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A study of the
Bible reveals that “repentance” is key to our obedience to God and to our
salvation. To “repent” simply means to “change one’s mind”. Jesus told a
parable of two sons whose father told them to work in the vineyard. The
first flatly refused, but afterward “repented” (KJV), and went to work.
He changed his mind and obeyed his father, as we must change our minds and
obey our heavenly Father. (see Mt 21:28-29).
As in Jesus’ parable, there is a battle going on for the control of our
mind. Will we insist on doing what we want to do or will we submit our
will to the Father’s? If we are to please the Father, our self- will must
be “crucified”- put to death as Jesus was put to death on the cross. Then
we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. (Gal 2:20). Repentance is the
decision to let Christ control our will and therefore control our lives.
But why would we make this decision? Surely we should
not let anyone control our life without good reason. Paul said that he
surrendered his will to Jesus with good reason. He said that his decision
to let Jesus be the King of his life was based on faith and love (Gal
2:20). Paul believed that Jesus is the King because He fulfilled all of
the prophets’ numerous predictions (Acts 17:1-4). Paul saw Jesus alive
after His resurrection and spent his life giving his eyewitness testimony,
urging people throughout the world to submit their will to Jesus as King
(Acts 26:12-20). Paul felt that the love Jesus had shown him by His death
on his behalf left him no choice, but to submit to His will- “For the love
of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all,
therefore all died; and he died for all, so that they who live might no
longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their
behalf.” (2 Cor 5:14-15). Do you have faith that Jesus is the Christ
(King)? Do you fully appreciate the love He showed for you when He shed
His blood to pay the penalty for your sins so that you could escape the
wrath of God in hell? Then surely you will find it easy to repent- to
decide to let Jesus control your life instead of yourself.
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Our intellect
prompts us to repent- to surrender our will to Jesus. Our intellect that
tells us that faith in Jesus is reasonable and that the love of Jesus is
the greatest love the world has ever known. But, repentance is also
prompted by our emotions. Once we believe that Jesus is the King and that
our sins crucified Him, our con-science can’t help but be smitten. As the
Jews on Pentecost, we are pierced to the heart (Acts 2:37). We agonize
over our disobedience to God and the One He has crowned King. How we have
hurt Them! What anger They have toward us! What punishment They will
send on us and how deserving we are of it! We are overcome with a mixture
of guilt, shame, and fear! So we cry out in grief as the Jews did, “What
must we do?” (Acts 2:37) Our godly sorrow makes it easy for us to obey
the command that Peter gave the guilt-ridden Jews- “repent” (Acts 2:38;
see 2 Cor 7:9-10). Do you see the folly and the tragedy of sin- of living
your life for yourself, contrary to the will of God? May the pain of
your pricked con-science move you to resolve to live for Jesus from now
on!
Repentance
in the mind, like the sap inside a tree, cannot be seen except by its
fruit (Lk 3:8). If we have changed our mind, if we have surrendered our
will, then it will be evident to God and to everyone we meet. When people
asked John the Baptist how to show the fruit of repentance, he told the
selfish to share, the dishonest to be honest, and those who abused their
authority to be fair (Lk 3:10-14). Concerning the fruit of repentance,
Paul told the church at Colossae, “Therefore consider the members of your
earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and
greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that
the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you
also once walked, when you were living in them, but now you also, put them
all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your
mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with
its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a
true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.” (Col
3:5-10) Renewed minds are to result in renewed lives- lives transformed
to think, speak, and act like Christ - lives not conformed to the |
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thinking,
speech, and attitudes of the world, but transformed to demonstrate the
good, acceptable, and perfect will of God (Rom 12:2). Are you willing to
undergo this transformation?
God will not force you to repent, but He makes clear the consequences if
you do not. You can choose to save your life for yourself, to live it
however you may please. But, Jesus says if you do so, you will lose your
life- you will lose your soul, you will “perish” (Lk 13:3,5), you will be
punished eternally in hell. Only if you choose to lose your life for
Jesus’ sake and for the gospel’s will you save it- will you be able to
enjoy eternity in heaven (Mk 8:35-37). God does not wish that you or
anyone else should perish, but He desires that you come to
repentance (2 Pet 3:9).
If you have not
repented, won’t you make the words of the songwriter Mrs. C.H. Morris your
own?: |
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“My stubborn
will at last hath yielded;
I would be
Thine and Thine alone;
And this the
pray’r my lips are bringing,
Lord, let in me
Thy will be done.
Sweet will of
God, still fold me closer,
Till I am
wholly lost in Thee;
Sweet will of
God, still fold me closer,
Till I am
wholly lost in Thee.
After you repent, obey Peter’s other instruction to the
Jews on Pentecost- be baptized for the remission of you sins (Acts 2:38).
In baptism, you will bury your dead old self and you will rise from the
water to walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4)- a life that will show to God
and everyone you meet that you have repented- a life controlled by the
will of Christ- a life that is being trans-formed into His image. |
