(Some of the illustrations and a few of the points in this message were gained from researching what other contributors to this wonderful site have shared on this subject. Credit and thanks to them.)
Last week, we talked about the importance of humbling ourselves before God. We talked about feeling anguish over the things that grieve God. We talked about our desire to see a Holy Spirit revival come to our hearts, our families, our church, and our community. Today, I want to build on that sermon by talking about the importance of repentance.
Repentance is a word you don’t hear as much about in today’s preaching. Yet is at the very heart of the gospel of salvation. It is at the very heart of a vital intimate relationship with God. It is at the heart of a powerful and effective prayer life. It is the one of the key elements in preparing our hearts for revival.
What repentance IS: Repentance means to turn FROM sin and TOWARD God. It is an INWARD conviction that results in a change in OUTWARD choices and behaviors.
What repentance is NOT: It doesn’t have to be an emotional decision. When I was younger, I waited to become a Christian because I thought it was supposed to be an emotional moment when I repented. I had seen others come forward in tears to become a Christian. So I was waiting for a service where I was moved to tears before I gave my life to Christ. But, looking back, I realize that I just wasn't an outwardly emotional person as a kid. Now, since marrying and having children, I cry at the drop of a hat (movies, sappy stories, etc). But back then, I didn't cry much. I eventually realized that repentance is state of mind whereby you agree with God that you want to flee sin and obey Him.
Repentance is not a state of perfection. It is not a state of perfection. I don't want anyone to hear this sermon today and think, "I still sin. I must not be repentant and therefore not saved." The difference between a repentant believer and an unrepentant unbeliever is that, you may not be perfect, but your INTENT is to please God. When you DO sin, it bothers you and you desire to confess it and receive God’s forgiveness. You want to deal with the sin in your life and overcome it.
Repentance is at the heart of salvation. There are many today who preach a salvation message that does not stress the importance of repentance. Some teach that a profession of faith in Christ is all that is needed for salvation. So many today want to build a whole doctrine around one verse without considering the full context of God’s Word on the subject. For example, a lot of people look to the Romans 10: 9 and say that belief and a profession of faith is all it takes to be saved. Romans 10: 9, “… if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
But I could take you to verses that link every step of the salvation process with repentance. One verse that cuts straight to the chase is… Luke 13: 3, “… But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” But, to me, the most clear cut verse in all the Bible is in Acts 2. The apostles are asked a DIRECT QUESTION about what the people needed to do to receive salvation and they give a DIRECT ANSWER. Acts 2: 37 – 39, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
I must admit I have mixed feelings when I hear a preacher lead a group of people in a prayer and then say, “If you prayed that prayer, you just got saved.” A crusade is held and hundreds or thousands mouth a prayer and leave believing they were just saved. First of all, baptism is also an important part of washing your sins away and publicly identifying with Christ. But, second of all, did the people truly have repentant hearts or were they just interested in saying some "magic words" and getting a “get out of Hell free” card? The best indicator is to simply examine the fruit of their life four, six, or twelve months down the road. Jesus said that, if we want to know what kind of tree a particular tree is, just examine its fruit. By extension, I believe He was talking about people. Just watch them over time and examine their fruit. Are they striving to live for Christ and growing in their faith? Or have they gone right back to the life they were living before?
Salvation requires genuine repentance. Repentance has occurred when there is a true and complete commitment to change. The Apostle Paul clarified it this way in Acts 26: 20, “… I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” Jesus said it this way in Matthew 3: 8, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” We're not saved BY our good works, but rather FOR good works. If we truly have repented of our sins, there should be a difference in our words, choices, thoughts, and actions that follow. It's not an overnight change, but a process of sanctification begins as the Holy Spirit works in our life.
I fear there are many today who are going through life with a false sense of eternal security. They profess to be Christians, but they are living carnal lives and seem to have no conviction in their hearts about it. 1 John 1: 5 – 6 says, “… God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” There are so many people in our culture today who call themselves Christians, but they are not really pursuing righteous living. About such people, 1 John 2: 3 – 4 says, “We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not do what He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.”
Chances are there are people in this room today who have never truly repented of their sins and are in need of salvation. Somewhere along the line you mouthed some words and maybe even took a dip in a baptistery. But there was no real inward commitment to change your life. There was no anguish over sin and desire for holiness. Perhaps you need to come today and profess Him as Lord AND receive Him with a repentant heart.
One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin. Speaking of the Holy Spirit, John 16: 8 says, “When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment…” But I’m not just talking about the Holy Spirit convicting UNBELIEVERS of their sin. I’m talking about the ongoing role the Holy Spirit plays in convicting BELIEVERS of the sin in their life.
This is called CONVICTION. It’s similar to guilt, but yet very different. Guilt is something that weighs you down and keeps you from moving on in life. Conviction is the inward voice of the Spirit pointing out the things in your life that must be chiseled away in order to become more like Christ. 2 Corinthians 7: 10 - 11 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves to regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this Godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done…”
It’s been my prayer for today that the Holy Spirit will move in this service today and convict ALL of our hearts of our need of repentance.
For some today, maybe there are secret sins that you’ve been harboring. Things look good on the outside, but I pray that the Holy Spirit will bring things before your heart that He wants to put to death. I believe God wants to speak to us today about COMPLETE REPENTANCE. Repentance of the big things – and the little things in our lives... Repentance of the easy things – and the hard things in our lives... Repentance of the public things – and the private things in our lives.
