The Doctrine
Of
Repentance
Acts 26:20
Intro: Today’s message is one of deepest importance to both the lost and the saved; repentance, is not just a necessity it is crucial to salvation and a life well pleasing to God.
Although one cannot lose his/her salvation (falling from grace i.e.…) we do backslide often and we need a heart of penitence that will lead us away from self and back to God.
Quote: “The New Testament word for repentance means changing one’s mind so that one’s views, values, goals and ways are changed and one’s whole life is lived differently. The change is radical, both inwardly and outwardly; mind and judgment, will and affections, behavior and life style, motives and purposes, are all involved. Repenting means starting to live a new life.”
Dr. J. I. Packer
I. Repentance and Faith are inseparable for salvation
1. Repent and believe (act on faith) the gospel
Mark 1:15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
A. One must first totally reject all self-will by:
a. Repenting of one’s sin (turning aside from it)
b. Repenting towards God (turning aside to)
Note: salvation in it’s deepest context is like the Christian’s view on marriage, “forsaking all others and clinging to the wedded spouse for the duration of this life.”
B. One then must total accept Christ by:
a. Placing Faith in Him as Savior
b. Placing allegiance in Him as Lord of one’s life
Note: One cannot accept Christ as Savior and reject Him as Sovereign Lord, you either accept Him as both or reject him as both; salvation stands or falls for a person in this paradigm.
2. True repentance produces a radical change
A. Regeneration produces a New Nature
Galatians 6:15
15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
B. The New Nature is radically changed
Note: To prove this point one needs to look no further than the Apostle Paul who by way of God’s call was not just changed inwardly but outwardly as well. He went from being Saul or Tarsus to Paul of the New Jerusalem, from persecuting believers to the persecuted. True repentance (i.e.…. The Damascus road experience)
a. So that we can produce works that prove salvation
II. Repentance and living the Christian life
Note: everyone is caught in the preverbal “hand in the cookie jar”, because man is sinful, just as we studied in last weeks message that both old and new natures coexist side-by-side, one lusting against the other with a war that battles in our members, we then on failing to meet the mark often say, “I’M sorry” which is remorse and at other times we have a broken heart that is moved away from the sin and seeks forgiveness which is repentance.
1. There is a constant need of repentance in the life of the believer
Romans 7:15-25
A. Sin is never far from the door
B. Man is prone by nature to gravitate away from God towards sin
Jeremiah 8:5
5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. “Repent i.e.”
Note: Although the prophet is speaking about the nation of Israel as a whole, the nature of man is true just as well, we often take the course away from God and He has to come and carry us back.
2. The lasting benefits of repentance
A. A constant examining of one’s self
God’s command throughout scripture is for the people of God to examine ourselves to “see if we are in the faith”, to search out the hidden sins of the heart, why?
a. Unconfessed sin
This state is repairable through forgiveness, but forgiveness hinges on confession of the sin, the one who lives in the state of unconfessed sin is under judgment from God and not condemnation to hell.
(a) Must be confessed
(b) Must be abandoned
B. Produces a Mature Christian
a. Where actions prove our spiritual integrity
b. Where actions show a lack of spiritual maturity
III. Repentance and the Church body
There is a question that rises to the surface when corporate repentance is mentioned, does the local church body sin against God???
There is an overwhelming yes to that question therefore not just one part of the body needs to repent but the whole, because the whole is in sin.
The best way to understand this issue is in the nation of Israel and that through the Prophet Hosea and his whorish wife Gomer.
1. Christ is espoused to a whorish bride
This picture is very clear in the seven letters written to the churches throughout Asia, let’s remember:
A. Ephesus left their first love, Jehovah God and was commanded to repent
B. Pergamos allowed false doctrine to infiltrate into the body and God’s command was to repent
C. Thyatira had allowed False teachers to enter into the congregation and many followed them who were once believers, God’s command was to repent
D. Sardis rejected the Spirit and was in denial and God’s command was to repent
E. Laodicea had forsaken Christ for worldly gain and God’s command was to repent
Five of the seven churches stood under the heavy hand of God, waiting on judgment if they failed to repent or acceptance if they would comply.
2. The necessities of corporate repentance
A. If the church body refuses to examine and repent, the promise is:
Revelation 2:5
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
a. A lifeless church, void of understanding
Note: To the reader, do you know a church body that is no longer viable in the community? I do, and more than one; the reason for this may be hard for many to comprehend but God has laid out the plan for the church in His word and we are simply to follow and he will prosper our efforts and if we try to handle God’s work on our terms there is the fear of open rejection.
B. If the church body accepts the responsibility for it’s action/’s then the promise is:
a. Eat from the tree of life “salvation”
b. A new name
c. Power over the nations
d. Confess them before the Father
e. Clothe them
When man repents or the church repents the same is true, God will richly bless and if there is no repentance there must be judgment.
IV. Repentance and a Christian Nation
Hosea 6:1-4
1. Israel paints a perfect picture of the rebellious nature of Americans
This is a country that was founded on biblical values and faith in Christ as Lord of life, but through the process of time there has been a paradigm shift that has taken place:
A. Other God’s have drawn us away from Jehovah (Idolatry)
B. More focus placed on our physical heritage than our spiritual (traditionalism)
C. We have become a country that finds no fault in our actions, motives, or intent (self-righteous)
2. Israel paints the picture of Americans under Judgment
A. Every time Israel /America forgets God:
We suffer/ they suffer as a whole nation, true God judges individually yet He also judges corporately. When Israel was caught up in idolatry they all suffered under the mighty hand of God.
a. America is awaiting judgment even now
3. The only remedy for sin and judgment
A. Repentance from sin as a nation
B. Repentance towards God for forgiveness
Repentance that is radical, total and perpetual
