Three Steps of Repentance

Acts 26:19-20 – “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.

In Christian circles, there is a lot of terminology tossed around whose meanings are known but not expressed in a clear fashion.  For example, we use words like grace, mercy, propitiation, atonement, sanctification, and the like.  Most times, we have an idea of what the word means, but no real understanding to what it actually represents.  This is what some people call Christianese.  One word that is used a lot but not explained is the word repentance.  We tell people to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, but we never really explain what the Bible means by the word repent.  (Quick Note:  Repentance does not save you, but repentance is the action by which you realize your salvation.  When Christ died for your sins on the cross, He saved you completely and all; the work was finished.  But to accept this salvation, repentance is key, for how can you be saved from sin and to a right relationship to God, if you don’t repent?)  In our passage today, Paul, when he was defending himself before King Agrippa, actually describes the three steps that should be seen in true repentance – 1) Repent (Turn away from sin), 2) Turn to God, and 3) Perform actions in keeping with repentance.

The first step in repentance is probably the most obvious – turn away from sin.  The Greek word for repentance is the word metanoeo which means “to change one’s mind.”  This word usually signified a change of choice, wherein one intentionally turned away from his previous mindset to something different.  It was a purposeful change.  This is in contrast to its Greek relative metamellomai which usually referred to an emotional change due to regret or remorse.^[1] Metanoeo is the Greek word from which we probably derived metamorphosis, the complete change of a caterpillar into a butterfly to which it can no longer return to its former state.  True repentance requires a changing of one’s mindset of sin to something completely different.  It requires a turning away from sin – its lifestyle and actions.  It is described as making a 180° turn, where you completely change directions.  In the Bible, one example that illustrates repentance is with Lot’s wife.  Lot was the nephew of Abraham who ended up living in Sodom.  He and his wife were then warned of the destruction and sweeped away to safety.  Unfortunately, as they were running, instead of the wife continuing forward away from Sodom, she turned around and looked back, which caused her instantly to turn into a pillar of salt as punishment.  If she had a heart of true repentance, she would have not turned back, but instead continued to move forward; but she must have still loved her sin and the pleasures that came with it so much that she had to turn back.  That is not true repentance.  To repent means to turn away and change one’s mind.  So when Paul mentioned repent here, he meant for those who call themselves Christians to turn away from sin.  We as disciples of Jesus Christ must make the purposeful choice to turn away from sin.

The second step in repentance is to turn to God.  It is a great first step to turn away from sin, but it means very little when there is no positive to replace it.  It is like breaking a bad habit; when you do so, if you don’t quickly develop a good one in replace of it, you will just replace it with another bad habit.  Haven’t you noticed those people who break addictions to drugs or alcohol?  In most cases, if they don’t find some type of positive replacement, they either fall right back into it or just change the addiction.  Why do you think most of these “quit smoking” patches wean you off of nicotine slowly?  It is not only because it is hard to quit cold turkey, but it must be so that a person can build replacement habits.  Jesus taught this principle in Luke 11:24-26, when He spoke of a person who had an unclean spirit removed from his life but never replaced it with the Holy Spirit.  Soon after, the unclean spirit saw that the heart was still empty and just came back bringing with himself “seven other spirits more evil than itself.”  The case of the person just became worse than it was in the beginning.  That is why it is so important that when you repent (turn away from sin), you turn to God.  You need to replace sin with things that are holy like prayer, Bible reading, and sharing the Gospel.  We need to make sure that when we repent, we change our direction not in any other way but to God.  It is so quick and easy for disciples of Christ to realize their idolatry with some item and destroy it.  But if they don’t replace the idol with God, they quickly just find another idol.  Returning to the example of Lot, we see that he illustrates this point.  After running from Sodom, instead of, running back to Abraham or into the mountains like God asked them to, Lot begged that the Lord grant him safety at Zoar, a small but still wicked town near Sodom.  All he did was replace a wicked place for another “less wicked” place.  In the end, his choice led to some pretty difficult situations.  In repentance, we make the 180° turn not only away from sin but back to God.  What have you been doing to fill your heart and life with God today?

