The Reality of Repentance

Repentance is a vital building block for the Christian life. It is the first step of salvation and in accepting the offer of Christ's sacrifice on the cross for your sins. It is such a foundational aspect of a disciples life, that the first word out of Jesus' mouth in his ministry in the New Testament was "Repent" (Matthew 4:17). "Repentance is a rich biblical term that signifies an elemental transformation in someone's mind, heart, and life." In thinking of what repentance looks like, it is taking a person who is headed down one path, but suddenly they turn and sprint back up the path they were headed. From the instant a person repents, truly repents, they act different, they live different, talk different, feel different, everything about that person has changed.

Christ was speaking in the New Testament, to people who were rebelling against God and were relying on themselves, not God, for salvation. "Jesus' call to repentance, then, was a summons for them to renounce sin and all dependence on self for salvation. Only by turning from their sin and themselves and toward Jesus could they be saved." Fundamentally, then, repentance involves renouncing a former way of life in favor of a new way of life. This means dying to yourself, and becoming alive in Christ, as was discussed in "The Call". God tells his people in Ezekiel 14:6 to "Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices." Also, in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 he says that repentance requires turning from your idols of this world to a new object of worship.

In dying to yourself, or in terminology from this week, renouncing your old ways, some of the object and idols in society today may be materialism, pornography, ungodly television/movies, etc. that you need to cut out or overcome in your repentance. There are aspects of our lives that we need to repent and work on always, we need to do a 360 and start charging to God instead of crawling away from his outstretched hand. Here is a quote that was shared in "The Call" that fits well with repentance: "For every Christian in every culture, repentance is necessary. But this does not mean that when we become followers of Jesus, we make a decided  break with an old way of living and take a decisive turn to a new way of life. We literally die to our sin and to ourselves - our self-centeredness, self-consumption, self-righteousness, self-indulgence, self-effort, and self-exaltation. We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us" and that is why we repent. Christ lives in us. Let us see what scripture says specifically about repentance:

In Acts 2:31-38 we are shown Peter proclaiming the good news of Christ's death for sin to the crowd's, when they ask him, "What shall we do?" Peter does not have them repeat a prayer, but he stares the crowd right in their eyes and says, "Repent!"

Acts 26:20 says, "First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds." We see that works do not secure salvation either before or after conversion, but they are a sign of the reality of repentance. Repentance is the first step and a foundational aspect of salvation and the Christian life, this cannot be overlooked.

2 Peter 3:8-9 says, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." It is important to understand that repenting is not just for the saved, but for those who are wanting to come to Christ. It is also equally as important to know repenting is not a one and one deal. It is ongoing in your conversation with God.

Isaiah 30:15 says, "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it." We have found the true way to salvation and security! It is repentance and rest, all we have to do is repent and rest.

Jeremiah 15:19 says, "Therefore this is what the Lord says: If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. In verses 20-21 we see God encourages and renews Jeremiah's call for his repentance. Only good will come from your relationship with God if you repent.

This is just some of the verses in scripture that speak to repentance, but they all lead to one thing: A relationship with God through Salvation and a new way of living as a disciple of Christ alive with Christ living in you. This is repentance, without it, you are without Christ.