REPENTANCE
Bishop M.L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING:- Last week I taught on Matthew 28:19 & Acts 2:38. I explained the command that Jesus gave and how Peter on the Day of Pentecost along with the rest of the disciples fulfilled that command and revealed the name of the father, the son, and the Holy Ghost as Jesus Christ. I then went to 2 Corinthians 5:21 which says “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”.
I explained how Jesus Christ is the propitiation (appeasement - The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement, or satisfaction, specifically towards God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him) for our sins 1 John 2:2 says “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”. 1 John 4:10 says “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins”. Romans 3:25 says “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God”. Jesus took our place on Calvary’s cross. He paid a debt he did not owe and we owe a debt we could not pay.
This was done not because we love God, not because we have done some great work, not because we deserve it at all, but because He loves us. Romans 5:8 says “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. 1 John 4:9 says “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him”. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
Because what Jesus did for us that is why we do what we do!!!!!
Sadly many people today are confused about repentance and how to be saved. It seems two of the most common verses of Scripture used in these latter days on how to be saved are the following. Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved”. Some preachers, regardless of their denomination and theological stance, seem to indicate that nothing else is necessary other than saying a little unbiblical prayer. They indicate this by saying nothing about the one thing that is an absolute necessity for salvation. That absolute is "repentance." Another verse many people stand on for salvation is Acts 16:31 “Believe on the lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”. Again, many seem to stand on this verse alone for salvation without mentioning the necessity of repenting of sin.
Some Preachers today are saying, you don’t have to do nothing to be saved except believe and say a sinner's prayer. This is not true. Two absolutes you must do are: repent of your sins and confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, as the only hope you have of being saved. Yes, we are to call on the name of the Lord in prayer. Yes, we are to believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, God in the flesh. Yes, we are to believe that He died for our sins, and rose from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. Yes, we are to believe that Jesus Christ is the Living Word and that He came to earth to redeem men from their sins. But to say that all we are to do is call on the name of the Lord and believe on Him is not all that God’s Word requires. We must repent of our sins, turn from our wicked ways, and we must never be ashamed of Jesus. We are to be willing to stand up for Jesus and be willing to confess Him.
Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that god hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”. This is true but when you understand the context of this scripture you understand that Paul is writing to people that have been born again and is making a declaration to them and not a statement of salvation.
In Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”. This is the foundation of the Apostolic Church. Remember we are not called Apostolic because it sounds good but because we follow after the Apostles Doctrine and the teaching of Jesus Christ.
Today I want to talk about the Doctrine of REPENTANCE!!!!
Someone may say why preach about repentance? Well my answer is simple Jesus preached it. Mark 1:14-15 says “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel”. The gospel Jesus preached was the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven / Kingdom of God and He said repent and believe the gospel, so repentance is central to believing the gospel as a matter of fact it is the prerequisite to belief.
REPENTANCE IS ABSOLUTE! – This simply means every person must do it or there is no hope of salvation. This is often ignored in many churches and by many preachers. This absolute is the very first word that Peter is recorded saying when he was asked by the people what they must do he said Repent. Jesus Christ is recorded 7 times in the 4 Gospels as saying that a person must Repent. God’s program is centered around trying to get men to REPENT. Jesus Christ tells us from Luke 13, verse 3 and 5 “I tell you, nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish”. Again, in verse 5, Jesus repeats “I tell you, nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish”.
Salvation depends upon faith that is prerequisite by repentance. Conviction produces repentance and repentance leads to salvation 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death”. Repentance in essence is the evidence of turning from unbelief to belief of God's Word - as speaking in tongues is the evidence of the Holy Ghost.
1. WHAT IS REPENTANCE? :- One definition of repentance is "a change of mind" - a decision, a choice, a determination of the heart, a deliberate exercise of the will - in which one determines to act differently in the future than he has in the past. Repentance actually is a 2 part concept:- 1st is a change of mind – you don’t think the way you used to think ; 2nd there has to be a corresponding change of life – you don’t do what you used to do.
Romans 12:1-2 says “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. 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”. This scripture truly sums up REPENTANCE – it calls for a change in mind and a change in actions. This change in thinking and change of life is produced by godly sorrow (conviction) which produces repentance (change) which leads to salvation (conversion). REPENTANCE is a conscious decision to cease sinning and begin serving God.
2. Preceding Repentance:- Before true repentance takes place there must be a hearing of the Word of God. Acts 2:14-37 Peter is preaching. The preaching of God’s word produces godly sorrow.
3. WHAT DOES GODLY SORROW DO? Found only one time in the Bible “godly sorrow” is highly important in repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death”. Godly sorrow produces in you an earnest and eagerness to clear yourself of wrong, it sets off an alarm and a longing and readiness to be justified. Godly sorrow is a kind of condemnation that will bring the repented sinner to tears, grief, and a longing to be changed. This is what happened in Acts 2:37 when Peter preached and revealed unto them Jesus Christ. Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do’.
Psalm 38:18 say “For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin”. Simply admitting one has sinned is not enough. There are some who know they have sinned but don’t care or regret that they have sinned, they are confused, mislead, and have a misconception of repentance. Some feel what do I have to repent of – Trump just made that very stated to Anderson Cooper a couple of weeks ago.
