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our idea of Repentance can be defined in many ways. we define it as ‘change of mind’, as ‘change of heart’. some say ‘turning away from sin’. still others say ‘turning to God’, or ‘for the forgiveness of sins’
to some Repentance is ‘wailing while reciting the sinners prayer’ or ‘beating their chest while looking down to ground depicting meekness’
most of the time, Repentance is associated with an idea of a ‘sin to let go’ and ‘some good works to be performed’
now if the word ‘penance’ resonates in your mind, I say CHANGE YOUR MIND NOW!
But what is ‘True Repentance’ ? let us meditate on this verse
” Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness
and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the
kindness of God leads you to Repentance? “
– Romans 2:4 NASB
Fear Driven Repentance
did someone said to you ‘you are going to hell! repent or perish!’ ? did you repented out of fear?
my friend if our repentance is based on fear of hell or fear of punishment or fear of rejection, then that repentance is not true Repentance. it is the goodness of God that leads us to true Repentance.
we have to hear the true gospel in order for true Repentance to happen. it is by hearing the good news that all your sins has been forgiven. it is by hearing the God loves you as you are, that true Repentance happen
Judas Repented Too
” 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 “
– Matthew 27:3 KJV
It is easy to assume that ‘Judas wasn’t sincere enough in turning away from sin, therefore he did not really repent’. but lets look at the Greek word for repented
oopsie! its not there. we cannot seem to find the word ‘repented’ in the original Greek. The right word is Remorse and the Greek for
Remorse – metaméllomai (metá [change after being with] and mélō [care, be concerned with]) – to experience a change of concern after a change of emotion and usually implying to regret, i.e. falling into emotional remorse afterwards (note the force of metá).
Remorse and Repentance are not the same
What Is True Repentance
” Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness
and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the
kindness of God leads you to Repentance? “
– Romans 2:4 NASB
The Greek word for Repentance is ‘metánoia’ or ‘metanoeó’
Repentance – metanoeó (metá [changed after being with] and noiéō [think]) – ‘think differently after’ , ‘after a change of mind’; to repent (literally, ‘think differently afterwards’)
‘When you change the way you are thinking, Repentance is happening’
True Repentance is a result of God’s kindness. The knowledge of God’s kindness leads a person to true Repentance. How can I say that?
look at Peter, the sinner
” .. And they came and filled both of the boats,
so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter
saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying,
“Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” “
– Luke 5:7-8 NASB
Did Peter manifested true Repentance? I say yes! Jesus blessed Him first with a ton of fishes in his net. Peter then realized he do not deserved Jesus. Peter experience first hand the undeserved favor /Grace of God. he did not deserved to be blessed but grace came forth to him who is underserving. his fellow fishermen were blessed too as a result.
look at ‘not knowing’ in Romans 2:4
“ .. not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance ”
The Greek word for not knowing is ‘agnoeó’
not knowing – agnoeó (‘a’ [as a negative particle] and ‘noieo’ [think]) – not to know (through lack of information or intelligence); by implication, to ignore (through disinclination)
Notice the word ‘noieo’ exists in Repentance and Knowing? It means true Repentance is a change of mind as a result of God’s grace.
You cannot ‘change your thinking without knowing’ therefore ‘when you know God’s goodness, your thinking will definitely change’
We have true Repentance because we knew the goodness of God. We knew the goodness of God because we have experienced His Grace during the least expected. That Grace is the good news which is all about Jesus. This is the Gospel
True Repentance Results to Change of Heart/Mind
The word Repentance has been religionize. we associate repentance to ‘the forgiveness of sin or turning away from sin’. No way! please stop this thinking. turning away from sin is the result of true repentance. forgiveness is the result of the shed blood of Jesus
” Repent, then, and turn to God, so that
your sins may be wiped out, that times
of refreshing may come from the Lord “
– Acts 3:19
turn to God with your sins. come to God with your sins. God will wiped out your sins. Do not attempt to take away your sin. you cannot! come as you are to God. bring your sins to God and the blood of Jesus His Son will cleanse you from all sins. amen!
Many have tried with sheer will and effort to turn away from sin, because of wrong thinking on repentance. they though, they should turn away from sin first before coming to God. they end up in sin struggle or worst have given up because they cannot stop sin.
Do you desire true Repentance? ask Jesus now to come into your life. you can also ask Him for the gift of grace which He gives freely without any payment
Let me tell you, Christ died for sinners and not for those who deserves. if we think that by repenting we can deserved grace then we are in err. God’s grace is for the sinners. His undeserved favor is not for the deserving.