Lastly, repentance requires proof.  In the book of James (specifically 2:14-26), James, the brother of Jesus, describes how faith without works is dead.  He was not in any way pushing that doing good works was required for salvation, because it isn’t, but that stating you have faith in Jesus Christ and not having that show up in your life through good works is a good indication that your faith was never really there.  He was simply saying, “Prove your faith.”  In the same way, Paul was telling those he shared the Gospel with that it was not so much that you only turn away from sin and turn to God but that now you need to show that changed mindset through your actions.  Ephesians 2:8-10 states, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”  These few verses not only share the simple Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ by grace through faith but remind all believers that even when you are saved it does not stop there but continues to a life of discipleship and service through good works to the glory of God.  If you say that you are turning away from sin, you must physically do it.  It makes no sense to say that you are quitting an addiction to pornography but continue to revel in it.  It makes no sense to say that you are going to stop stealing but continue to take company pens and time.  It makes no sense to say that you are giving up an idol only to replace it with another one.  Instead, prove your repentance by showing it out in your life by living a new life created in Christ Jesus.    Like Jerry Maguire said, “Show me the money.”  Repentance without works is dead.

Repentance is actually quite simple to define but hard to put into practice – 1)  Turn away from sin, 2)  Turn to God, 3)  Prove it.  Even we as disciples of Jesus Christ will continue to struggle with it, but every time we confess and repent of our sins, let us remember these three points and apply them to our lives. 2 Corinthians 5:17 explains it best, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:  old things are passed away (Step 1 of Repentance); behold, all things are become new (Step 2,3 of Repentance).”  Repentance is the changing of the old sinful nature to the new holy nature of Christ.  Do you have any sin to repent of?  Do so today.

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^[1] Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

No Neutral Ground

Matthew 12:30 – “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Edmund Burke, a political philosopher and the father of Modern Conservatism, is well-known for a quote that is used to encourage people to take a stand against what is wrong – “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edmund_Burke)  And as much as we would like to believe that the statement is nothing but propaganda, it is quite obvious that there is at least a degree of truth.  How often have we seen in history, the rise of dictators and bloody revolutions, all because a few good people were unwilling to take a stand for what was right?  For example, before World War II even came close to beginning, many world leaders could have easily stopped Hitler’s Nazi regime from conquering Poland; but instead, most of the world ignored the issue and stayed on neutral, believing that Hitler’s thirst for power would stop with Poland.  What they found in the end, at the cost of millions of lives, was that this was not the case.  Sitting on the sidelines did not attenuate the problem; it only empowered one of the worst dictators in all of history.  If only, somebody would have taken a stand.  If only, they had chosen to fight against him.

Although we are not currently experiencing any world wars, there is a spiritual war that has been going on since the dawn of time.  It is the war between good and evil, the war between God and Satan.  Many people today have chosen to ignore this war, to pretend that it is nonexistent, to play the neutral car – not choosing to side with the Devil and become cold-hearted sinners but also not choosing to side with God by giving their lives fully over to Him.  They believe that they can play this middle ground, allowing them to enjoy sin with the hope of less judgment.  But in our short passage today, Jesus makes it clear that there is no neutrality when it comes to this spiritual war – you are either with Him or against Him.  “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  Christ did not say, “As long as you are not siding with the enemy, you are okay”; but He said, “If you aren’t with me, then you are my enemy.”  There are only two choices, either fully committed to Him or not at all.  There is no gray area.  There is no middle ground.  There is no neutral.

These words of Christ seem to speak to two groups of people – the unbelievers and the believers.  It is clearly first addressed to those who have yet to make a decision for Christ, “Whoever is not with me is against me…”  To them, Christ sets a clear, divisive line – either you give your life to Him or you are an enemy.  So for those who are sitting on the fence, pick a side and pick one soon.  Surprisingly, the second phrase of this quote though seems to addresses believers more than unbelievers in that it states, “…Whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  Christ mentions “gathering” in two main ways in the New Testament – 1) Gathering people into the kingdom of God (i.e. John 4:35-38) and 2) Gathering people in the end of days either into His bosom or into the Lake  of Fire (Matthew 13:24-30).  Because of this, I am inclined to believe that this second phrase is a call to Christians to gather souls to the kingdom of God, or simply, to be witnesses.  So many Christians today have chosen to become apathetic.  Instead of living transformed lives by the renewing of their minds, they conform to this world.  They fail to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and the city set on a hill; instead, they live neutral lives, in the name of tolerance, in order to not offend anyone.  Instead of drawing people to Christ like a brightly burning flame, they flicker in and out, not making much of a difference at all.  They refuse to stand up for Christ and His Word.  They refuse to share the Gospel.  They refuse to be a laborer.  And they do this all to “keep the peace.”  The truth is that sharing the Gospel will be offensive, because you are showing the world their sin and telling them that the only solution is Christ.  But even though the Gospel will hurt and offend, it will also convict and save.  Jesus made it clear, that if you aren’t helping gather people into His kingdom, then you are essentially scattering them out.  There is nothing worse than a dead/neutral Christian both in the sight of God and the world.  To God this half-heartedness is like lukewarm milk, only useful for spitting out (Revelation 3:15-16).  To the world, this “neutrality” can only be seen as hypocrisy, for all it depicts is an untransformed life not devoted to what it says is the most important thing in the world.  Neutrality does not win souls but a devoted life to God and active witnessing.  As Christians, we must decide whether we will be fully devoted to Christ in discipleship and help gather others into His bosom or if we will be “tolerant” and in turn help scatter them.  You are either building the kingdom or simply breaking it down.  Make a decision for Christ today.  There is no neutral ground.

