What Does it Mean to Repent of Sin?
Introduction:
The word repentance is not a popular word in today’s society. It is not popular because if we call people to repentance then we are admitting that people are doing something wrong. People don’t like to be told that they are wrong or have been living the wrong way.
When you think of repentance, what do you think of? Perhaps you think of a preacher standing on a street corner, yelling for people to repent? Maybe you think of John the Baptist and his bold preaching.
Sometimes I think that repentance is a word that we just throw around sometimes and we do not fully understand what it means to repent of sin. This morning, and every message for that matter we hope and pray that each heart is open and receptive to hear God’s Word. Even to be convicted, brought to repentance, implement change in the life. However, there are some grave hindrances to sincere repentance. This morning before you can repent of sin you have to ensure that there is nothing hindering you from repenting.
Hindrances to Repentance…
1) Pride or Arrogance
We as people tend to not like to admit that we are wrong. That is called, pride. You may remember in the Genesis account of the fall of man, when Adam and Eve sinned, they were not necessarily repentant over their sin. In fact they knew they had sinned and they tried to hide from God. Then when confronted with their sin they failed to take any responsibility for their actions. When God confronted Adam about their sin he said, “The woman you put here with me gave it to me”. Eve when she was confronted said, “The serpent deceived me.” Not once was there as, “You know what, I messed up” moment with them. The reason why was because of their pride. Often times our pride hinders us from repentance because before we can repent we have to realize we are wrong. And if we realize we are wrong that means we are not perfect. Perhaps for some today their pride will hinder them from repentance because they do not want to see their faults.
2) Hard Heart
Sometimes people are hindered from repenting because their hearts are hard. It could be easy when someone realizes their own fault to shut themselves off from hearing or receiving God’s Word. In Acts 7 when Stephen preached he called the Jews a stiff-necked people who were uncircumcised in heart and ears. In other words they hard hardened their hearts towards the Word of God so that repentance and change were not possible. They were so hard hearted that did not receive that message well so they killed Stephen, but that did not take away the reality of their sin or what he was preaching.
There are many that are so hard hearted towards their actions that repentance does not come easy. Because of their constant sin, they have justified it in their minds, to the point where there are many who do not even see their sin as sin or as a big deal at all. They justify their wrong doing so long to where God eventually hands them over to do what they want to do. I hope today that no one is kept from repentance by a hard heart, but that when you receive the Word of God you may take it as a word from God and can repent if need be.
3) Love of Sin
Sometimes others will not repent of sin because they love sin too much.
One little boy prayed, "Dear Jesus, I’m so sorry I made such a mess in my room today." Then he added, "But I sure had fun doing it!"
True repentance comes down to a choice between stopping sin and continuing in the practice of sin. Many people will just flat out tell you that they cannot truly repent of their sin because they love and enjoy the practice of their sin too much. We cannot serve two masters, and we cannot love both God and the things of this world. I understand that there is a large part of us, which wants to gratify the desires that we have, but if we want to be in a right relationship with God we must leave behind those desires. Many people are never brought to repentance because they love their sin too much. Perhaps a drunk weeps over his sin, but yet his appetite for sin is too great to let go of that sin. The necessary outcome of repentance is a change and a abandoning of those sinful desires, and that outcome proves to be too great for some so that they are not willing to let go of their sin because of their love of sin.
4) Procrastination
Other people are hindered from repentance because of procrastination. I may be one of the world’s worst procrastinators, but there is one area of life, which we should not procrastinate and that is ensuring we are right with God and repenting of our sins, and obeying the Gospel. Many people come to conviction over their sins, they assure you that one-day they plan on changing. One day they plan on making it right, but they continue to procrastinate on actually making that decision. That is why Paul told the Corinthians, “Today is the day of salvation”. Heaven is too wonderful, Hell is too awful, and eternity is too long to put off repentance.
Text: Luke 13:1-5
I. The Necessity of Repentance
Repentance is so important that it is a major theme throughout the Bible. John the Baptist preached a message calling the people to repentance. Jesus made clear to his disciples that “repentance and the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name beginning is Jerusalem.” When Jesus addressed the seven churches is the book of revelation eight times he challenged them to “repent”. One of the main messages of the Old Testament prophets was a message calling the people to repentance. The most important thing that we can learn is that there is an absolute necessity for repentance on our behalf. There is not one person here who does not need to repent of sin before coming to Jesus and then on a daily basis after that. Repentance is not just a one-time event that we do, but it is something we do on a regular basis. There is a need for repentance because we all have sinned and are in need of forgiveness. There is a need for repentance because there is an alternative to repentance that we want no part of.
