Repentance of Sin

“Jesus told this story: A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’ And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ” Luke 15:11-24
What does "repentance" as put forth in the Bible mean? Let's look at Luke 13:1-5 where Jesus spoke of repentance: "...unless you repent you shall likewise perish” (speaking of sinners who had perished). Jesus was telling them to look at their own sins and not just at the sins of others.

Remember in Romans 3:23 that the Bible says "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"; and in Galatians 3:22 "... the scripture has concluded that all are under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."

CHANGES ARE CAUSED BY REPENTANCE:
1) “Change of heart" - our attitude about that sin has changed to that of God's attitude;
2) The “will” is affected - the ingredient (true repentance) necessary to strengthen our will, so that change takes place, had been added.
3) “Change in conduct” (or life) - the external evidences (fruits) that "show" that our repentance is true.

REPENTANCE HAS SEVEN STEPS, OR PARTS:
1) “CONVICTION OF SIN” (Acts 2:36-8; Psalms 51) - "they were pricked in their heart" translates "to pierce thoroughly" or to “be convicted” --- found themselves “guilty as charged!”.

2) “SORROW or CONTRITION” (2 Corinthians 7:8-10) - 2 types:
a) “Godly sorrow”- "produces repentance leading to salvation" NKJV
b) "Worldly sorrow” - “produces death", or leads to spiritual death (it is just superficial or shallow).

3) “CONFESSION OF FAULT" - to admit one's faults or sins to others and to God. In Luke 15:11-32 Jesus tells the story of the "Prodigal Son" that illustrates how God perceives us, and how we should perceive God.

4) “RENUNCIATION" (Isaiah 55:7; 2 Corinthians 4:1-2) - to renounce, abandon, get rid of it.

5) “RESTITUTION" (Luke 19:8) - undo what we have done wrong, if we can.

6) “REFORMATION" (Matthew 3:7-8; 2 Timothy 2:19; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) - bring to a right relationship; changes were made.

7) “TRANSFORMATION" or “renewing of our mind” into the "mind of Christ".
(2 Corinthians 4:16; 5:17; Romans 12:1-2, 9-21; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Ephesians 4:22-5:21).

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
You can accept the authority of Christ by doing what He commanded (Matthew 7:21; John 14:15; 15:10-14; Luke 6:46). Notice the pattern for becoming a Christian as revealed in the Scriptures. The Gospel was heard, resulting in faith (Romans 10:17). Repentance of (turning away from) sin (Acts 17:30) and confession of Jesus as the Son of God followed (Romans 10:10). Believers were baptized INTO Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins (See Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Peter 3:20-21), and added to His church (Acts 2:47). Christians were taught to be faithful even to the point of death (Revelation 2:10).

WE WELCOME YOU
Following the instructions of the Scriptures, members of Christ’s body assemble as congregations for worship, encouragement, and Bible study. The congregation in your community welcomes you to investigate the Bible with us. With a spirit of brotherly love we would seek to reconcile any differences by following the Bible ONLY. We recognize the Bible as God’s inspired word, the ONLY reliable standard of faith and practice. We desire the unity for which Christ prayed and which the Bible emphasizes in the expression, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Together we seek to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

A friendly welcome awaits you. We do not wish to embarrass you in any way. You will not be asked for contributions. We assemble for Bible study and worship each Sunday morning and we welcome you to meet with us. We would be happy to talk to you about your questions and we want to be of encouragement.

Please e-mail me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruths@hotmail.com for comments or further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.

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