Information Related to "Repentance: A Profound Turnaround!"
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Our first step toward receiving forgiveness and being reconciled with God is repentance--turning from our selfish and sinful ways and turning to Him. And we must remain in a repentant attitude if we are to grow as God wants us to.
"Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin" (Ezekiel 18:30Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.). "God gives His Spirit to those who obey Him" (Acts 5:32And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him., New Life Version).
"Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" The question was addressed to Jesus Christ (Matthew 19:16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?). What would your answer be?
Here was Jesus' answer: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." When the man asked, "Which ones?" Jesus quoted several commands from the Old Testament, mostly from the Ten Commandments (verses 18-19).
This is one of many, many scriptures that make it absolutely clear that God still requires obedience to His instructions-yet many churches teach the opposite! Why is this? Because of human nature influenced by Satan and this world under his evil influence! "For the outlook of the unspiritual nature is enmity with [or hostile to] God; it is not subject to the law of God and indeed it cannot be" (Romans 8:7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be., REB).
But God's laws are good and good for us (Romans 7:12Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.)! If we want to become more and more like Jesus Christ, God's laws define the godly character He wants to see in us.
Two major obstacles stand in the way of our attaining eternal life. First, it's impossible for us on our own human strength to perfectly obey God's commandments. Second, even if perfect obedience from now through the rest of our lives were possible, it still would not make up for the guilt of past sins. The death penalty we had incurred would not be removed.
So what are the solutions? First, we must somehow receive God's forgiveness for all our past sins. Second, we must receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit that will gradually replace our ingrained selfish nature with a new Christlike nature.
And what must one do to receive these precious gifts? In Acts 2 we read about the apostle Peter preaching to the assembled crowd on the day of Pentecost. His powerful sermon convinced those gathered that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that their sins were responsible for His death by crucifixion. How did they react?
"Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'" (Acts 2:37Now 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?). They felt the deepest shame and sorrow. They were willing to do whatever it took to obtain forgiveness, reconciliation to God and salvation.
"Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission [forgiveness] of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'" (Acts 2:38Then 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.).
Each part of Peter's authoritative statement has great significance. And note that in this one sentence Peter refers to the twofold remedy for human sinfulness-forgiveness of sins and the gift of God's Holy Spirit!
On a later day, Peter similarly instructed others, "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;). In both cases the first thing Peter said to do was "repent." What exactly is that? It's vitally important that we understand!
Dictionary definitions of "repent" and "repentance" emphasize feelings of remorse, regret, contrition and penitence for one's wrongdoing. Indeed, God expects deep feelings of "godly sorrow" for our sins (2 Corinthians 7:9-10 [9] Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
[10] For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
). The more we recognize how numerous our sins have been, and how evil they are in God's sight, the greater will be our shame and sorrow.
But feelings alone aren't enough. Saying "I'm sorry" over and over again is not enough. The biblical meaning of "repent" emphasizes change - change of attitudes and actions to completely forsake one's lifestyle of habitual disobedience.
A biblical synonym for repent is turn. Paul said, "I preached that they must repent of their sins and turn to God and do the things that would show they had repented" (Acts 26:20But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance., Today's English Version).
Besides one's initial repentance, a person must repent each time he realizes he has slipped and sinned-and this applies long after conversion to the end of one's physical life. When a person first comes to God, initial repentance is a surrender to God and an about-face from life aimed away from God to one of heading in God's direction. After that, whenever a believer strays even a little from the"way of God," He must repent or return to the right path, making a course correction to get back on track with God (Acts 18:25-26 [25] This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
[26] And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
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What is God's way? It is the way of genuine love, for "God is love" (1 John 4:8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love., 1 John 4:16And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.). Jesus Christ taught that the two greatest commandments are love for God and love for our fellow human beings (Matthew 22:37-40 [37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
[38] This is the first and great commandment.
[39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
). And love for God includes obedience to His laws. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.).
The Ten Commandments broadly define how to love God and how to love one's neighbor, which includes everyone. The other spiritual laws in the Bible give us additional details about how to love God and all people. (For a broader overview, read our free Bible study aid The Ten Commandments .)
This brings us to the question, "Of what do we repent?" The answer is sin. But what is sin? Ask a dozen people and you would likely get a dozen different answers. But the Bible is where we should look for the correct answers to life's important questions.
The clearest definition of sin is found in 1 John 3:4Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.: "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." Any breaking or violation of God's law is sin.
Repentance, therefore, means to turn away from law breaking and turn to law keeping! God summed up true repentance when He pleaded with His people: "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity [lawlessness] will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit" (Ezekiel 18:30-31 [30] Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
[31] Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
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God then went on to express His deep love and desire to forgive and save everyone: "For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies ... Therefore turn and live!" (Ezekiel 18:31-32 [31] Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
[32] For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
). Yes, you can have a joyous life now-and, more importantly, everlasting life!
