2. John the Baptist called people to a life of repentance. Jesus called people to repent of their sins. The twelve disciples went about preaching that men should repent of their sins. Peter said at Pentecost to "Repent and be baptized..." Paul declared in the Book of Acts that men should always repent. Jesus said if you do not repent you will perish! Its repent or perish according to the gospel of Jesus. There are nearly seventy times in the New Testament where we are called to have a lifestyle of constant repentance. Repentance is necessary ingredient for the gospel. Repentance is evidence of the work of the Spirit of God. It is not man-centered to say there can be spiritual evidence for being born again. If there is no evidence, there is no way to tell if you have the Spirit of God bearing witness with your Spirit.
3. We ought to define repentance according to the Bible. Repentance is a spiritual change of mind. It means to posses another mind. It is a change of mind about sin. It is a mind saying "I am convicted that I have offended a holy God." Repentance is personal grief or godly sorrow over sin. A person realizes they have offended a holy God. Repentance is a transformation of the will. It is the spiritual evidence of bearing fruit. Repentance involves all of these things before God in light of the Bible's gospel. Repentance turning our life truly over to a holy God by submission to turning away from sin. Repentance arises from a pure and earnest fear of God. Repentance is the mortification of the sinful flesh. Repentance is the renewal of the Spirit in getting our lives right with God through His dear Son. Repentance unto life eternal is a supernatural saving and divine grace of God. We are awakened out of a true sense of our personal sins. We have great appreciation for God's divine mercy through and in His only Son. Repentance is a grief and hatred of sin. Repentance is turning to God with full purpose of new obedience. The character of biblical repentance comes from the written Word.
4. Repentance is contemplation of the supreme. Paul preached that people who hear the word of the Lord. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear! It takes spiritual ears to hear the word of God. By nature, man is spiritual deaf to the things of God. If man hears at all, it is because of the Spirit of God and the Word of God. The Spirit of God never works apart from the Word of God. The Word of God has the divine and spiritual power to change the heart of man. The heart of man is radically corrupt. There needs to be a godly fear in the hearts and minds of God's people. The per-converted elect will respond and hear the Word of God. The damned do not hear the voice of the only true Shepherd. The name of Jesus is to be feared with reverential and respectful fear. It is not to be taken lightly. It is spiritually proper to end prayers of repentance in Jesus' name. He hears us when we invoke the name of our Divine Mediator.
5. Repentance is a human responsibility. Repentance begins with Almighty God. It is empowered by God through the spiritually changed wills of man. Repentance is a token of divine grace. The mercy of God brings about repentance sometimes through great calamity. Sinners have not feared God, but they have offended their holy Creator. We want to glorify ourselves instead of solely glorifying God. God is patient with the wicked or the reprobate. He is kind according to general benevolence to them. The fact that he lets them breath or eat or drink or to have shelter is a sign of His patience and kindness. He has called us to faith and repentance according to His redemptive plan. Reprobates have yet to repent and acknowledge Him. It is because they have not been born from above. The Bible says He wants all of His people to come to repentance. The kindness and forbearance of God leads people to repentance (Romans 2:4). He is revealed from heaven regarding His wrath. He hates ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Sinners suppress the truth in unrighteousness. God provides people with providential mercy in circumstances that involves great pain to lead people to repentance. This is no doubt a divine demonstration of His mercy. We ought to understand that God shows redemptive mercy only to the elect and divine wrath to the reprobate.
6. We ought to ask, what is something that brings God's divine wrath? Sinners are kept from God because of their sin. Sinners can't will themselves to repent because they are totally hindered. Man fails to see his sin in light of the holiness of God. Everyone will one day give an account to God. It will only be a Day of Joy if we have His unified imputed merit of Jesus Christ by the instrument of faith alone. We must be awakened out of our sin. We must fear God like a son his father. We must be given God's Spirit to be motivated by God's divine grace to repent and acknowledge our holy Redeemer and Creator. We cannot be motivated by the sinful flesh because it has no goodness to it. Rather we ought to be motivated by God's Spirit and Word to repent and get right with a holy God.
