Characteristics Of Repentance

Colin McGeer Page 1 2002/06/27

Characteristics of Repentance

James 4:7-10

7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

This letter, as a whole, was written to spiritually young, Jewish converts.

James describes 6 characteristics of genuine repentance.

(1) submission to God,

(2) resistance of the devil,

(3) drawing near to God,

(4) cleansing of hands, and purifying the heart,

(5) Grieving, mourning, and weeping,

(6) humbling oneself in the sight of the Lord.

Colin McGeer Page 2

Characteristics of Repentance

(1) Submitting to God

Submission is the opposite of human pride.

If you want to draw near to God, it requires your submission to God.

You cannot repent if you are unwilling to submit to Jesus sovereign authority in your life.

If you consider yourself to be a child of God yet you will not submit to the will of God because you are uncomfortable with the thought, or because your offended that anyone would suggest that you let go of what you may consider to be your independence, then you should reconsider just how genuine your faith is. The rich young ruler

You choose to submit it is a voluntary.

It means I commit myself entirely to God’s will. He in turn entirely protects us. (I submit because I know he wants the best for my life) Like a doctor wants good health for you.

Psalm 91

1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shall thou trust:

Colin McGeer Page 3

Characteristics of Repentance

Proverbs 3:5

1My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2For length of days, and longa life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4So shalt thou find favour and goodb understanding in the sight of God and man. 5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Those whom God is calling to Himself, those who are truly being led by the Spirit of God, will voluntarily submit to the authority of Jesus Christ in their lives as children of God.

If you truly repent, then you must swallow your pride and not only acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Saviour, but you must also submit to Him as the Lord of your life.

Jesus must have complete control of your life. Story of aircraft on ship deck.

Submitting to God means that you consciously, intelligently, purposefully put yourself under God’s control.

Colin McGeer Page 4

Characteristics of Repentance

It is not just an act you perform at conversion; it is a daily choice from my side to submit.

Romans 12:1-2

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1 Corinthians 15:31

31 I die every day!

(2) Resist The Devil

Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.

We are tempted in all forms of ways.

Colin McGeer Page 5

Characteristics of Repentance

Galatians 5:19

19Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I

have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God

Sin does not start with some large action. It begins with a thought.

When a person commits adultery that is not where the actual sin began. It started as a thought and pondered on long enough became lust and then the actual action.

Colin McGeer Page 6

Characteristics of Repentance

Matthew 5:27

27Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29And if thy right eye offendd thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.