mind (Lk. 17:3-4), heart (Mt. 3:2), and body (Lk 3:8). If only one of these is moved, the result is nothing better than a New Year's resolution. When God grants repentance it will affect the entire person, and the effect will be lasting.
Though repentance is commanded (Acts 17:30) God in His gentleness and love leads us to repentance. In God's mercy, He has given us the means to repent through the drawing and convicting power of the Holy Spirit, yet the Holy Spirit uses the instrument of the Word of God to bring men to repent. We are drawn by the Spirit, through HIS Word.
True repentance will always bring about fruit. (Mt. 7:16, Jn 15:16). The fruit of repentance will begin with a hatred of sin (Ez 20:43). This hatred comes as a result of realizing that we have transgressed against a Holy God, and not just because of sin's consequences. (Like a child who cries when they've been caught.)
True repentance will bring Godly sorrow. The sorrow we saw in David after Bathsheba (Ps 51:3-4), and Peter after he denied Christ (Lk 22:61,62) is a sorrow for rebellion against God. True repentance will also result in confession. Ps 32:3-4 shows us the conviction and heaviness that comes from sorrow over sin, but look at the release when the writer confesses his sin. God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin. Thank God for I Jn 1:9!
The natural progression from godly sorrow and confession of sin is to then turn from our sin. Prov 28:13 tells us that if we confess and forsake our sin we will find mercy. Yet it can't be left there. True godly repentance will turn FROM sin... TO God. Acts 26:18. If we confess our sin and turn from it - we must turn TO something. If not, a void will be left open to be filled again with our sin. True faith and repentance will result in a desire to turn from sin and become more like Christ.
Why do we keep mentioning "true" repentance? This is simply because man can emulate repentance as a "work of religion" without truly repenting and believing. Yet, the imitation can only go so far and last so long. Man is incapable of doing this work in its completeness. This is shown in the example of the "stony ground hearers" in Mt. 13:20,21. They spring up with something that looks similar to faith/repentance but then fall away or shrivel and die because they have no root. The root is based in God's work of granting repentance and faith and apart from this it is simply man's effort to "clean up" or reform. True repentance will be brought to completion only because God is doing the work. (Phil. 1:6)
Repentance looks from self to Christ and finds HIM sufficient...
sufficient to bring about sorrow, confession, and forsaking of sin...
sufficient to change and transform...
sufficient to enable us to walk with Him...
sufficient to finish the work He began...
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