According to the New Testament, when sinners heard the gospel preached
stimulating faith in them they were also instructed to repent. It is as
necessary today that believers repent as it was in the New Testament, since
repentance is “unto salvation” and “for the remission of sins.” It then
becomes necessary for us to know what repentance is in order for us to
accomplish it. An honest seeker of the Truth, who is not trying to justify
his own questionable circumstances or those of others, will find the meaning
of repentance is easily found in the Bible.
Repentance is not a deep, dark and hard to be understood subject. There are
preachers who have stated that they didn’t know what constituted repentance.
A person who knows enough of God’s Will to be called a preacher ought to know
what repentance is! If not then such a person is an embarrassment and is
inexcusable for calling on others to do something he, himself does not
comprehend. Imagine preaching to others the necessity of their being
baptized, all the while, really not knowing what constitutes Scriptural
baptism. Isn’t it a shame what men will stoop to in order to justify wrong
doing.
REGRET
In the Scriptures regret is referred to as “godly sorrow.” Paul writes, “For
godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the
sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Cor 7:10). The original word,
“metamelomai” means literally, “after care.” Men may have regret for a
misdeed but “godly sorrow” brought on by hearing and believing the message of
Jesus Christ brings about the other elements of true repentance. Being sorry
for one’s past sins is an effect brought about by belief in the testimony of
God and is one element of true repentance.
RESOLUTION
Repentance is sorrow for sins committed, but it is more. It involves a change
of mind. A person cannot have “repentance toward God” who has not resolved in
his heart to cease to commit sin.. As the Prodigal changed his mind about his
sinful and degenerate life and returned to his father’s house, the one who
truly repents will form in his heart an entirely different attitude about
sin. He will resolve that sin should no longer have dominion in his life.
REFORMATION
Repentance involves a resolution to forsake sin, but it is more. Campbell
writes in his Christian System that repentance is actually “ceasing to do
evil, and learning to do well.” This thought is proved by Ephesians 4:28
saying, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working
with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that
needeth.” Thayer defines “metanoeo” as, “to change one’s mind for the better,
heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins.” One said of
repentance, “It is not merely to be sorry for what you have done wrong, or a
resolve to do better..... It is not to amend your ways but always is
consummated in actual reformation of life.”
Baptism does not make sin righteousness. Through baptism is offered
forgiveness of sins, but it certainly does not justify for the baptized
believer that which was sinful for the alien. In order to obtain the
forgiveness of sin as a result of baptism, repentance must precede the act,
and repentance involves reformation. Repentance requires forsaking, and as
far as is possible, the amending of any sin.
RESTITUTION
True repentance, which involves reformation, carries in its very essence, the
idea of restitution. It would be ridiculous to infer that at the conversion
of the thief of Ephesians 4, if he should have in his possession stolen money
or goods, that he would be free to keep that which belonged to others. But
are we not guilty when we place on the thief more responsibility than the Lord
did? We are quite aware that the law of Moses taught a rule of restitution
(Leviticus 6:1-7), and that Zaccheus must have tried to live by that rule
(Matthew 5:23,24), however, this Old Testament rule is never bound on
Christians by Jesus or His apostles. Consider the poor farmer who fed his
children stolen milk and meat who may never be in a position to repay the same
amount much less “fourfold” those things. However, as the Lord instructs, he
may be able to “labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that
he may have to give to him that needeth.”
Most of us in the past have told lies which we now cannot retrieve. Most of
us also feel the desperation of considering all the sins and misdeeds of the
past which cannot be corrected. You might remember a lie that you told in the
Third Grade to keep from being left out or made fun of. You know you can’t
change that but what does God tell you to do now? He tells us, “Lie not one
to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds”
(Colossians 3:9). Or maybe it was some filthy joke that you told. What can
you do about that now? Nothing! But from now on, “But now you must rid
yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and
filthy language from your lips” (Colossians 3:8 NIV).
THE SINS OF THE PAST
Jesus said to the woman taken in the very act of adultery, “Neither do I
condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). We fear that there are those
among us who are not satisfied with what Jesus said and would like for him to
have added more. Remember Jesus did not excuse her to commit more sin, but He
forgave her of the sin that she had committed and told her to “go and sin no
more.” The sinful people that the brothers and sisters of the church in
Corinth had been, being — “Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male
prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers” (NRSV),
if continued to be or even returned to would have damned their souls.
The apostle was not trying to soften the Christians of Corinth toward sin or
those who were sinning but he was showing them the wonderful, glorious
position that they had obtained as children of God now that they had “repented
and converted.” The Apostle says, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you:
but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).. So
don’t go back into those lives.
OUR MESSAGE
What should our message be as we go about teaching sinners of all sorts? It
matters not what sins you have been guilty of God will forgive you. Should it
not tell them “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them”
(Hebrews 7:25)? Should we not tell them that God loves sinners and wants them
saved? “The 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” (2 Peter 3:9). We need to
impress on the lost still out in sin that “He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16)..
And that they should “Repent, and be baptized everyone ... in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).
We need to show honest sinners the story of the Ethiopian who was returning
home after worshiping by a form not now acceptable to God. He was then taught
about Jesus by Phillip and when they came to “a certain water” he asked
Phillip, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip
said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and
said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the
chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip
and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And ... he went on his way rejoicing”
(Acts 8:36-39). This honest man wanted to be baptized, but to show he was fit
for baptism took only a confession of his faith in Christ. For Jesus Christ
had said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess
also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).
We are certain that all the converts in the book of Acts were taught to repent
(Acts 2:38 and 3:19) because the Lord demands that everyone repent. He said,
“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke
13:3).
PROBATION?
Years ago we ran into a brother who took the denominational position that the
Lord’s church should wait until we can determine and recognize repentance in
people before we fellowship them. Our position was that there was “no period
of probation” for the church to determine repentance in people ever taught in
the Scriptures. We pointed out that those sinners on Pentecost day who asked,
“what shall we do?” were told, “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.... Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand
souls.” Three thousand baptized people were added that day without hesitation
or probation.
May we ever show to the world a people who appreciate the Lord’s loving
kindness toward us, and never bind on others more than the Lord binds nor love
so little that we care not for a sinning soul. “For he shall have judgment
without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against
judgment” (James 2:13).
