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...
Did I commit sin?...
Not according to the John Wesley description that I shared earlier...
But, there could have been a misunderstanding...
or a miscommunication...
so, I wanted to apologize...
B. As long as Jesus tarries...
there is the possibility of miscommunication between His children...
so it is certainly appropriate and it is advisable...
and those words, “I’m sorry, please forgive me” be used frequently...
it keeps the relationship between husband and wife going smoothly...
it helps the relationship between parents and children...
and it helps the relationship between Christians.
C. In fact, if the Christian ever gets to the point where he/she thinks they’ve arrived...
and they NEVER need to say they are sorry for misunderstandings...
then, they have become prideful...
and they need to repent for that...
because pride IS a sin!
D. Jesus told one church, in Revelation chapter 3...
That when they were saying that they had need of nothing...
He said, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.”
Conclusion
1. Well certainly repentance is called for when we commit sin...
our text tells us that if a Christian commits sin...
we should confront him...
And if he repents...
we must forgive him...
2. But, there are other times when repentance is appropriate for the Christian...
But it is not because of sin...
we are sorry when things don’t turn out as we wished...
we are saddened in our heart when our children don’t follow our faith...
we are grieved with the altar call goes unheeded by those who are lost without Jesus...
We are sorry...even in our Christian walk...
empowered by the Holy Spirit...
that, even though we may not have committed willful sin...
we haven’t lived up to our fullest potential...
and there’s a gap that remains between us and God...
And finally, we will say, “I’m sorry, please forgive me”...
when miscommunication or misunderstanding come...
and we don’t allow that to become a wedge so that hard feelings grow between Christians.
3. Repentance is the key to revival...
repentance is the key to spiritual growth for the Christian...
and let me close by saying one more time...
when the Christian gets to the point where they feel that they don’t ever have the need to repent...
then they have need to repent for sin...
the sin of pride.
