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The cry of the Bible can be summed up in one word: "REPENT!" Time and time again throughout the pages of both the Old and New Testaments we
are exhorted to repent before the end comes. God Himself decrees that we repent in Acts 17:30: "...but now God commandeth
all men everywhere to repent…" The Word of God clearly sets forth repentance as a condition for salvation, and demands
that believers practice it daily.
There is a great movement today in which most Christians find themselves entangled...it
is a movement of that proclaims salvation without repentance. Thousands of tracts, books, broadcasts, programs, and outreaches flood the landscape of our
current world, yet a majority of them are devoid of any mention of Biblical repentance. Many of the most sincere Christian
leaders of our day have no idea that they are omitting this essential ingredient in real salvation and by doing so could be
leading thousands down the broad road to destruction. (Matt. 7:13) A.W. Tozer once remarked: "I think there is little doubt
that the teaching of salvation without repentance has lowered the moral standards of the Church and produced a multitude of
deceived religious professors who erroneously believe themselves to be saved when in fact they are still in the gall of bitterness
and the bond of iniquity."1 This is precisely our situation today.
Paul states that he preached that people
should repent, and prove it by their deeds. (Acts 26:20) Most modern
evangelistic methods neglect or totally ignore such things. The solemn reality of this dire situation can be found in Gal
1:8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which
we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Are
we hearing a gospel today that is different from that which Paul preached? If it is a gospel lacking the truths of repentance,
we are indeed. Under the banner of "salvation by faith" we have thrown out a full half of our precious gospel message. Yet,
what is involved in true, biblical repentance? What does God require of an individual when He commands that they repent?
To
begin, it is imperative that we understand that repentance is not saying
you are sorry about your sins. Repentance is not a mere apology for wrongdoing. It is not even regret. Obviously we are to feel sorrow and regret over our sins,
but this does not constitute repentance. Repentance involves far more.
Five centuries ago Martin Luther nailed his
"95 Theses" to the doors of a church, and this touched off the most far-reaching spiritual movement since Christ himself walked
on the earth--the Reformation. While many believers know the story, few have ever actually read this historic document. The
first of the 95 Theses may surprise you--it reads: "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said
"Repent," he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance."2 Repentance? Wasn't Luther supposed to be talking about salvation by faith? Indeed.
But there is no salvation or real faith where there is no genuine repentance before Almighty God.
True faith and repentance are inseparable.
The
meaning of repentance can be summarized as follows: repentance is turning from everything I know
to be sin right now and from everything God may show me to be sin in the future. It is a heart attitude which cries out "Lord, I want to please you!" It involves a wholehearted effort
to renounce sinful activity and forsake sinful thoughts. Repentance is a lifelong endeavor that begins on the day of true
salvation.
Here are a few hallmark characteristics of repentance:
1. True repentance involves a realization of our condition.
Men naturally believe
that they are good, always doing what is right in their own eyes. Yet, for those who wish to repent
before God, a belief that mankind is fundamentally
wicked is essential. We must come to grips with the fact that we have violated God's perfect, eternal standards and have lived
in outright rebellion against His loving commands. The Law of God bears down heavily upon us, as a microscopic laser beam
revealing every single imperfection. The Law's standards are absolute. Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Love God with
your whole heart. Do not steal. Do not use God's name in vain. There are no loopholes or rationalizations. Sin is a grave
offense before God, and every act of pride, lust, and greed rises as a stench in His nostrils.
Men, in a word, are
depraved. Twisted. We have fallen
miserably short of God's perfect glory. We often hear the flippant phrase "Well, nobody's perfect." Yet this is not a flippant
idea. This is the very truth that has condemned the human race to lifelong bondage to Satan and eternal separation from all
that is good. Hell's flames are fueled and stoked by our sickening acts of rebellion against our Creator God.
In order
to repent, we must realize our condition. This goes against the grain of our society which says that we are "OK" and that
we are all "victims". The truth is that we are hopelessly lost and in the dark night of sin. Our sins are countless and so
will our years of eternal suffering in the lake of fire be countless. As a race, humans have become utterly sinful and repulsive
to the pure, perfect, and holy Lord of the Universe. If He was to give us what we deserved, Hell's chimneys would already
be blackened by the soot of our sin-infested flesh.
2. True repentance
involves confession of our sins.
Confession is the prerequisite to forgiveness.
The Bible declares this in 1 John 1:9 when it says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Confession has been defined as "agreeing with God about my sin." To confess sin
is to admit before God how evil our actions really are. Repentant confession is not "being sorry because you got caught,"
but rather sincerely regretting that you violated God's standards which were put into effect for your own good. When you feel
the conviction of God about a particular word, action, motive, or thought, you immediately admit that God is right and you
are wrong.
