Repentance

March 11, 2007

Mike Larsen

Adult Sunday School

Mark 1:15

Introduction: Last week we looked at the fact that believers are justified by faith. This week we will look at Repentance.  As we will see today, to repent means that there is a change of mind that always results in a change of life.  It is an agreement with God about my sin that results in me hating my sin and loving Him.  This hared of my sin comes from the Holy Spirit as salvation brings Him to dwell in me.   A person can only repent himself.  It can not be applied to another person.  I can not repent for you!  Why is there a change your thinking?—because the thinking controls the action.

George Whitefield said, “True repentance will entirely change you; the bias of your souls will be changed, then you will delight in God, in Christ, in His Law, and in His people.”

For a person to come to Christ, he must see himself as God sees him—turning from sin to God.  A little child can do this.

I. Not just a prayer –  We hear the term “easy believism”.  That is reference to the idea that if people say a prayer they are saved.  The focus is on a prayer and not allowing the Holy Spirit to convict the heart and turn the sinner to the true God.  That has led to churches to fill up with false conversions through their marketing methods and their contests.  They have taken versus like “Call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved” and misused them in their evangelistic program.  As a result in the last several decades there are large fundamental movements that claim hundreds or thousands even a million converts and yet only a couple hundred are in the Wednesday night prayer meeting.  The mass majority are nowhere to be found.

I recall personally hearing of a bus ministry contest program where the bus captain with the most people during a period of time would win a Ford Mustang.  I know of other examples where people on evangelism were looked down upon and even directed not to come back until they “led someone to Christ.”  Well, low and behold they found someone they could convince or force to pray the “sinners Prayer. 

This is all disgusting to God and should be disgusting to you.

A. Romans 10:13  If you build your whole belief system on that verse you will have a salvation based on a “prayer”. There is more to the story. 

B. Romans 10:14 and 10:9.   That is what we discussed last week that justification is by faith.  It is much more than a prayer.

—William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army said this years ago as he saw the danger that we are in coming, “I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration… and heaven without hell.”

Though we do not at all hold to “easy believism”, we have to remember that Salvation is not hard.  It is so easy a little child can do it.  It requires no work whatsoever.  Just simple childlike faith.  AMEN!!

C. Mat 3:1-2  John the Baptist yells out this word throughout his area making ready the way of the Lord.  John does not say throughout the land repeat after me! Repeat after me! referencing a prayer.  No he is yelling repent; consider; stop your self focused thinking and get ready to meet the Messiah!

D. Mark 1:2-5  The word repentance here includes the concept of sorrow and guilt.  They were humbled realizing and acknowledging their sins which is why they were confessing in verse 5.

E. Mark 1:15  Jesus himself is preaching the Gospel and says to repent and believe!  He says change your thinking and believe in me.  The change here is to humble themselves of their pride and self sufficiency.  And acknowledge their need of the Savior!  This results in their serving Jesus Christ as Lord.  What a change of mind that results in a change of life!”

F. Luke 5:-32  Jesus says he came to call sinners to repentance.  He came to call sinners to change their thinking, their beliefs.  Change from believing in themselves or their false gods or whatever and believe in Him and the Father who sent Him.  That true repentance will lead to the changed actions and the turning from sin.

G. Act 2:36-38  Peter preaches a scathing message and hits them right between the eyes informing them that this Jesus that they killed was both Lord and Savior.  They were pricked in the heart and asked, “What should we do”.  At that point they had already repented really.  Peter said to repent but the fact that they were pricked in the heart and responded they were repenting!  Notice Peter did not say repeat a prayer after me?

H. Acts 3:19 Peter again takes the opportunity to preach strong to the Jews.  He says to repent and be converted.

I. Luke 7:36-50     Here is a beautiful picture of the kind of repentance involved in salvation!  She obviously had heard Jesus preach the gospel and was ripped apart inside with conviction of her sin.  She was desperate for salvation and could think of nothing else until that need was satisfied.  Her whole mental attention was on her guilt and God’s command for a decision. She believes the gospel and her repentance is made evident by her action to forget about what anybody thinks, she forsakes everything at that moment and must get the salvation Jesus has to offer.

I remember my salvation.  I heard the gospel as this lady did.  I knew I was a sinner and in desperate need of Jesus forgiveness.  I was driven to make a decision and came to the feet of Jesus weeping.  The whole world was blocked out for me and I cared not about anything except getting right with God. 

Yes repentance is required in the salvation process. A person can not just “give Jesus a try” or add Him to their list of rituals. 

Let’s look at Romans 10:9-11  And we will see the sequence.  We see it is the belief which allows the confession.  That change from non belief to belief is called the repentance.  Repentance must occur.

Christ called for repentance in various ways.  He would say things like…

Matthew 16:24  “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

John 12:25-26a, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26  If any man serve me, let him follow me;”

Luke 14:26  “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

Matthew 19:29, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

Paul described how the Thessalonians repented, in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;”

Essentially, to repent is to see your sin as God sees it that results in you living according to what you now believe.  You see sin as disgusting, just like God, and it changes the way you live. 

What repentance is not: Repentance is not just feeling guilty.  It is not simply just grieving over sin.  Judas did this and went to hell.  Plenty of people are sorry for their sin on a human level.  But true godly repentance sees sin as being against God, just as David said when he sinned with Bathsheeba in Psalm 51:4 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.

II. Repentance does not stop at salvation

A. 2 Cor 7:1  Paul is telling the church at Corinth that since they have such great promises of God they should cleanse themselves.  Cleansing is purging.  The church should purge sin from the congregation as well as each believer must purge sin from their own life.  In order for a Christian to do that it will require repentance.  When you notice sin creeping in you must repent!  You must acknowledge it as sin and “re-think” it and humble yourself; confess it to God as sin.

2. 2 Cor 7:8-9  Paul wrote them a letter of rebuke.  He had mixed emotions.  He did not like to make them sorry but he also did want to because it was for their good.  It was hard and caused sorrow however it was, in the end, worth it and proper because it caused the people to repent!  This repentance caused them to have their right fellowship restored with God. 
   
   

C. 2 Cor 7:10    We must have the right attitude toward God and sin.  Being forced to repent because you are caught is worldly sorrow; repenting because you realize you have sinned against a holy God is godly sorrow.

4. 1 John 1:4-9 Even Christians sin and need to continue to repent and confess our ongoing sins.  That is required for a healthy honest open relationship with our wonderful Father who loves us. 

Conclusion: Oh how a father loves to hear his son or daughter be honest and open with him.  It creates the fertile ground for the father to shape that child’s life.  The same is true for our Heavenly Father.  He wants to mold us and shape us to completion.  You being humble, honest, and open with Him allows Him to work in your life.  Don’t hinder the work of God in you!  Don’t put yourself in a position where God will not hear your prayers!  Meditate on the majesty and goodness of God and maintain an attitude of humbleness and repentance towards God and be amazed at His handy work in you.