God’s grace is always followed by true repentance and not the other way around
consider this woman caught in adultery
” Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they?
Did no one condemn you?” She said,
“No one, Lord.” And Jesus said,
“I do not condemn you, either. Go.
From now on sin no more.” “
– John 8:10-11
Did this adulterer Repent? Tell me. Did Jesus said to her ‘woman, you must repent of adultery first then I will not condemn you, then I will forgive you’. may it never be!
Did the woman experience God’s undeserved grace? absolutely! she experienced true Repentance otherwise Jesus would not have said to her ‘… go and sin no more’
We should stop condemning sinners! Let the sinners experience the grace of God first! tell that to the murderers, the homosexuals, the thieves, the liars. tell them God grace is for them and that they are accepted and loved, and that Jesus has prepared a place for them in heaven. tell them all their sins are forgiven and paid for by Christ at the cross. tell them about the gift of no condemnation and I can guarantee they will sin no more.
If you are reading this and happen to not have Christ in your life; receive God’s unconditional forgiveness and love! the only requirement is for you to receive it freely. no need to do good works to be forgiven.
if you are already in Christ, change your mind towards sin. It’s a done deal at the cross. start living your life and enjoy the complete and total forgiveness of all your sins. live a free life simply because you are free. amen.
true Repentance is the one driven by God’s love. true Repentance leads to mind transformation, heart transformation then life transformation.
true Repentance is not driven by fear, but exhibits worship.
– grace and peace
the gospel of grace 
It is good to approach all people with love and to come to God with seeing Him as a loving God, but is also good to note that the Word of God says,:
12 Everything is permissible (allowable and lawful) for me; but not all things are helpful (good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things). Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under its power.- 1 Corinthians 6:12
I have no prejudices against anyone, no matter what kind of lifestyle, they have because I recognize that they are sinners, but God loves you too much to keep you that way.
When we become born again, and we are in Christ, there are somethings we can no longer do because we have to ask ourselves if Christ was here would He want us to do those things, we will not want to do them, if we still want to do them then there’s a problem there and that’s where repentance comes in. It’s a transformation process.
The goal of a Christian life is to have more of Jesus, because it is not us, but Christ living in us and operating through us, and it His grace that picks us up where we fall and each time we fall.
“I can guarantee they will sin no more.”- I have known people who have experienced God’s grace and love, and still glorify their sin in their hearts.
That is not to say that when we are weak, and we are not able to meet up doing all these “religious works” or even that we’re required to, that His grace comes down and comforts us and enables us to live a sanctified life. Being that we should still live a sanctified life because Jesus is our sanctification and He makes His holiness shine through us, so then we will not be able to steal anymore and not want to lie any more not want to murder any more, and not want to commit homosexuality because we have a new identity and that is in Christ, and hence therefore we are a New Creation, putting off the old self, and putting on the new self. He works with you. It is a process. To be more and more like Christ is the goal, but when you are sick and weak, He understands and that is by His grace that gives you strength not to sin.
I do not pray for the world (context of sinners) but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. John 17:9
John 17:20-26
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will[e] believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
The key linking factor is believing in Jesus through the Word, and even though we will not be able to read the Word at all times, once we have the Word, it is sown in our heart. Everything we believe must line up with the Word, and God takes you through a process of renewing your mind, and recycling the junk that’s gotten in.
I’m sorry this is so long…I am still on the side of grace and freedom, but freedom has to have boundaries like sheep in a sheep gate and we cannot let everyone get away with everything all the time, but there’s nothing wrong with showing love, but I’ll tell you from personal experience, sometimes you know something is wrong, and when you continue to do it – it leaves an imprint on your conscience and makes you feel guilty so it is better to stop doing it and turn away from it, until it eats you alive and then you don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing it anymore.
hello there
@ “but I’ll tell you from personal experience, sometimes you know something is wrong, and when you continue to do it – it leaves an imprint on your conscience and makes you feel guilty so it is better to stop doing it and turn away from it, until it eats you alive and then you don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing it anymore.”
i’m a born again christian, i screw up doing the same thing over and over again. i’m sick of it its like a vicious cycle. i know what i’m doing is wrong but i do it anyway just for a temporary time of pleasure. then immediatly after i feel like a scum, an undeserving scum who deserves the full wrath of God. i’ve read the word and i know it, and i try really hard to keep away from temptation, but then i find myself going back to the very thing i told God i won’t do again even though i know its wrong and i know what the bible says. how do i stop how do i turn away completely! i’m so sick of this vicious cycle but i cant seem to stop myself but i really want to. help me i know Gods grace is sufficient for me but i dont wanna keep doing the same wrong thing over and over again thinking God will always forgive me later because thats wrong too. i thoroughly regret my actions but help me how do i stop this and break away from this vicious cycle of sexual sin.
