The Gospel's Answer To The "Practice" Of Sin - Part One

The Gospel's Answer To The "Practice" Of Sin Part One
(Repentance Of Sin)

Paul declared that he was not ashamed of the gospel because it was God's power to save those who believe - Ro 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith." (ASV) We saw in general terms how the gospel saves us from the problem of sin (first lesson). Our previous lesson dealt more closely with faith as the gospel's answer to the love of sin. This lesson shall focus on repentance as the gospel's answer to the practice of sin.

That the practice of sin is a serious problem as seen in that All have sinned - Ro 3:23 "for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;" And even Christians continue to sin at times - 1 Jn 1:8-10 "If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts." The gospel of Jesus Christ answers the problem of the practice of sin by commanding us to "repent"... notice Lk 24:45-47 "Then he helped them understand the Scriptures. He told them: The Scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer, then three days later he will rise from death. They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God, in order to be forgiven. So beginning in Jerusalem, you must tell everything that has happened."; Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 3:19 \pard plain "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven."; 17:30-31 "In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to him. He has set a day when he will judge the world's people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death."; 26:19-20 "King Agrippa, I obeyed this vision from heaven. First I preached to the people in Damascus, and then I went to Jerusalem and all over Judea. Finally, I went to the Gentiles and said, "Stop sinning and turn to God! Then prove what you have done by the way you live."’ When a person truly repents, they will cease the practice of sin! Unfortunately, the call to repent is often neglected in preaching the gospel today by those who preach "faith only" and by some who react to "faith only" by emphasizing "baptism". As the passages listed above clearly reveal, one cannot truly preach the gospel of Christ without the call to repentance.

But what is repentance? What are indications that repentance has occurred? What leads one to true repentance? In 2 Co 7:9-11 we find the most elaborate discussion on repentance found in the Scriptures, and it will serve as the basis for much of our study. Based upon this passage, let's begin with the definition and misconceptions about repentance.

That repentance is "sorrow". 2 Co 7:9-10 shows that repentance is an outcome of sorrow not the sorrow itself. "Now I am happy, but not because I hurt your feelings. It is because God used your hurt feelings to make you turn back to him, and none of you were harmed by us. When God makes you feel sorry enough to turn to him and be saved, you don't have anything to feel bad about. But when this world makes you feel sorry, it can cause your death."

That repentance is "a changed life" or a converted life. Ac 3:19 shows that repentance and conversion are two separate things. "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven." Peter says to "repent" and "be converted". Peter is not being redundant; rather, the one leads to the other. As we shall see, the order is actually this:
First, there is sorrow
Then, repentance
And finally, a changed life (conversion)

Note the proper definition of repentance. The Greek word is metanoeo (meta=change, noeo=thought or mind) W. E. Vine's definition; "a change of mind" "signifies to change one's mind or purpose" "this change of mind involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God". So we can think of repentance as "a change of mind" in which we decide to "turn from sin and turn to God"; a decision. Preceded by sorrow. Followed by a changed life.

Having therefore defined repentance, how do we know when repentance has occurred? Let's take a look at the signs of repentance. Several signs are mentioned in 2 Cor 7:11 - "For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter." (KJV) "diligence" (KJV, carefulness), this can be defined as "earnestness, zeal, sometimes with haste accompanying it", i.e., being quick to do what is right! The examples of conversion in the book of Acts demonstrate this diligence by the fact every conversion described in detail shows people obeying the gospel after one lesson! "clearing of yourselves", to clear one's self of blame e.g., to quickly stop doing what is wrong, if such is the case; or to quickly respond to the offer of forgiveness if one realizes they are guilty of sin. "indignation", this involves a sort of anger, hatred i.e., toward the SIN which required the repentance. "fear", lest the sin be repeated. Lest the sin should not be quickly removed. "vehement desire" i.e., a "fervent wish", especially to be right in God's eyes. "zeal", "eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something", in this case, to turn from sin and turn to God. "vindication" (KJV, revenge) as the NIV puts it "what readiness to see justice done", to do the right thing! Such are the signs of true repentance. Not apathy. Not half-hearted service. But a desire to do "works befitting repentance" - Ac 26:20 "First I preached to the people in Damascus, and then I went to Jerusalem and all over Judea. Finally, I went to the Gentiles and said, "Stop sinning and turn to God! Then prove what you have done by the way you live."’

Now that we may have a better idea as to what repentance is and what indications are that it has occurred, in our continuing lesson we will consider what is involved in the production of repentance.