THE ESSENTIALITY OF REPENTANCE (3): Believers' Repentance

Scriptures

Psalm 32:1-6; Matthew 26:69-75; 27:3-5; 2 Corinthians 7:1-10.

Thought 💭

Terrible things we are told await those who do NOT repent in this life. We know this, because of the witness of Scripture. For instance, the Lord Jesus denounced the cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent, proclaiming that if those works were done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:20-21). He also denounced the generation of His day for their refusal to repent:

"The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here."

—Matthew 12:41

How about believers? Do terrible things await us when we refuse to repent?

Yes. First fellowship is lost, and if we fail to repent, sickness and other forms of chastening may occur:

"When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, 'I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.' And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone."

—Psalm 32:3-5

And if a believer still continues in persistent sinning, turning away from the Lord, 'it is impossible to bring them back to repentance' (Hebrews 6:4-6). Meaning they will forever be lost, ending up in hell.

Note that the Holy Spirit works assiduously for believers who are sinning to take advantage of the privilege of repentance.

If this is so, and it is, it is important we know what repentance is, exactly.

What is repentance?

Paul tells us that repentance is godly sorrow:

"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."

—2 Corinthians 7:9

Repentance is when you have sinned, and the reality of that sin settles over you, sometimes like a weight on your chest. You feel a deep sense of regret and remorse, and some may even groan; sometimes audibly, BUT the key thing is that YOU TURN AWAY FROM THE SIN.

Paul described what happened to the Corinthian church after he rebuked them sternly for their sins:

"Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death."

—2 Corinthians 7:9-10

The picture that comes to my mind whenever I read 2 Corinthians 7:10 is the remorse of Judas Iscariot and the repentance of Peter. Both men were deeply sorrowful for their actions (see Matthew 26:69-75; 27:3-5). Judas's remorse was worldly sorrow, which lacked repentance, resulting in spiritual death. Peter's was godly repentance and resulted in salvation.

The Hebrew word for repentance is nacham. It is used over 100 times in the Bible, nacham describes sorrow over sin as a "sighing," "panting," or "breathing strongly," and a change of mind. This is the kind of sorrow God expects of believers when they err or sin against God's Word and standards.

• While the gravity of our sin produces an emotional response, sorrow over sin is not enough. We need to turn away from it, and the Hebrew word for that is shuv.

Shuv means to pivot or to change directions, and this is at the core of repentance.

• When we repent, we are agreeing with God on His assessment of our sin, feeling godly sorrow (nacham), and turning away from it (shuv).

Let no one deceive you that since you have become a Christian, you don't need to repent when you err and sin. You do! Unfortunately, erroneous teachers are teaching that repentance is work, robbing believers of its great blessings.

Repentance is not 'works', it is a command of grace.

"Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?"

—Romans 6:1-2

Prayers

#1 Thank God for the gift of repentance.

• Thank God that the goodness of God leads to repentance (Romans 2:4).

#2 Ask God to give you the wisdom to repent quickly and not abuse the grace of God (Romans 6:1-2).

• Ask God to give wisdom and godly fear not to fall victim or prey to the 'grace that misleads' like Samson did (Judges 16:20).
• Tell God that He is the fear of Isaac and your fear (Genesis 31:42).

#3 If there is an active sin in your life, do not wallow in it. Repent.

• Psalm 51 is a great guide to effective repentance.
• Seek out godly counsel.

God bless you all.