Joel 2:12-13 says “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil”. To be saved one must scripturally repent. Repeating a scripted prayer after a preacher does not save you – don’t let no jack-legged preacher tell you if you repeat after me that you are now saved and on your way to heaven. The Bible says Repent nowhere is the Sinner’s Prayer in the Bible or approved by God in any manner.
4. WHO MUST REPENT? :- Acts 2:38 says “every one of you…” This is the all nations of Matthew 28:19. Luke5:32 Jesus says “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”. So sinners must repent.
Who are the sinners? - Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’. Romans 5:12 says “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”. David said in Psalm 51:5 “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me”. The reason Jesus said all nations in Matthew 28:19 and Peter said in Acts 2:38 every one of you is because all have sinned.
5. SINNERS UNREPENTED BRING UPON THEMSELVES! Ephesians 5:6 says “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." Failure to repent brings the Wrath of God upon you for you are disobedient to His Word.
6. WHAT LEADS TO REPENTANCE? Romans 2:4 “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance”.
In true Biblical repentance, there will be three things to occur as God does a work of grace upon the sinner's heart:
1) Conviction -- where sin is admitted. Man must see himself as a lost, ruined, guilty, desperately wicked sinner without hope or help, in danger of hell. In repentance, a lost sinner not only sees himself as a sinner, but he recognizes the fact that he has sinned against a righteous and holy God. The message that Paul preached was: "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" Acts 20:21. In repentance, there will be confession of sin to God Psalm 32:5; 51:1-4.
2) Contrition -- where sin is detested. When one sees himself as he appears before God, he is brought to a place where there is godly sorrow for his sin and hates it altogether.
Psalm. 38:18 "For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin." 2 Corinthians 7:10 "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of ..."
To hate sin is to love God. In true repentance, there is not only the desire to escape the consequences of sin, but to be rid of sin itself as a thing displeasing to God.
3) Conversion -- where sin is abandoned. Repentance involves the forsaking of sin
CLOSING:- Jesus thoroughly declared the message in His day: "repent ye, and believe the gospel. - Mark 1:15" Repentance and faith are inseparable and occur simultaneously in a sinner's heart; you cannot have one without the other. The order as given in the Bible is repentance and faith (believing) - Acts 20:21 says “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ”.
Repentance is turning from sin; and faith is turning to Christ. Repentance comes about through the convicting power of the Spirit of God using the Word of God to cause a change of attitude, action, and affection.
Saving faith is trust in and reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ as one's personal Lord and Saviour. Saving faith is believing with your heart; it is coming to Christ, receiving Christ, looking to Christ, calling upon Christ to save your soul.
Yes, Jesus said you must repent and believe the gospel, because the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believes Romans. 1:16. The gospel, the good news for every sinner, is that Christ died on the cross for our sins, as our Substitute, and shed His precious blood to wash away our sins, and arose from the dead on the third day in order that we might have the forgiveness of sins and have eternal life through Him. Salvation of one's soul is the most important thing in this whole world.
But repentance without faith is nothing more than remorse or regret. And faith without repentance makes Christ nothing more than a fire escape. There must be a work of repentance and faith upon the sinner's heart before salvation can become a reality. Repentance is caused by the working of the Holy Spirit who takes the Sword of the Spirit and slays the sinner's self-righteousness, self- goodness, self-decency, self-esteem, and causes him to cry out: "God be merciful to me a sinner" Luke 18:13 and "what must I do - to be saved?" Acts 2:37.
Repentance is a prerequisite to belief. What is repentance? Its basic meaning is "to change" or "to turn." Once a person hears the gospel and is convicted that his way of life is wrong, he must change his present behavior and "bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8). Repentance is not merely feeling sorry or remorseful, but being so stricken in one's heart that one seeks the cleansing of baptism and begins to live according to God's standards - according to God's law. Remorse without a corresponding change in conduct is not repentance!
Repentance is essential to developing the right attitude. We can never please God till we develop a proper state of mind Romans 12:2 “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”.
Repentance must involve the heart – the inner man and not just a repetition of a so-called sinner’s prayer. Joel 2:12-13 says “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil”.
Repentance is a conscious decision to do what God’s Word says, to turn from your wicked ways and seek His face. To walk and live according to His word.
Repentance is a total sacrifice and surrender of oneself to obey and submit to the Word of God in all situations. Anything short of this is sin. It means to deny self and take up your cross daily and follow Jesus Luke 9:23.
Repentance means that we put off the old man, the old ways, the past; and we put on the new man, the new ways, the future. It is written, PURGE OUT THEREFORE (or get rid of) THE OLD LEAVEN (or sin), THAT YE MAY BE A NEW LUMP (or a new creation in Christ)-1 Corinthians 5:7.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore if any man be in christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Ephesians 4:22-24. Let us know we also are to put off concerning the former conversation the old man (or the old ways), which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after god is created in righteousness and true holiness”.
AFTER REPENTANCE COMES BAPTISM.
Bishop M.L. Maughmer, Jr.