Luke 13:3
You see, Jesus answered a question about some of the Galileans who had been killed, and he made clear that they were not necessarily worse sinners than anyone else because they suffered, The application was that not just the “bad sinners”, but all people everywhere need to repent of sin and if they do not then they will perish. Obviously, the perishing that Jesus was speaking of was not just a physical perishing, but was an eternal perishing. What better need for repentance than the danger of an eternal punishment. We are sinners in need of forgiveness, and that forgiveness can only be obtained through our willingness to come before God and repent of our sins. Forgiveness of sins is not possible without repentance of sins. That is exactly why Peter told the onlookers at Pentecost that they must, “repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Both repentance and baptism were essential to having sins forgiven. It is important for us to realize that repentance is an individual thing that is necessary for everyone. We could have the tendency to think that “repentance isn’t for me” or “my sin is not as bad as their sin”, but regardless as to what we perceive the level of our sin, repentance is necessary for every individual. It is a command of God and if we violate a command, like this one, we will perish.
There was a fiery old revival preacher named Peter Cartwright who was famous for telling it like it was. He was preaching one time near Washington D.C. and the people of the church heard that Andrew Jackson was coming to visit. So they pulled Mr. Cartwright aside and said, "Listen Peter, the President is going to be here on Sunday and we know that sometimes you can get kind of offensive, so would you tone it down. We don’t want to upset the President." So Peter got up in the pulpit the next Sunday and his first three sentences were these. "I understand that the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson is with us this morning. I have been asked to be guarded in my remarks. Andrew Jackson will go to Hell is he doesn’t repent." The church was appalled, but when worship was over Andrew Jackson grabbed Mr. Cartwright’s hand, shook it and said, "Sir, if I had an army of men like you I could whip the world."
I do not care who you are, what you have done, what your title or position is, unless you repent then you will perish.
II. The Meaning of Repentance
A. Repentance is not…
1. Being Sorry or Feeling Guilty
We translate the word “repentance” very poorly into English. Our word “repentance” comes from a Latin word, which literally means, “to be made sorry again”. That was not the intent of the Biblical meaning of the word.
Matthew 27:3-4
This situation with Judas is interesting. Many versions say in verse three that Judas “repented himself”. He did in fact change his mind, and perhaps was sorrowful over his sin; his repentance though was not sincere. Most of the time he when we read the word “repentance” in Scripture it is the Greek word “metanoia”. This word is not used for the remorse that was describing Judas. The word used to describe Judas meant a feeling of concern or remorse. Now, many times this type of feeling of remorse can lead to true repentance, but for Judas it remained just a feeling of guilt and sorrow over wrong. If Judas had been truly repentant he would have gone back to Jesus and would have asked forgiveness rather than committing suicide. He was sorry, but not sincerely repentant.
One of the boldest books of the Bible is the book of I Corinthians. All throughout the book Paul rebukes the Corinthians false ideas and doctrines as well as the practiced sin among them. He called them to repentance.
II Corinthians 7:8-11
Notice in this that Paul referenced what he called “his former letter” meaning the book we call I Corinthians, and he spoke about how his writing may have caused sorrow, but that the sorrow lead to repentance. If they would have remained sorry it would not have been enough and Paul distinguishes plainly between sorrow and repentance. Sorrow is good because it leads to repentance, but sorrow is not the same as repentance.
Many times we may feel sorry or guilty for things we have done, but don’t assume that because you feel guilt or sorrow that you have repented.
I am an older brother, and I cannot tell you how many little “spats” I got into with my younger brothers. Of course I dominated them all the time, and sometimes they would end up hurt, that’s what happens when you don’t realize your own strength. When I would hurt one of them I realized it was bad for me, because I would get in trouble. So, immediately I would try to bribe them from going and telling my parents. However, it never failed they would always tell on me, and besides getting in trouble, my Mom would always make me apologize to them, and to be quite honest I wasn’t usually too sorry that I did it, I was sorry they got hurt perhaps. I would always say, “Okay, fine, I’m sorry”. That’s not real repentance.
There is nothing wrong with feeling sorry or guilty for wrongs you do, in fact it is that godly sorrow which leads to repentance according to Paul, but that sorrow is not repentance itself.