At the heart of every revival experienced in history, there is a mass, Holy Spirit anointing of conviction of sin. And that anointing comes when people are humbled, ready to hear from God, and ready to take action on WHATEVER God shows them. Are we really ready for that today? When asked, what church is NOT going to say they want revival? But why then do we not see more churches experiencing true revival of the Holy Spirit? I want you to understand that this sounds good in a Sunday morning service, but real repentance is HARD, gut-wrenching, and can be painful. A lot of people pray for revival because they think it would be a neat experience. Over the long term, revival is glorious and wonderful. But, in the short-term, it is painful and marked by sacrifice. It’s been said that reviving the Church is like remodeling your house. It takes longer than you hoped, costs more than you planned, and makes a bigger mess than you ever thought possible… But it’s worth it in the end!
So I ask you today, church, do you REALLY want the conviction of the Holy Spirit to fall upon you? Every time you turn the channel or click on the computer to a place where you don’t need to be. Every time you open your mouth to spread gossip or speak vulgarity? Every time you spend all your money on yourself instead of tithing? Every time you skip church or miss opportunities to sow seeds into the lives of your children or your spouse? If we’re honest, I’m not sure everyone here today would really want that. Because so many today have grown accustomed to playing church. We come to church and go through the routine. We stand and sing when we’re supposed to. We nod silent approval at the sermon, but then we go home and do the VERY THINGS that God’s truth revealed shouldn’t be in our life! But it’s okay because no one knows. In fact, most everyone else probably has that problem or something similar. We don’t want to get too radical anyway. We’re GOOD ENOUGH Christians.
True revival is born out of repentance. A key element of the great revivals of history is that people feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and take it to heart. J. Edwin Orr, a professor of Church history has described the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the Welsh Revivals of the nineteenth century. As people fell under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, they did all they could to confess their wrong doing and to make restitution. But it unexpectedly created serious problems for the shipyards along the coast of Wales. Over the years workers had stolen all kinds of things, from wheelbarrows to hammers. However, as people sought to be right with God they started to return what they had taken, with the result that soon the shipyards of Wales were overwhelmed with returned property. There were such huge piles of returned tools that several of the yards put up signs that read, "If you have been led by God To return what you have stolen, Please know that the management forgives you and wishes you to keep what you have taken." This is opposed to the story of the man who felt convicted about having cheated on his income taxes for several years. So he mailed a check to the IRS along with a note that read: “I have felt so guilt over cheating on my taxes that I have been unable to sleep at night. Please accept this check as restitution for what I’ve done. In a few weeks, if I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the rest.”
Conviction comes from the truth of God. And God’s truth usually finds one of three reactions:
1. Apathy – Those that hear the Word, but they just either have a hardened heart or just don’t take it seriously
2. Anger – Then there are those who get angry, defensive, and offended. I don’t worry about someone getting upset and leaving the church if the reason they’re leaving is that they’re offended by the truth. Those with hardened or prideful hearts don’t want anything to do with correction, conviction, or reproof. If we want to be revived and led by the Holy Spirit, we cannot worry about offending people. We need only be concerned with what offends GOD.
3. Conviction – Then there are the beautiful times when people have their heart pierced by the Word of God. When the Holy Spirit makes us aware of sin, the appropriate response is to confess them to God and ask His forgiveness. 1 John 1: 9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
True repentance leads to change. When we’re truly repentant, we are willing to make drastic changes to get that sin out of our life. We don’t want to compromise with or mess around with sin any more. Mark 9: 43 – 48, “If your hand causes you to sin, but it off. It is better to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eyes causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell…” By using the metaphor of a hand, a foot, and an eye, this passage is likely talking about the things we DO, the places we GO, and the things we VIEW. Some people here today are going to the wrong places and hanging with the wrong people. Some people here today are secretly viewing the wrong kinds of television, movies, magazines, websites, etc. Some people are making choices that are leading you further and further from God. And perhaps the Spirit is saying to you, “TODAY is the day for you to confess these sins, CUT these things out of your life, and make a change.
Sin is like spiritual nova cane that prevents us from feeling the things of the Spirit we need to feel. We can get so deep in sin that we no longer even hear the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit. We can get so engrossed in sin that we no longer feel the need to spend time with the Lord in prayer. We can get so enamored with sin that we lose our desire to be in the Lord’s house and in fellowship with the people of God.
Repentance is key to a revived relationship with God. God promises that, if we will draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. James 4: 8 – 10 says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
Let me take you back to the scripture I shared with you last week. You’re going to be seeing this scripture frequently over the next few weeks as we focus on preparing for revival. 2 Chronicles 7: 14, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Here we see that one of the things that must happen before God sends a spirit of revival is that we must turn from sin.
As we approach a time of invitation, perhaps someone here today needs to accept Christ as their Savior. Or perhaps someone wants to come publicly today to recommit to living for Christ and producing fruit in keeping with repentance. If I know this church family the way I think I do, you won't find judgment, but just love, support, accountability, encouragement, and prayer support. Perhaps some would like to come and pray during this time. Whatever the Spirit is leading you to do, obey as we stand and sing.