@”i thoroughly regret my actions but help me how do i stop this and break away from this vicious cycle of sexual sin.”
……………………………………………………………………
let me bluntly tell you. all your sins has been forgiven. focus less on “trying your best not to commit sin”. rather, put all your effort on believing you are righteous by faith, not by works.
yes, put all your effort in believing you are still righteous even when you have committed sin. little sin or big sin you think.
truth is, the hard part is not getting away from sin. the hard part is believing you are still righteous even when you have sinned. believe the holy Spirit when He reminds you “you are still and will always be righteous”
i know the struggle. i have committed disgusting sins, similar to yours. and yes i was a christian when i did that.
so whats the difference before and now?
before or in the past, when you sin you try your best to confess all of them.. you try your best to repent and make sure not to do them again. and the end result is you keep on doing them all the more.
but now, you have the revelation of God’s grace. the grace that says “all your sins has been forgiven”. its a different story.
so put yourself at rest. receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness.
so the next time when you sin? confess, utter loudly with your mouth “I am the righteousness of God in Christ” amen.
@”I have known people who have experienced God’s grace and love,
and still glorify their sin in their hearts”
…………………………..
how were you able to see inside their hearts?
but in case you did see it,
i say they have not receive the true grace.
“for sin shall have no dominion over you,
for you are not under law but grace”
– romans 6:14
“No one who is born of God will continue to sin,
because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go
on sinning, because he has been born of God”
– 1 John 3:9
genuine believers hate sin,
genuine believers glorify God, and not sin
………………….
but i am see your point. somewaht like you,
i’ve seen christians in the church commit
adultery and murder. not that i’ve seen them
on the act. in fact they are wanted by the local
police.
i am having a hard time understanding because I am
so quick to judge a person to be a christian and
a person to be a non christian. we based on outward
appearance, which is decieving.
so i conclude, God knows his children. and i refrain
from identifying by looks, who’s who and who’s not.
if you notice, I use the word genuine believer rather
than christian. the word christian is already tainted.
many claims to be christian. and that if we based what
the bible says about God’s children – genuine believers
it is a far cry to those who claim to be christians.
you are right, we must fix our eyes on Jesus. we are
transformed effortlessly, because it is when we behold
Jesus in his glory we are transformed in the same image.
have a blessed day
– grace and peace
well said in your last reply ! G
:)
This is a video that really helped me, and it gives some historial background and can help you and it is called Sola Fide, which means Faith Alone.
Oops I meant to only post the link, but it posted the video. If you want you can remove it and I can give it to you in a private email.
thanks, will check that out.
I generally agree with everything he says.
some part I need to do some study.
17:30 @”He says you must remain believing in order to be saved”
in my point of view, maintaining your belief is work.
but ‘he who endures to the end shall be saved’
enduring is a work. I know that endurance and
perseverance are the results of believing.
so the genuine believer is mark with perseverance
but remaining in belief, I will have to expound my study on it.
maybe this is what it meant
“from faith to faith” just as the righteous by faith shall live
we start in believing-faith, then we continue in believing-faith
not end up in work maintenance mode???
What I think he’s trying to say is that when we have faith, there is some works that come out of it, like the fruit of the Spirit, and actions that you do out of love, but it is not that you work first, but faith brings forth works. It is kind of like a baby, when we are planted with a seed of faith, something will come out of it, by this we know we are really saved. But if we are producing what is called bad fruit, which can happen, even to a believer, we must repent (turn around) in order to bring forth good fruit – do not use the baby example with that one. We have been given seeds of love, and faith working through love produces that actions which are declarations of righteousness and it is a day by day process and journey. If you love God with all your heart mind soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, you will do things to show your love. Because sometimes it takes More than Words and Sometimes Words are just not enough. (Even the secular world knows that ;))
thanks for your reply.
i dont seem to remember him mentioning a believer producing bad fruit,
this also is true, because Jesus is the vine we are the branches. we cannot produce bad fruit
regarding faith working through love, in terms of justification, it is by faith alone.
Martin Luther was specific about faith alone.
but i agree with your point. the expression of love proves the love,
but it is God who first love us then we love.
just as the righteous will do righteous work because he is righteous
thanks again
– grace and peace
(You said): “my friend if our repentance is based on fear of hell or fear of punishment or fear of rejection, then that repentance is not true Repentance. it is the goodness of God that leads us to true Repentance.”