In addition to repenting of our sins, we must repent of sinful attitudes and the downward pull of human nature, as they are the main cause of our sinful actions. Jesus made it clear that, compared to God, all of us are evil (Matthew 7:11If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?). God said, "The heart is the most deceitful thing there is, and desperately wicked. No one can really know how bad it is!" (Jeremiah 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?, Living Bible).
Like King David, we must repent and pray, "Wash me ... create in me a clean heart" (Psalm 51:7-10 [7] Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
[8] Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
[9] Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
[10] Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
).
God gave us a conscience so that when we are aware of wrongdoing, we will feel guilt, shame and sorrow. Once a person clearly sees the great love of his Creator plus his own lack of love, of gratitude and of righteousness, he should feel truly sorry-with godly sorrow!
Paul explained, "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death" (2 Corinthians 7:10For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.).
What is the difference between the two kinds of sorrow? Godly sorrow is directed toward God (Psalm 51:4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.; Acts 20:21Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.). It is grief and mourning over having disappointed and transgressed against Him, the One who gives us every good thing. It leads to a commitment to permanently change -to truly repent.
Worldly sorrow, however, is self -centered-feeling humiliated that one's wrongdoing has been exposed, or feeling sorry for oneself because of the penalties he is suffering, such as Jacob's twin brother Esau experienced (see Hebrews 12:16-17 [16] Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
[17] For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
).
In Romans 7, we read how the apostle Paul felt deep sorrow over his sins of commission (doing sinful things) and sins of omission (failing to do the right things). In Psalm 51, we read of David's heartfelt prayer of sorrow and repentance. When the patriarch Job came to better understand the greatness of God and at the same time his own weakness and self-righteousness, he said, "Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.).
It is very hard for human beings to see their faults, admit them and apologize. But real repentance requires confessing your sins to God, telling Him how sorry you are and asking for His forgiveness- and determining to change, to strive with His help to turn from and overcome your sins. (God does not require confession of sins to a human priest or minister to obtain forgiveness, as some claim.)
David said, "I acknowledge my transgressions" (Psalm 51:3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.). John said, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.).
John wasn't speaking to those who were not yet converted but to those who were already Christians-showing that confession of sins and repentance is an ongoing process through the Christian life.
But again, it isn't enough to just admit our faults and be sorrowful. To maintain our relationship with God and continue to grow spiritually, we must commit to obeying God's laws and follow through.
Consider our communication with God. The first spiritual tool covered in this booklet is prayer. Do you want your prayers to be answered? Then, as previously pointed out, you must be striving to obey God.
Our sins place a barrier between us and God: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1-2 [1] Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
[2] But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
).
But committed obedience has the opposite effect: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep [in contrite repentance]! ... Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:7-10 [7] Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
[8] Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
[9] Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
[10] Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
).
Then our prayers to God will be answered. John tells us that "whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3:22And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.).
What about hearing from God in the second spiritual tool we covered-studying the Bible? True spiritual understanding comes through God's Holy Spirit: "God has given us His Holy Spirit that we may know about the things given to us by Him" (1 Corinthians 2:12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God., NLV).
God's Holy Spirit is a source of spiritual empowerment given to us from Him as a "supply" (Philippians 1:9; Galatians 3:5He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?). (To see that the Holy Spirit is not a person, as widely believed, read the Bible study aid Is God a Trinity? )
God initially gives the Spirit upon repentance in faith and baptism (see "Steps to Initial Repentance and Conversion "). Yet we are also told that "God gives His Spirit to those who obey Him" (Acts 5:32And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him., NLV). This shows that our initial repentance must include committed obedience. And for the supply of the Spirit to continue, our commitment and obedience must be ongoing through our Christian lives, repenting and striving to obey anew whenever we slip and fall.
As we grow in obedience, so will our comprehension of God's Word, thus making our use of the tool of Bible study more fruitful, as touched on earlier: "A good understanding have all those who do His commandments" (Psalm 111:10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.).
Realize too that obedience through faith empowers further obedience. We need God's help through His Spirit to continue in obedience. And when we submit to His help and obey, He supplies more of His Spirit to obey further. Then, as we obey more and more, it becomes habit-and eventually instilled as our character (see our the Bible study aid You Can Have Living Faith to learn more).
Of course, we will not achieve instant perfection. Our transformation is a lifelong process. But remember that whenever God's children stumble, our Father in heaven is always willing to help us back on our feet. But we must repent, confess and ask for help. After that, know that God has forgiven you. Then joy and peace of mind should once again blossom and dominate your heart because you know that your sins are no longer separating you from God (Psalm 32:1-2 [1] (A Psalm of David, Maschil.) Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
[2] Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
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Remember also that God loves and wants to save every single person. He is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.). In Luke 15:10Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth., Jesus said, "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Will the next one be you?
©1995-2022 United Church of God, an International AssociationRelated Information:
Sidebar: Steps to Initial Repentance and Conversion
Table of Contents that includes "Repentance: A Profound Turnaround!"
Other Articles by Don Hooser
Origin of article "Repentance: A Profound Turnaround!"
Re-published from an earlier version
Keywords: repentance forgiveness
Repentance: