REPENTANCE

Isaiah 55:7, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

Repentance—Sorry for sinning with a heart felt desire for forgiveness and a hatred for sin and a forsaking of it.  To turn right about face, go the opposite way and do the opposite thing, based upon deep sorrow and remorse for and abhorrence of sin.

1. John the Baptist preached repentance.  Matthew 3:2, "And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

2. Jesus preached repentance.  Matthew 4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Luke 13:3, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

3. Peter preached repentance.  Acts 2:38, "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."

4. Paul preached repentance.  Acts 17:30, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:"

5. The Disciples preached repentance.  Mark 6:12, "And they went out, and preached that men should repent."

1. The rich man in hell preached repentance.  Luke 16:30, "And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent."

2. The message to the Church in Ephesus: Repent.  Revelation 2:5, "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."

3. The message to the Church in Pergamos: Repent.  Revelation 2:16, "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."

4. The message to the Church in Thyatira: Repent.  Revelation 2:21-22, "And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds."

5. The message to the Church in Sardis: Repent.  Revelation 3:3, "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."

6. The message to the Church in Laodicea: Repent.  Revelation 3:19, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

     Many lost people have the idea that God hates them and that He is their enemy.  Not so, God hates their sin but He loves the sinner.

COMPARISON BETWEEN REAL AND FALSE REPENTANCE.

1. CAIN—sorry for his sin but no repentance.  Genesis 4:13, "And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear."

2. JUDAS ISCARIOT—remorse but no repentance.  Matthew 27:3, "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,"

3. KING SAUL—no real repentance.  1 Samuel 15:26, "And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel."

4. PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN—The Pharisee had no real repentance, but the Publican had real repentance. Luke 18:10-14.

5. THE PRODIGAL SON—The Prodigal repented after his journey into the far country. Luke 15:11-24.

FACTS ABOUT REAL REPENTANCE:

1. Cause you to love the Word of God.

2. Create in you a desire to Pray.

3. Give you a desire for the House of God.

4. Give an inward desire to live and do right.

5. Give you a love for the sinner and a hatred for sin.

6. Put lasting joy and peace in your soul.

7. Take away the guilt of sin.

8. Give you hope with a heavenly tug.

     David forgave Absalom his son before Absalom repented.  Absalom then ran David from the throne.  The Bible order is repentance, then forgiveness.  II Samuel 14:21-15:37.

     God sent the judgment of the flood because they did not repent.  They had 120 years of preaching by Noah to do so but did not.  God is giving mankind time to repent now, but judgment will come.

     We can incarcerate prisoners and turn them loose after serving their time, but without a Godly sorrow for their crime with a desire to forsake (which is real repentance) they will go back to their sin.

     Look at the Dog and the Sow.  2 Peter 2:22, "But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."  The dog turns to his own vomit because he is a dog with the nature of a dog.  The sow goes back to the mud hole after being washed because she is a sow.  This is the nature of them both.  A sinner can be rehabilitated, educated, instructed, counseled, coached, and supervised and still go back to his sin.  His nature has to be changed.  This is accomplished through the means of repentance and forgiveness, and in that order.

     Adam showed no sign of repentance after sinning in the garden of Eden and was expelled from the garden.  He demonstrated his lack of repentance by covering himself with fig leaves and hiding himself in the garden.  This is the nature of an unrepentant sinner, covering and hiding himself from God.  Repentance brings us face to face with God to experience His Divine Mercy.  It is a hard thing for man to admit he is a guilty sinner but

real Bible repentance admits that we are sinners before a Holy God and we deserve the worst of punishment.

· God said to repent from idols and abominations. Ezekiel 14:6, "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations."

· God said to repent from all transgressions. Ezekiel 18:30, "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin."

· God said repent from wickedness. Acts 8:22, "Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee."

1. The goodness of God leads to repentance.  Romans 2:4, "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?"

2. Preaching by Spirit filled men leads to repentance.  Acts 2:37, "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?"

3. Godly sorrow leads to repentance.  2 Corinthians 7:10, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."

4. Chastening of the Lord leads to repentance.  Revelation 3:19, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

5. A sight of God and His Holiness leads to repentance. Job 42:5-6, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."