I cannot tell you how many times someone has sat down with me and talked with me, and perhaps they realize their sin, and the gravity of their sin, and they begin to cry because they are sorrowful that they have disobeyed God. I have seen people exceedingly filled with guilt and sorrow, and then when they learn that some sort of change is expected in response, they don’t like it too much. Of course they may have been sincere in their sorrow, but there was absolutely no repentance. What they wanted was reassurance that they were okay with God. They wanted someone to pat them on the back. They wanted someone to tell them that since they were sorry that it equated repentance. One of the saddest things for me is to see someone repentant only after they are caught in their sin. Often times they are not repentant and sorry that they did what they did, but they are sorry that they got caught. Now sometimes it does take your sin being exposed before you come to conviction over sin, but that doesn’t equate repentance. Just because you are sorry for some sin in your life does not mean you have repented of that sin.
2. Done to Escape Consequences
A fellow named Louie, deep in debt, was thinking of ending it all. "That’s ridiculous," says his neighbor, who was a chemist. "Look, I can give you a pill that will put you in a state of suspended animation. I’ll say you died - but then I’ll ship your body to another state, where you can be revived and start a new life."
Louie agreed, and the next day he was laid out in the funeral parlor with everyone lined up to pay their last respects. The 1st creditor goes up to the coffin and says, "Louie, why did you do it! So you owed me $15,000. What’s $15,000 between friends?
Then the 2nd creditor goes up and says, "Louie, all you had to do was ask. I would have extended the $50,000 you owed me indefinitely."
Now a 3rd creditor goes up to the coffin. "Louie, you dirty rat! You borrowed $200,000 from me and now I’ve lost my house and business. Well, you may be dead but I’m going to get my vengeance. I’m going to take this 8 inch butcher knife, stick in your heart and twist it once for every dollar you borrowed from me."
With this, Louie opens one eye and ever so slightly, lifts his index finger and says "You - I’ll pay."
Sometimes we show remorse and offer change because we feel we have no other choice. Repentance is a choice we make, but we do it because we want to get right with God not because we don’t want to be in trouble or face consequences. Many times I will see people say they are repentant over their sin because they hope that them doing that will remove the earthly consequences for their sin, but that is not real repentance.
3. Admitting You Are Wrong
From time to time all of us have been known to be wrong on something. Often times that wrongdoing merits a need for repentance. I want to make it clear that admitting wrong though noble, does not equate repentance of a wrong. Just because you admit you were wrong does not mean any repentance took place. An old boy says, “I said I was wrong, what more do you want?” Well…the answer is we want a sincere repentance.
4. Penance
We all do it to a certain extent. The Roman Catholic Church was known well for their offers of penance. They would have some type of punishment offered as a means to obtain forgiveness. We do it too, if we get into a mess we may say something like, “God if you’ll forgive me I’ll go to church every day for the rest of my life and spend 4 hours a day in prayer.” That certainly is not the same as repentance. Taking punishment or consequences even willingly does not mean that we have repented. We cannot earn our repentance by any good deeds that we do.
B. Repentance is…
It is important for us to get a good definition of what real Biblical repentance is. I like J.W. McGarvey’s definition of repentance where he defines repentance as a “change of the mind or will caused by a sorrow for sin and leading to the reformation of life.” The actual Greek word that we translate as “repent” is the word “metanoia”, which literally means to have another mind. Others have defined repentance as a one hundred and eighty degree turn or an about face, or a change of direction. With repentance the idea is that you were headed in the wrong direction and you turn around and head in the right direction. My favorite definition of repentance is that repentance is a change of the mind, a change of the heart, and a change of the will that leads to a change in action. For within that definition we see exactly what is expected of us when we sincerely repent.
1. A Change of the Mind
Repentance begins with a change of your mind or how you think. Along with repentance your mind should change about God, who He is and what place He will have in your life. It should change about others and how you view people. It should change regarding sin. Repentance should bring about a change to where you do not want to live a lifestyle of sin because you see the consequences of sin and no longer want to wrong God.
2. A Change of the Will
Repentance should also involve a change of the will. What you want to do should change with real repentance. No longer do you want to only please your sinful desires, but you want to submit to God’s Law.
3. A Change of the Actions
The most important aspect of repentance for us to grasp is that true repentance involves a life change or a reformation of the lifestyle.
Matthew 3:7-10
John demanded something more than just an apology or a verbal feeling bad for their actions, but he wanted fruits or proof through their actions that their repentance was sincere.