7. God's divine grace allows man to fear God. However, it is not through a cooperation between man and God touching regeneration. There is no way we can cooperate because of our radical limitation regarding our sinful natures. We ought to not fear mere man. Rather we ought to fear God who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). We ought to fear God like the born again thief. We ought to fear God because of the past sentence of our condemnation. Paul says in Romans 3:18 that there is no fear of God before the eyes of the damned. Reverential fear leads to repentance unto remission. But preachers today say that God loves you and has a great plan for your life. The truth is there are some people God hates. These people who God hates are not born again nor have His Spirit. They engage in spiritual crimes of sexual evil or idolatrous murder. God will forgive you anyone who comes by His Spirit and Word.
8. Christians have been reconciled to God. Christians live in the fear of God. It does not mean we should live in terror of God in light of holy fear. We are to have a respectful fear. There is no doubt that Jesus died for every sinners with a regenerated heart. He died for their sins. Have your sins been atoned for? Did Jesus die for you like He has for so many? It is no secret what God can do! God can save you if you come to Him on His terms. By nature every person has a spiritual hatred of God. You ought to confess your hated of God because in the prayer of repentance you ought to be clearly transparent. There are also times when you may cry out "Forgive me!" God honors contrite repentance. After we have trusted Christ through the Spirit of Christ and the Word of Christ, we ought to never fear condemnation. There is no condemnation or threats of hell fire when a born again sinners believes on Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. God should be held in respect, awe, worship,, service and reverence. The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. The spiritually foolish hate wisdom and instruction. God's mercy allows us to have another breath in this life. It is touching "common grace." Both Christians and reprobates received common grace, but not everyone receives redemptive grace.
9. Louis Berkhoff author of Systematic Theology wrote, "Moreover, true repentance never exists except in conjunction with faith, while on the other hand, wherever there is true faith, there is also real repentance. The two are but different aspects of the same turning-a turning away from sin in the direction of God. The two cannot be separated; they are simply complementary parts of the same process."
10. Charles Spurgeon wrote, "Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith. All the while that we walk by faith and not by sight, the fear of repentance glitters in the eye of faith. That is not true repentance which does not come of faith in Jesus; and that is not true faith in Jesus which is not tinctured with repentance. Faith and repentance, like the Siamese twins, are vitally joined together. Faith and repentance are but two spokes in the same wheel, two handles of the same plow. Repentance has been well described as a heart broken for sin and from sin, and it may equally well be spoken of as turning and returning. It is a change of mind of the most thorough and radical sort, and it is attended with sorrow for the past and a resolve of amendment in the future. Repentance of sin and faith in divine pardon are the ways and woof of the fabric of real conversion."
I am a stranger here, within a foreign land;
My home is far away, upon a golden strand;
Ambassador to be of realms beyond the sea,
I'm here on business for my King.
This is the message that I bring,
A message angels fain would sing:
"Oh, be ye reconciled,"
Thus saith my Lord and King,
"Oh, be ye reconciled to God."
This is the King's command: that all men, ev'rywhere,
Repent and turn away from sin's seductive snare;
That all who will obey, with him shall reign for aye,
And that's my business for my King.
My home is brighter far than Sharon's rosy plain,
Eternal life and joy throughout its vast domain;
My Sovereign bids me tell how mortals there may dwell,
And that's my business for my King.
My home is far away, upon a golden strand;
Ambassador to be of realms beyond the sea,
I'm here on business for my King.
This is the message that I bring,
A message angels fain would sing:
"Oh, be ye reconciled,"
Thus saith my Lord and King,
"Oh, be ye reconciled to God."
This is the King's command: that all men, ev'rywhere,
Repent and turn away from sin's seductive snare;
That all who will obey, with him shall reign for aye,
And that's my business for my King.
My home is brighter far than Sharon's rosy plain,
Eternal life and joy throughout its vast domain;
My Sovereign bids me tell how mortals there may dwell,
And that's my business for my King.
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