True confession will make no rationalizations or defenses. No buts. Those who wish to repent must agree
with God fully that they are sinful creatures, undeserving of anything good. They must also agree with God specifically and
name those sins which they have committed against Him. Many Christians end their day with a brief prayer "Father, forgive
me if I've sinned." This is not confession. It is not admitting wrong, nor naming any wrongs done. If you committed the sins
individually, you ought to confess them individually.
3.
True repentance must involve humility and brokenness.
A prideful heart is in no position to
repent. Repentance is the ultimate act of humility, for it is the admission that one's life has been lived totally wrong and is in need of drastic
change. Humility is when a person sees his lost condition, admits their need for God, and stops trying to live without God's
power. Pride is an attitude that declares: "I am worthy, I am able, and I am capable." Humility is just the opposite, as we
realize that we are totally unworthy of anything positive, totally unable to save ourselves, and totally incapable of pleasing
God by our efforts.
The Bible is clear that the very best of human goodness only amounts to filthy rags in the sight
of the Perfect God. He cares nothing about our "nice" deeds. One may impress other people by the amount of money they give,
kind words they say, people they help, or religious customs they fulfill, but none of these things impress God. Not one thing
that a person can do on his or her own will cause God to like them even one iota more. We as sinful beings cannot please God--our sins have separated us from Him.
(Isa.59:2)
Humility is the heartfelt realization of these truths. It is throwing oneself upon the mercy of God and
saying "Woe is me, I am undone! Have mercy on me...a sinner!" Humility claims nothing for itself,
takes no credit as its own, and offers no resistance to the conviction of God's Spirit upon the conscience. Humility is when
we cry out "God, I need you!"
Brokenness takes
it a step further. To be broken is to fall upon the rock of Christ Jesus in wholehearted sorrow over sin and say "I'm yours
Lord." When a horse is "broken," that means that the horse has submitted its will to the rider. When a person is broken over
their sins, it means that they have submitted their will to God's control and will do whatever He commands. Brokenness is when we forsake our pride, arrogance, and self-proclaimed worth
and fall prostrate before the Throne of God in willing submission to His demands. In order to
truly repent, we must be humble and broken, as the Psalmist prayed: "The sacrifices of God are
a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Ps. 51:17)
4. True repentance involves
renouncing and forsaking sin.
Isaiah 55:7-8 declares: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the
LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD."
It is not sufficient
to merely feel bad about sinning, but instead God is interested in our commitment to stop sinning. We must forsake evil. Acts
26:20 tells us that Paul preached to all the people that "they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance."
The initial grief over sin is good, but is hardly all that God desires to do in our lives. His goal for us is that we "do
works meet for repentance," that is, that we prove our repentance by the way we live.
Charles G. Finney, the great
revivalist of early America, defines repentance as "a change
of choice, purpose, intention...a turning from sin to holiness, or more strictly, from a state of consecration to self to
a state of consecration to God, is and must be the turning, the change of mind, or the repentance that is required of all
sinners."3
It is common for the unsaved, when
confronted with the gospel, to say things like "you mean if I want to become a Christian I have to give up my ___________?"
Well, yes! God has commanded us to give up everything. All sin is wrong, and He wants us to stop. That message would seem to be simple enough, yet many evangelists would be quick to tell such a person that they
don't have to give up anything to be saved, but just "believe." Such statements are at par with outright blasphemy. Of course one must give up something to be saved--he must give up the right to make his own decisions! He are supposed to be submitting to the Lordship of Christ in his life! This is true
repentance, and is clearly taught in the New Testament from John the Baptist to the Revelation. God is calling all men to
change their minds about sin and give it up. Sin is of the devil and is not tolerated by the Holy Lord who died to free us
from its iron-clad grip!
Believers are given the charge to "flee" from sin. A repentant person has recognized the
destructive and soul-ruining effects of wickedness, and will seek to renounce all involvement with sin. Imagine
if a solider was to defect to a different army but refused to give up fighting for his old cause! Sin is hellish and flows freely from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Holiness is what a Christian is called to,
that which flows from prayer, the Spirit, and the Word. God has saved us unto holiness and prepared for us good works. We
must renounce all involvement and prior dealings with the enemy and wholeheartedly join the army of Christ. Romans 13:11-14
declares: "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for
now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness,
not in chambering and wantonness [sensuality], not
in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."
This is the standard for those who would repent and seek the Lord.
5. True repentance involves forgiveness.
2
Corinthians 5 tells us to "Be reconciled to God." Our
sins have separated us from our God, as if we had been divorced by our rebellion. Now, God is calling for our reconciliation,
that we would be "married" to Christ and restored to His family. If we are to repent, however, more is involved. We must also reconcile with those other people we have offended and forgive those who have hurt us. The Bible makes this clear in Matthew 6:14-15: "For if ye forgive men
their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses." Jesus expands on this principle
in Matthew 18 in the parable of the unforgiving servant. The bottom line is that if we are seeking to repent before God and
if we want Him to forgive our sins, we must be willing to forgive others when they sin against us. We have been commanded
to forgive others in the same way Jesus forgave us.