Something More Important than Food

John 4:31-34 – “Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying ‘Rabbi, eat.’  But He said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’  So the disciples said to one another, ‘Has anyone brought Him something to eat?’  Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.’”

What are the three things essential to maintain life?  Almost everyone in the world would have the exact same answer that popped into your head just a few seconds ago – food, water, and shelter.  These three simple things are crucial when trying to survive.  Why do you think all these survivalist shows like Man vs. Wild and Survivorman always focus on those three things – hunting and foraging for food, finding a clean, drinkable water source, and putting up a shelter for the night?  It is because they are essential for life.  But of all those three things, food is probably the most enjoyed, as well as, the one most missed, for when our stomachs start to grumble there is nothing else that occupies our mind.  When someone rings the dinner bell, we drop everything and run towards the aromatic smells.  But when we look at our passage today, Jesus Christ did not respond in the same way we usually do to food; instead, He saw something of even more importance than food – the will of His Father, the will of God.  To Christ, doing the will of God was just as essential, if not more essential than food.

John 4 tells the story of when Jesus stopped by Samaria on His way back to Galilee.  Now, it was already unusual that Jesus, a Jew by nationality, would even walk through this area, because Samaritans were seen by Jews as the lowest of the low, but He went one step further and stopped in the area to rest.  While resting, His disciples went out to buy some food, leaving Jesus alone at a well.  The well was then visited by a Samaritan woman with a questionable past, to which, Jesus struck up a conversation, knowing full well (since He was God) of her adulterous history.  By the end of the conversation, He had revealed to her that He was the Messiah and convinced her of that truth.  She then went off to tell all the other Samaritans in that village to come and meet the Messiah.  It was in this space of time that the disciples returned to offer the Lord some food, telling Him, “Rabbi, eat.”  Jesus then told them what we find in our passage today, “I have food to eat that you do not know about…My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work.”  It was simple – the main concern that Christ had was the salvation of the Samaritans.  He wanted this woman and the rest of the village to know Him as Savior and Lord, even though, He was already weary from the journey into town (vs. 6) and must have been quite hungry.  But in the end, all He desired was to see that the will of His Father be fulfilled – that people, no matter who, would have restored relationships with God.  In the end, many of the Samaritans placed their faith in Christ that day, all because Christ treasured His Father’s will above all else, even His lunch.

We as disciples of Jesus Christ should have the exact same desire as our Lord – to do the will of Him who sent us (Jesus Christ) and to accomplish His work (of making disciples of all nations).  This goal should be more important to us than our delightful Sunday brunches, our comfortable homes, our preconceived prejudices, and even our treasured reputations.  All of this was put to the side by Christ in John 4.  He ignored the food when He had the opportunity to share the Gospel, for that work fed His soul.  He delayed His return home to Galilee to spend time in a small village, to rescue a village ripe for salvation.  He shot down the prejudices of Jewish society, ignoring the enmity to Samaritans and the social position of women, in order to show His gracious love by speaking to this woman.  He even put aside how people would perceive Him for conversing with a known adulteress, because He loved her that much.  We must be like our Lord, finding the will of God to be the most important thing in our life.  We need to stop chasing the things of this earth. We need to stop using the excuse of “Later, after this meal, after this job, after this weekend.”  Instead we must go out into the bountiful harvest, awaiting us right outside our door, and fulfill the Great Commission given us in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you….”  We can be the laborers that God calls into His harvest if we would but get up and do His will, instead of sitting on the couch feeding our flesh.