R Is For Repent Series

Introduction

1.

2. As we continue our ABCs, we come to the letter R...

R is for repent...

At first thought, you might think that talking about repentance would be better suited to our Sunday Morning congregation...

Since Wednesday Evenings, it is usually the faithful Christians that attend services...

and faithful, saved/sanctified Christians don’t need to worry about repentance...do they?...

well...that’s what I hope to address tonight...

Read Text: Luke 17:1-4

I want us to look at 3 different types or kinds of repentance...

and none of them relate to committing sin...

1. I’m sorry things didn’t turn out as planned. Genesis 6:6; 1 Samuel 15:11

A. In Genesis 6:6...the Bible says,

“And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth,

and it grieved him at his heart.”

God is God...

Perfect in all His ways...

He doesn’t make mistakes...

He doesn’t commit sin...

So, if God doesn’t sin...

Why does the Lord “repent” for creating mankind?...

When God repents...

He is not repenting for His own sin...

He is saying, “I’m sorry that things did not turn out as planned”...

God created mankind to be in sweet fellowship and communion with Him...

He wants us to love Him and serve Him...

But He also allows us the freedom to go our own way...

and when we choose to abandon God...

and embrace a lifestyle of sin...

then it grieves God’s heart...

In 1 Samuel 15:11...God repents again...

He says,

It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king:

for he is turned back from following me,

and hath not performed my commandments.

Saul served God for a time...

But he turned back...

and it grieved God’s heart that He had set Saul up to be king...

He regretted it...

B. Does this kind of repentance apply to saved/sanctified Nazarenes?...

Sure it does...

There are times when things don’t turn out as planned...

I know of people who have raised their children in a Christian home...

they took their kids to church...

they taught them the tenets of their faith...

But their children have rejected the faith of their parents...

and have fallen to the sinful allure of the world with all of its temptations...

and it grieves the parents heart...

They are sorry that things have turned out as they have...

C. In those situations...

it doesn’t mean that the Christian has committed sin...

and needs to repent of it...

and repentance can also speak of regret and sorrow according to God’s Word...

2. I’m sorry that I’m not the person that I ought to be.

A. Saved/Sanctified Christians are never content with the status quo...

they are always striving for a closer relationship with the Lord...

And the truly humble Christian will recognize that there is still a large gap between where we are...

and where we could be...

and even the saved, sanctified Christian will be sorry that they aren’t closer to God like they should be...

B. God doesn’t share in this type of repentance...

There is no gap between where God is and where He should be...

He’s perfect in every way...

But His people do share in this type of repentance...

Even saved, sanctified Christians...

We, in the Holiness Tradition, define sin as the willful transgression against a known law of God...

a willful/voluntary disobedience of God’s law...

So, a Christian can follow God...

and live a Christian life...

and they can follow God’s will and God’s way...

and they may not have committed sin...

and still, there’s a gap between us and God...

The good Christian is not content with this gap...

and just because we haven’t fallen into sin...

that doesn’t mean that we can just shrug our shoulders...

and nonchalantly say...”oh well, no one’s perfect”...

We know that we must continue to “press on toward the mark” (Philippians 3:14)...

And we “must not become weary in doing good”...Galatians 6:9

While we remain in this life...

we strive...we grow...we press on...

So, while the Christian may not have committed sin...

they could still say, “I’m sorry I’m not the person that I could be”...

And we continue to press on to narrowing the gap...

3. I’m sorry; please forgive me.

A. A good Christian will frequently repent when there’s been a miscommunication...

or a misunderstanding...

Recently, several of us were at Cracker Barrel after one of the revival services...

I was horsing around and threw a straw wrapper at one of our faithful church members...

I intended to throw it in front of her just to get her intention...

But I hit her in the face with the straw wrapper...

and she jumped...

now, I don’t think she took offense...

But later, I told her that I was sorry...

I didn’t intend to hit her like that...