God’s Word On REPENTANCE
God’s Best Advice
This Is What Gods Word On Repentance
God’s Word On REPENTANCE
Have you ever had the experience of driving in a strange city and suddenly realizing you were going the wrong way on a one-way street? What you do next is very much like the biblical idea of repentance. You make a U-turn and change your direction as fast as you can.
Repentance is motivated by the realization that you have taken the wrong way in life.
Repentance is made complete when you admit your sin and make a commitment, with God’s help, to change your life’s direction.
WHAT IS REPENTANCE
Matthew 3:1-3 . . . “Turn from your sins and turn to God.”
Repentance means being sorry for sin and being committed to a new way of life serving God.
Luke 19:8 Zacchaeus . . . said to the Lord, “ if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
Repentance is made complete by changed behavior.
Exodus 9:27-34 . . . When Pharaoh saw this, he and his officials sinned yet again by stubbornly refusing to do as they had promised.
Repentance that produces no lasting change is insincere.
WHY DOES GOD WANT US TO REPENT
Leviticus 26:40-42 . . . “At last my people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors for betraying me and being hostile toward me.”
All of us need to repent because we have betrayed God with our sins.
2 Chronicles 30:9 . . . The Lord your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you.
Repentance is necessary for an ongoing relationship with God.
1 Samuel 7:3 . . . Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods. . . . Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you.”
We must turn away from all other gods in order to worship the one true God.
Proverbs 28:13 . . . People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy.
Isaiah 55:7 . . . “Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Jeremiah 3:12 . . . “ Therefore, go and say these words to Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.’”
Repentance is necessary to receive God’s mercy.
Ezekiel 18:30-32 . . . “ Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn from your sins! Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and get for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!”
Ezekiel 33:11 . . . “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?”
Repentance is the key to having new life from God.
Matthew 3:2 . . . “Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Luke 24:47 . . . “There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.”
Acts 2:37-38 . . . Peter’s words convicted them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Forgiveness of sins and entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven is only for those who have turned away from their sins and turned to God.
Acts 3:19 . . . Turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins.
Forgiveness of sins and the Kingdom of Heaven are only for those who have turned away from their sins and turned to God.
Matthew 11:20-24 . . . Then Jesus began to denounce the cities where he had done most of his miracles, because they hadn’t turned from their sins and turned to God. . . .
“You people of Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to the place of the dead.”
Refusal to turn away from our sins will bring God’s judgment.
WHY IS REPENTANCE NECESSARY
Ezekiel 33:10-16 . . . The good works of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the sins of evil people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.
Repentance leads to forgiveness of sin.
Jeremiah 5:3 . . . They are determined, with faces set like stone; they have refused to repent.
The unrepentant heart rejects God and remains in sin’s grasp.
Luke 13:1-8 . . . You will also perish unless you turn from your evil ways and turn to God.
Jesus taught that without repentance we face judgment.
Luke 15:10 . . . There is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.
All heaven rejoices when one sinner repents.
IS REPENTANCE A ONE-TIME EVENT, OR DO WE NEED TO REPENT EACH TIME WE SIN
Psalm 51:16-17 . . . The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.
While salvation is a one-time event, God is pleased by broken and contrite hearts willing to confess and repent of sin.
1 John 1:8-9 . . . If we say we have no sin, we are . . . refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him.
Confession and repentance of sin is a constant mark of the person walking in the light of fellowship with God.
PROMISES FROM GOD: 2 Chronicles 7:14 . . . “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”
Jeremiah 3:22 . . . Come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.
God is always calling us back to him.
Ezekiel 18:21 . . . If wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my laws and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die.
Acts 2:38 . . . Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When you turn to God you receive the Holy Spirit.
WHY IS REPENTANCE ESSENTIAL TO A SPIRITUAL LIFE
BIBLE READING: Luke 3:1-18
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Here is a sample of John’s preaching to the crowds that came for baptism: “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming judgment? Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say, ’We’re safe-we’re the descendants of Abraham.’ That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into children of Abraham.” (Luke 3:7-8)
REPENTANCE OPENS THE WAY FOR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Repentance has two sides-turning away from sins and turning toward God. To be truly repentant, we must do both. We can’t just say that we believe and then live any way we choose; neither can we simply live a morally correct life without a personal relationship with God, because that cannot bring forgiveness from sin. Determine to rid your life of any sins God points out, and put your trust in him alone to guide you.
REPENTANCE DEMONSTRATES REAL FAITH
Confession of sins and a changed life are inseparable. Faith without deeds is dead (James 2:14-26). Jesus’ harshest words were to the respectable religious leaders who lacked the desire for real change.
They wanted to be known as religious authorities, but they didn’t want to change their hearts and minds. Thus their lives were unproductive. Repentance must be tied to action, or it isn’t real. Following Jesus means more than saying the right words; it means acting on what he says.
When you tell someone off, or you start an argument with them or something which causes strife or stress, do not say “I didn’t do anything to apologize for” because you caused the argument or you caused the conversation to get out of hand.
We are to “REPENT” no matter whose fault it is. We have to always repent to one another and to God, to be forgiven. Don’t never think you are to good to apologize, because you are lying to yourself and to other’s, when you think you are to good to admit you did cause something to cause trouble, or you have to much pride which God hates.
BIBLE READING: Matthew 3:1-12
KEY BIBLE VERSE: In those days John the Baptist began preaching in the Judean wilderness. His message was, “Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:1-2)
REPENTANCE MAKES INWARD CHANGE A VISIBLE REALITY
When you wash dirty hands, the results are immediately visible. But repentance happens inside with a cleansing that isn’t seen right away. So John used a symbolic action that people could see: baptism.
The Jews used baptism to initiate converts, so John’s audience was familiar with the rite. Here, baptism was used as a sign of repentance and forgiveness. Repent means “to turn,” implying a change in behavior. It is turning from sin toward God.
Have you repented of sin in your life? Can others see the difference it makes in you? A changed life with new and different behavior makes your repentance real and visible.
BIBLE READING: John 12:1-11
KEY BIBLE VERSE: The leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus. (John 12:10-11)
REPENTANCE BREAKS OUR BONDAGE TO SIN
The chief priests’ blindness and hardness of heart caused them to sink ever deeper into sin. They rejected the Messiah and planned to kill him, and then plotted to murder Lazarus as well. One sin leads to another.
From the Jewish leaders’ point of view, they could accuse Jesus of blasphemy because he claimed equality with God. But Lazarus had done nothing of the kind. They wanted Lazarus dead simply because he was a living witness to Jesus’ power. This is a warning to us to avoid sin.
Sin leads to more sin, and this downward spiral can be stopped only by repentance and the power of the Holy Spirit to change behavior.
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