Repentance

What shall we do? On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and preached to the multitudes that were gathered at Jerusalem.

Acts 2:36-38

36. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

37. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

38. Then Peter said unto them, 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.

It is evident that some in the Body of Christ have become dull of hearing. They come to church faithfully but never seem to change the wickedness of their ways. Something is wrong with this picture. Perhaps the simple answer is, they are not really hearing the Word. IT'S THE HOLY GHOST THAT WORKS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN. He causes us to see God and us. He also lets us know what we must do to maintain or get back to right standing with God. It is the Holy Ghost who brings men to conviction. Jesus said, “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; …” (St. John 16:8- 9).

Because we are born into the Kingdom of God by the Holy Spirit, we are able to see ourselves even as God sees us. Now grant you some of us do not want to admit that we really do see the ugliness of our ways. Instead, some prefer to engage in long drawn-out counseling sessions to see if leadership has any real discerning or truly knows their spiritual location. This becomes a game to match wits with God’s government. The instructions of the Lord are very clear in this. We are not to participate in such foolishness.

Salvation is a personal experience and walk. It is personal between the believers and their God. It is not within the ability of God’s leaders to force righteousness, belief, or submission to the principles of God upon His people. It is the believer who must be convicted of sin and come to the point where he too will ask, “What must I do?” And the answer will be the same. REPENT. Without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sin.

Ministers must be careful not to allow flesh to redefine repentance. We must know God’s heart and mind in this; otherwise, we will not be able to affect righteousness in the household of faith. Sorrow, remorse, feeling bad, being penitent etc. is not sufficient to provoke God’s forgiveness for sin. It is not enough for us to confront those who transgress and cause them to look upon their evil. Demons fear and tremble in the presence of God, but they do not change, nor do they repent. Mere conviction is not enough either. When saints are truly sorry for their sins, they will come to God with the intent to forsake the sin. They will turn away from it and embrace the principles of God. Man can be fearful but still have a purpose to do evil. We must not be moved by what people do on the outside or rather in the flesh. God judges the heart.

And now to the Unsaved as well as the Saved... Repentance requires a broken spirit and a contrite heart. The heart must be purposed not to sin anymore. God is eager to save. It does not take years to receive Christ. If you have not made up in your mind to forsake your way, He is not coming. This is a walk of self-denial. One must be willing to take up his cross and then follow Christ. Sinners will not receive salvation nor will saints receive forgiveness if they come to God purely out of fear of consequences. This is not true repentance.

Sinners must come because they are truly convicted of their sins, but also believe in the promises of the gospel and the love God has bestowed upon them. Saints must come to God for forgiveness of sin because they are partakers of the heavenly gift and have tasted of the world to come. These things should have created a love for the Father that is greater than the pleasures of this world. If there were no consequences to sin, would we still come to God? This will test where the heart really is in your walk. If there were no consequences, would God be the preference? Matured ministers must be able to discern these scenarios if they are going to be able to identify the effect or non-effect of the Word in the lives of the people to whom they minister. God says in His Word if a man loves me, he will keep my commandments. In other words, walk in what you know and my Father and I will make our abode in you.

St. Luke 3:7-10

7. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

9. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

10. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

God does not and will not accept anything less than what He has required of us. He will not compromise His Word, for it is settled. All man can do is submit to it or utterly reject it. This will always be the choice men face when dealing with God. Nevertheless, when men hear the Word and inquire of the Lord, He is faithful to respond.

St. Luke 3:11-14

11. He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

12. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?

13. And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

14. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

All of the above having been said, it stands to reason that if one chooses not to obey that which is written, then it follows they will not be forgiven of their sins. Ministers must take these things at face value. We must not be guilty of putting people in the spiritual locations they ought to be in, but rather dealing with them where they really stand in or out of God. The truth will never change.

The individual whose heart is after God will relinquish sin; even if it means he will be denied the pleasure in the sin he once sought after. It is evident that many who confess salvation do not have the sentiments of God. They are far from the attributes of holiness, and righteousness is not a preference. They do what they think to be enough to blend in with the saints but in essence, their hearts are far from embracing the character of Christ. We must not be slow to address and encourage such to seek out a true relationship and fellowship with God.

Hard-Heartedness

What is a hard heart and what causes it to become hard?

Hebrews 3:7-8

7. Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,

8. Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

The commandments of God are not for the future but are for right now. When God speaks, humility is the order of the day. Tomorrow is not promised and there are certainly no guarantees there will be another opportunity to repent. God wants us to be sensitive to His voice, and His admonitions. Whenever truth is rendered, God is talking. The refusal to hearken to God’s voice is what hardens the heart. The more often one refuses to obey God, the easier it becomes to disobey Him.

Dangers of Ignoring God’s Voice:

• Hard heart – conscience becomes seared

• Truth makes no impression

• Preaching is listened to without interest

• No righteous response even in affliction

• The mind is unaffected even by the appeals of friends or loved ones

Just because someone listens to counsel does not mean he or she is humble. God wants us to obey counsel and not just listen to it. Repentance manifests a change in heart, mind and conduct. True repentance renders a changed life. This too will never change and it must be the measure by which we do righteous judgment.

Whenever God takes out time to talk to us, we ought to consider ourselves blessed. On more than one occasion, we have been spared the damnation we deserved because of sin. It is the tender mercy and loving-kindness of our Father that He did not take the breath out of our bodies. He is God and He could have chosen to do that. We must ask ourselves why did He spare us and once again afford us the opportunity to sit under His grace? Why is He continuing to allow us to HEAR His Word?

Nevertheless, we must hear with our hearts. It is a sad thing to sit in the house of the Lord repeatedly, year after year, but not change. Many have simply blended in and sought to use their functions on different church auxiliaries as spiritual cloaks. However, their presence and functions on these boards and auxiliaries have not created a change in character.

As shepherds and under-shepherds, we must discern when this is the case. It is our responsibility to contend for the faith. When men and women in our congregations have not come to the righteousness of the Word they hear, they must be assured that God is not pleased with their disposition. They must not be allowed to continue in the complacency of duty and church activity. This is not the will of God.

1 John 3:4-6

4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

5. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

6. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

The intent of the preaching of the gospel is to change the hearts of men. It was the preaching of the gospel that saved us. It changed our minds and placed new desires in our hearts. Is not the Word as powerful today? Or has it lost its ability to bring us into the presence of God in peace? When we see so much sin among the saints and listen to them confess the great struggle they encounter in an attempt to live holy, this simply undermines the power of salvation. God did not intend for us to struggle with sin for years and years. Neither did He intend for us to have thought wars or agonize as we contemplate whether or not we are going to come out of sin.

Sin is a burden and the saints of God were relieved of that burden forever. Jesus was manifested to set the captives free. But sin is so deceitful. It can cause us to believe we cannot live without it, especially when we have been driven by it year after year. Sad to say, there are saints whose testimony has always been corrupted by sin. In many cases, it has become all they know. Once a preacher told me that in all the twenty-one years he had been saved, the only time he could remember going a year without sin was the first year he came to our ministry.

The Word of God must be received by Faith. Some are truly saved but have a track record of every now and then falling into sin. Then they begin to despair within themselves. Their failures and lack of faithfulness cause them to doubt God and His Word. However, we cannot look at our failures and character deficiencies and think to interpret the Word of God. It does not matter what our mind surmises. If God says we are free, that is what He means. His Word is not always compatible with what we feel or think to be the truth. The bottom line, the blood of Jesus has cleansed us from all sin and God has made provisions for us to remain sin free.

Again, this Word must be received by faith.