Matthew Henry, the Bible commentator, says this in regard to the
necessity of forgiveness in biblical repentance: "If ye forgive, your heavenly Father will
also forgive. Not as if that were the only condition required; there must be repentance
and faith, and new obedience...so this will be a good evidence of the sincerity of our other
graces. He that relents toward his brother, thereby shows that he repents toward his God."4
Forgiveness is when we are willing to love those who
hurt us and not hold anything against them. It is when we choose to love them regardless of their actions toward us. Matthew
Henry again says: "We must forgive, as we hope to be forgiven; and therefore must not only bear no malice, nor mediate revenge,
but must not upbraid our brother with the injuries he has done to us, nor rejoice in any hurt that befalls him, but must be
ready to help him and do him good, and if he repent and desire to be friends again, we must be free and familiar with him,
as before...Christ came into the world as the great Peace-Maker, and not only to reconcile us to God, but one to another,
and in this we must comply with him. It is great presumption and of
dangerous consequence, for any to make a light matter of that which Christ here lays such a stress upon. Men's passions shall
not frustrate the Word of God."5
6. True repentance involves restitution.
Not only must the repentant
person go forgive those who have hurt him, but also he must go make right those wrongs he himself has committed. Those who
have stolen should pay back. Those who have hurt should go comfort. Those who have said wrong words should go ask forgiveness.
Real repentance deals with sin--past, present, and future.
This means that all evils done in the past toward other people must
be dealt with, all evils in the present must cease, and all evils planned to come must be renounced.
The biblical example of restitution is Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19. Here was a man who made
his living cheating and stealing from others. Yet, when his heart met with Christ in saving faith, look at his response: "Lord,
I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." The
repentant heart will seek to right any wrongs committed in the past and to gain what the Bible calls a "clear conscience."
Many people refuse to take back what they have stolen or ask forgiveness from those they have offended because they
insist that it is "under the blood." This is faulty reasoning, and is certainly not what God intended. The Cross is not a
way to get off the hook, it is the way to the freedom of obedience. If I steal money from you and then become a Christian,
does the money become mine? Absolutely not. My faith should motivate me to give it back, that I might gain a clear conscience
before God and men. Christ died to purify us and make us righteous.
If we desire biblical repentance, this is a truth
we cannot neglect. If someone is unwilling to go back and, to the best of their ability, make restitution, they are unfit
for service in the kingdom of God and cannot be saved. God only saves those who say "I surrender all, all to Jesus I freely
give." One must be willing to surrender this area to God if he wishes to be a follower of the Way.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER
Repentance
is a word sadly lacking in our Christian vocabulary. It has lost its meaning and is often misunderstood. Yet, the Word of
God remains clear. Christ called people to obedience. He didn't ask people to just have an intellectual belief about himself--but
rather a repentant belief that would change lives. If a person's "belief" in Jesus Christ does not result in a total overhaul
of his or her life, they are not believing in the same Christ that the Bible proclaims. The Christ of the Bible came to save
people from sin and to give them power over it.
Only as we obey God's command to
repent can we be assured of an eternity with Him in heaven. Repentance is at the very
core of saving faith. We must take heed to the warning of Christ, "Unless you repent, ye
shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3) It is evident that this repentance is a turnaround from sin to God--an about-face.
Clearly, this is more than a one-time deal. Repentance is a daily exercise of your faith. As stated before, it is turning from everything you know to be sin right
now and from everything God may show you to be sin in the future.
It is as if all humanity is walking--running--down the highway of lust, pride, greed, bitterness, disobedience, rebellion, blasphemy, and perversion directly into
the yawning mouth of Hell. True repentance is when one out of that multitude slows his stride and stops. He peers over to
the other, vacant and lonely side of the highway headed uphill toward the glorious kingdom of light. All at once, he steps
off the broad road and turns around, facing Christ the Savior, and begins His ascent toward the Celestial City. This is the
only event that causes all heaven to break into wild applause and joy--that causes the angels to blow their horns in triumph--when
one sinner repents...when a lost son returns home.
Yes, friend, much is involved. You would do well to count the cost
of repentance. But remember that eternal glory awaits all those who will turn, in faith, to the Savior. He is able to save
to the uttermost. His mercy is great, His patience is unmatched, and His grace is amazing.
Will you repent? Will you
turn and flee to the Savior? Your own righteousness can never please God. Come to the fountain of God's living waters and
drink of the free offer of Christ! As Jesus said: "The time is fulfilled
and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel!"
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; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Unto you first
God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning
away every one of you from his iniquities.
Acts 3:19-26
Sources Quoted
1. Tozer,
A.W. The Root of the Righteous. (1955) pg. 44 1994
2. Luther, Martin. The 95 Theses.
3. Finney, Charles. Finney's Systematic
Theology. (1878ed.) Bethany House Pub. 1994
4. Henry,
Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary. (1706) pg. 1639 Hendrickson Pub. 1991
5. Ibid. 4.
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