Dr. Annama Abraham
Repentance Means
– Feels sorrow or regret for
what one has done or left undone, a heart broken over sin and from sin.
When we
repent, we not only admit our wrongs, but we willingly turn from them and open
ourselves to God’s transforming power. Repentance is necessary to enter into
relationship with Christ. Daily repentance is necessary to stay in close
fellowship with Him and to grow spiritually. It leads to the fountain of God’s
forgiveness and his life changing power. If you are truly sorry for your sins,
you will want to give them up.
Luke 5: 32 Jesus said “I have not come to call the righteous
but the sinners to repentance.
God
put his warnings on the heart and soul of every person
Failure to correct problem will result in spiritual death.
Through the prophet Ezekiel God said that the hearts of His people had become
adulterous and hard as rock.
Ezekiel 6:9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me
among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt
by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes, which
played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their
own sin for the evils which they have committed, for their abominations.
Ezekiel 11: 19 And I shall give them one heart and shall put
a new spirit within them, and I shall take the heart of stone out their flesh
and give them a heart of flesh.
The
Lord longed for their hearts to be softened, and for them to come back to Him.
He made this impassioned plea: “Repent and turn away from all your
transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Get yourselves a new
heart and a new spirit. For why should you die? O house of Israel.”
Ezekiel 18: 32 “I have no pleasure in the death of one who
dies” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live.”
Today,
by turning from sin to God through faith in Jesus Christ, anyone can have a new
heart. The power of God can turn a heart from evil and the power of sin. The
love of God can change a life and make it new and cleansed within.
In
his presence there is hope, love, lasting protection, and fullness of joy. Away
from Him there is temporary pleasure, but eternal loss and despair.
Repentance
is described as
Turned Acts 9:35 And who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him
and they turned to the Lord.
Repent Acts 8: 22 Therefore Repent of this wickedness of
yours; and pray the Lord that if possible the intention of your heart may be
forgiven you.
Return 1Samuel 7: 3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of
Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the
foreign gods and the, Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the
Lord and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the
philistines”.
Conversion Acts 5: 3 Therefore being sent on their way by
the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in
detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the
brethren.
Repentance
is derived from
God Acts 11:18 and when they heard this, they quieted down,
and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the
repentance that leads to life.
Christ Acts 5: 31 He is the one whom God exalted to His
right hand and as a prince and a saviour, to grant repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins.
Holy Spirit Zechariah 12: 10 “And I will pour out on the
house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they
will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly
over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first born.
Repentance
leads to God’s long suffering
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow, about His promise, as some
count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but
for all to come to repentance.
God’s goodness
Romans 2: 4 Or, do you think lightly of the riches of His
kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God
leads you to repentance.
Conviction of sin
Acts 2: 37-38
37. Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the
heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles “Brethren what shall we
do?”
38. And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Productive of life
Acts 11: 18
And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified
God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance
that leads to life.
Remission of sins
Mark 1:4
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a
baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Ezekiel 18:31
Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have
committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you
die O house of Israel?
Joy
Luke 15: 7 and 10
7. I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy
in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons
who need no repentance.
10. In the same way, I tell you there is joy in the presence
of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Reformation of life
Matthew 3:8
Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance.
Restitution
Luke 19: 8
And Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord “Behold, Lord,
half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded any one
of anything, I will give back four times as much.
Godly sorrow
2 Corinthians 7:9-10
9. I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful to the point
of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in
order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
10. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God
produces repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the
world produces death.
In
New Testament repentance always involves a change for the better as a person
turns away from sin while turning toward God. Jesus began his public ministry
with the call, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17)
When
we feel sorry for doing wrong or for getting caught, it may be nothing more
than a spiritual cosmetic. But true repentance occurs deep in our hearts and
results in a visible difference in our actions. When we turn to Christ and
yield ourselves to Him, he produces real change - not just a cover up. Don’t
hide your sin and cover up, pretending there is nothing wrong. Instead, confess
it and repent, and God will fill your heart with song. Repentance is not just
words but actions. The way back to God begins with a broken heart.
Matthew
5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
People
differ in the way they express their emotions. But literal tears are not the
issue. What is important is the attitude of the heart. The real issue is how
deeply we sense the implications of our sins. Are we filled with Godly sorrow?
Do we feel some of the same sorrow God feels about evil? Are we willing to turn
from it? Indifference to evil is a great evil.
People
who listened to John the Baptist had made some preparations for the start of
Jesus’ public ministry.
Isaiah 40: 3-5
3. A voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the
wilderness; make smooth in the desert a high way for our God.
4. Let every valley
be filled up, and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a
broad valley.
5. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all the
flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Malachi 3:1
“Behold I am going to send My Messenger, and he will clear
the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his
temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is
coming”. Says the Lord of hosts.
John’s
mission was to prepare a way for the Messiah by preaching a message of repentance.
Luke 3: 3
And He came into all the district around the Jordan,
preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
In
preparation for the Messiah’s coming the people were to cleanse their hearts by
seeking God’s forgiveness for their sins. As we get ready to celebrate the
coming of Jesus to the earth, we too should heed John’s message of repentance.
Mathew 3: 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
What
is more important is we need to confess our sins, turn from it and renew our
fellowship with the Lord. Once we turn away from sin, there should be no
turning back.
Scripture calls this godly sorrow that leads to repentance. God has sent the reluctant prophet Jonah to
preach to Nineveh. At that time the people repented, and the city was spared. A
later generation returned to their forefathers wicked ways. Assyria then
attacked Israel, and God determined to punish her. Assyria repented of their
repentance.
Nahum 1:3
The lord is slow to anger and great in power,
And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
In whirlwind and storm is His way,
And clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
It
is not unusual for us to think we can get away with doing something wrong.
After
King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he too was focused on getting
away with it. But his sin was pointed out by Nathan. His adultery, when Nathan
exposed, the king was deeply remorseful. He confessed, repented and received
God’s forgiveness. But the consequences of his sin never departed from his
household
If
you have been trying to get away with something, remember that your sin will
find you out.
Numbers 32: 23
But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against
the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.
2 Corinthians 7: 10
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces
a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world
produces death.
When
we sin, the Lord isn’t interested in just a quick apology. He looks for a
different attitude and a change of behavior. Scripture calls this godly sorrow
that leads to repentance.
Paul
saw this sorrow in Corinthian believers which resulted from their response to
an earlier letter of rebuke he had written. At first it bothered him that he
had made them sorrowful, but when their sorrow led to a genuine change of heart
the apostle rejoiced.
2 Corinthians 7: 8-11
8. For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not
regret it; though I did regret it – for I see that, that letter caused you
sorrow, though only for a while.
9. I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that
you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful
according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in
anything through us.
10. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God
produces repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the
world produces death.
11. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly
sorrow has produced in you; what vindication of yourselves, what indignation,
what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you
demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
Apostle
Paul said that we are not to have fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather expose them. But he
went on to say that these sins are shameful even to speak out.
Ephesians 5: 11-12
11. And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of
darkness, but instead even expose them.
12. for it is disgraceful even to speak of things which are
done by them in secret.
So how to expose sin? We must focus on Jesus Christ, the
light of the world.
John 8:12
Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light
of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have
the light of life.
Ask
Jesus to enable us to shine as lights in the world
Philippians 2: 15
That you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent
children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse
generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.
It
is Christ’s pure light that the darkness of sin will be exposed and the stage
will be set for the repentance that brings deliverance.
Let
us pray to the Lord, to keep us from entanglements that choke our spirit’s work
within. Then we can reflect His light into a world that is dark with sin.
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