You remember the story of the prodigal or lost son. Jesus told a parable about a son who wanted his inheritance from his father early. So he took it and left home and went off into the far country. As it turns out that son quickly squandered all the money he was given, and then look what Jesus said about this son…
Luke 15:17-21
At one point in time the son realized his mistake, he realized he messed up, and he was sorrowful over his sin. It would have been easy for the son to stay out there in the pigpen he was in and pout and stay sorry for himself, but that was not repentance. He changed his actions; he knew that he had to come back to the father. That is what repentance is. Many people rather than really repenting stay and are sorry for what they have done, but where true repentance takes place is coming back to the Father.
Throughout the Scriptures we read of people’s sins and mistakes, but along with that we also see many instances of a true and sincere repentance.
1. David
One of the best examples of repentance in Scripture is that of King David. He royally messed up with Bathsheba. He not only committed adultery, but he lied and committed murder to cover up his sin. Finally, the prophet Nathan regarding his sin confronted him and his response showed what true repentance is all about. Notice, David greatly sinned, there is no denying that, however, it is his sincere repentance that will be remembered more than his sin.
Psalm 51:10-12
It is amazing that despite that sin, David is remembered for being a “man after God’s own heart.”
2. Nineveh
Judgment was sure to come on the people of Nineveh because of their wickedness, and only one thing could spare them from God’s coming wrath, a sincere change and repentance. After Jonah finally went to the city and warned them about the coming judgment they were sincerely repentant over their past actions and promised to make a change.
Jonah 3:4-5; 10
Because of their repentance and the sincerity of their change, God relented and did not judge the city as he intended on doing.
3. The 3,000
One of the boldest sermons ever preached was the first Gospel sermon ever preached. We have recorded in Acts chapter two some of Peter’s words in that sermon. In that message he taught the thousands of onlookers that they crucified Jesus, and along with that would have been well aware of the grave consequences in playing a role in the death of the Son of God
Acts 2:36-41
We do not know how everyone responded to Peter’s message, we do know that they people were cut to the heart, they were under conviction for their role in the death of Jesus, and that conviction lead 3,000 of them to sincere repentance. They were told to repent and be baptized, and we know that 3,000 of those people followed through with that charge of Peter’s.
4. Zacchaeus
When Jesus came to the city of Jericho he came across this short tax-collector named Zacchaeus. Tax collectors were hated in Jesus’ day and were known for their dishonesty. The way in which they made money was by over taxing the people and pocketing the difference. Apparently, Zacchaeus was good at his job because he was wealthy, probably by extorting money from the people. When he came across Jesus his mindset changed and we see true repentance.
Luke 19:8-10
Zacchaeus not only was repentant, but he wanted to make his wrongs right, he wanted to make restitution for his wrongs. I think this is a great example of sincere repentance. Can you imagine the sight, as this tax collector went door to door, this time not collecting money, but giving it away? I wish an IRS agent would knock on my door giving restitution and not making collection. I think this tax collector shows that perhaps sincere repentance may even cause us to have to make sacrifices in our lives. We may have to give up habits, relationships, or other things which we enjoy because we are repentant and want to make our wrongs right.
"The story is told of a shoplifter who writes to a department store and says, "I’ve just become a Christian, and I can’t sleep at night because I feel guilty. So here’s $100 that I owe you." "Then he signs his name, and in a little postscript at the bottom he adds, "If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the rest."
Biblical repentance is always followed by a change of lifestyle.
III. The Effect of Repentance (and unrepentnace)
A. There is a Negative Effect for Unrepentnace
Some years ago a murderer was sentenced to death. The murderer’s brother, to whom the State was deeply indebted for former services, besought the governor of the State for his brother’s pardon. The pardon was granted, and the man visited his brother with the pardon in his pocket. “What would you do,” he said to him, “if you received a pardon?” “The first thing I would do,” he answered, “is to track down the judge who sentenced me, and murder him; and the next thing I would do is to track down the chief witness, and murder him.” The brother rose, and left the prison with the pardon in his pocket.
The negative effect of unrepentance is no pardon for sin.
Matthew 11:20-24
B. There is a Positive Effect for Sincere Repentance
There is a positive effect of sincere repentance of sin. First of all, we learn that the angels in Heaven rejoice at one sinner who repents. Second of all, there is a blessed in having you sins forgiven.
Psalm 32:1
I John 1
I believe God is faithful to the truth that when we repent of our sins he will forgive us, but we must understand that repentance is not forgiveness itself. Forgiveness must take place in that mind of the one who was offended.
