First this week, let me apologize for no advanced warning about the lack of our regular Thursday post. We took a group from Phillips Street to CYC in Gatlinburg this weekend and some of us left Wednesday night preventing me from posting Thursday. I hope this oversight on my part didn’t leave too much of a void in your life:). All sarcasm aside, though, I have been seeing some incredible numbers on my stat page for this website and I greatly appreciate everyone who takes time to come to my little corner of the World Wide Web every week.
I truly believe one of the greatest misunderstood concepts in all of religion is in regard to the aspect of repentance. Many either do not know or they do not want to know what it means to truly repent because they recognize the drastic and dramatic change that must take place in their lives. It is that confusion that we must attempt to alleviate with solid Bible teaching regarding what true repentance entails. It is with that need in mind that I preached the sermon that follows:
Title: Practicing Penitence: What Does it Truly Mean to Repent?
Text: Luke 13:1-5
Main Point: Many people view sin as something for which they feel varying degrees of regret and remorse, but find so much pleasure in it that they willingly return for more. Some have the idea that repentance is nothing more than an acknowledgement of sin with no noticeable change expected. However, in our text we find a statement regarding just how urgent true repentance is. Seeing the urgency of repentance it would be good for us to answer the title question in three ways:
Discussion Points:
- The Definition of Repentance – www.yourdictionary.com defines repentance as “feeling of sorrow, etc. especially for wrongdoing; compunction; contrition; remorse…” These definitions are wholly insufficient because they do not get to the heart of what true repentance means. Other definitions are much more effective like: “change of heart that leads to a change of action;” “change of mind that leads to a change of life;” “forsaking evil and following righteousness.” However, the best thing we can possibly do when determining true Bible definitions is by letting the Bible do the defining. Read passages like the following and a Biblical picture of repentance is painted beautifully: Luke 17:4; Acts 26:2; Acts 9:35; Matthew 21:28-29. True repentance does originate with remorse, but it is not completed until a soul uses that remorse to change the course of their lives – turning from sin, turning to God.
- A Divine Example of Repentance – Luke 15:11-32 – in the parable of the prodigal son, notice the natural progression of his actions: (1) he despised his father, (2) he got lost out in the far country, (3) he forfeited all the blessings to which he was heir, (4) he suffered the despair of a depraved life, (5) he recognized his guilt and felt remorse for his wrongs, (6) he got up and went home to his rightful place with his father. We look down on the actions of the prodigal son, but upon closer examination do we not find our lives closely similar to his? (1) Sin is our rejection of our Father [Hebrews 6:4-6], (2) sin separates us from God and gets us lost in the far country of worldliness [Isaiah 59:1-2], (3) sin causes us to forfeit the blessings to which we otherwise are heirs [Proverbs 28:13], (4) sin causes us to suffer despair [Proverbs 14:34], (5) conviction causes us to recognize our guilt and feel remorse for our sins [Genesis 4:9-15], (6) repentance will send us home, our lives will go back to a proper state with the Father [Luke 24:4-47]. Knowing how repentance was illustrated by Jesus, the Master Teacher, gives us greater insight into what penitence truly is.
- The Demands of Repentance – Anything we do must be done with a “thus saith the Lord” – what has God demanded of the truly penitent person? It demands an acknowledgment (2 Samuel 12:1-13a). It demands a willingness (Psalm 51:3). It demands a determination (Psalm 51:13-15). It demands a request (Psalm 51:1-2). By meeting the demands of repentance we open our lives to the manifold blessings of God contained therein.
Repentance is such an emphasized necessity and urgent plea in the Bible we must not allow the ignorance of the world to bleed over into the church. Let’s be constant reminders of what practicing penitence truly entails so that we will be ready at the end!