I think this is a little bit short sighted because it assumes that fear and the goodness of God are mutually exclusive to one another and because it places a broad judgment that is not in line with the scriptures upon the repentance of many Christians throughout history.
Proverbs 3:7 says ” Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.”
(You said): “oopsie! its not there. we cannot seem to find the word ‘repented’ in the original Greek.”
I agree with this, in fact, the NKJV & the NASB use the word “remorseful”, as you correctly pointed out, because our usage and understanding of the word “repent” has greatly changed since the days of the KJV.
I also agree wholeheartedly with the testimony of the Holy Spirit in Romans 2:4- our salvation, from the conviction of Truth to the completion of Sanctification by the Holy Spirit and the resurrection of the body is completed because of the kindness and mercies of God, forever, amen.
What I must warn against, as I have before, is an apostate teaching that says “do not turn from your sins; you can’t.”
I warn against this because it is misunderstood in our day- by your flesh and while in bondage to sin under the law, you’re absolutely right, you cannot. But as the new creation by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, YOU MUST, for that is the fruit and evidence of the work of Christ that ALL His good harvest produces.
Grace and Peace in Christ Jesus- may He guide you in Truth by the Holy Spirit free from the teachings of those who are not of Him nor never knew Him, Amen!
ON “my friend if our repentance is based on fear of hell or
…fear of punishment or fear of rejection,
…then that repentance is not true Repentance.
…it is the goodness of God that leads us to true Repentance.”
@”I think this is a little bit short sighted because it assumes that fear
and the goodness of God are mutually exclusive to one another and
because it places a broad judgment that is not in line with the
scriptures upon the repentance of many Christians throughout history.
Proverbs 3:7 says ” Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.” ”
……………………………………………………………
I see your point. my lack of description makes it vague.
down through the years, i’ve seen a lot of people recite the sinners
prayer out of fear. because the pastor told them they are going to hell.
I, for one have been haunted by those ‘gospel tracts’ in the 80s-90s
I can never forget the image of that guy dress in black, they call
it the Grim Reaper.
believe it or not, I accepted Christ more than 6 times out of fear.
I was so scared of sin. I confess everytime I commit one,
then I developed depression.
You are right we have to fear the Lord. I know its not the fear we know.
Jesus has excellent description of fear – Worship the Lord your God and
serve Him only .
@What I must warn against, as I have before, is an apostate teaching that says
“do not turn from your sins; you can’t.”
I warn against this because it is misunderstood in our day-
……………………………………………………………
absolutely, you are correct. it is doubled. I’ve been meaning to
say, do not try to clean or remove your sin by your own.
i’ve changed it to ‘Do not attempt to take away your sin’
@Grace and Peace in Christ Jesus- may He guide you in Truth by the Holy Spirit free
from the teachings of those who are not of Him nor never knew Him, Amen!
……………………………………………………………
you are most welcome brother. always a blessing to hear from you.
thank you very much for taking your time to read through the end of this post.
– grace and peace be multiplied to you. amen
I saw your comment and wanted to reply before I go to bed.
Yes, I am in stark disagreement with that form of “tract-evangelism” and use of “the Lord’s prayer”. There is a fear of the Lord that is Holy, as you mentioned what Jesus said, and in that we due well to grow, and grow even more in perfect love which casts out fear.
As you said, if we try to rectify our own sin, we’re acting in futility. We turn away from sin by the power of Christ!
This is really wonderfull, but need christian friends
you mean you will not have christian friends because of this? :)
Still one needs to remind themselves homosexuality is no more a sin then hetrosexuality. Love is love as GOD is love beyond any and all sexual orientation, race, creed, culture, race or religion. Remember its the gospel of grace , and not of dogma. Truly if anyone is denied as such, have have commited the greatest of sins, in denying GOD’S unconditional love, unconditionally.
i totally agree. the gospel is never about behavior modification. of course there will be change,
a person looking homo or hetero sexual cannot be concluded as a non believer. the gospel must be preach to everyone without merit or prerequisites
Yes God loves us. In his word he say he rains blessing down on the just and unjust. Yet God hate sin. Sin is the separation of us from God. When Saul disobeyed God many times did not God take his spirit away from him. Did not Saul get murdered in battle after he went to go see a witch. In which God does not approve of. If God is this unconditional God you have made him to be. Then no one would ever come to know the true God, because there will be no point to if his love will save us all. Sin, kill, rape, steal, God loves you anyway just the way you are. NO! This is bigger then the sin of homosexuality. This is denouncing God’s righteousness his perfect love the reason he died for us. To cleanse our sins, and bring us back to God. God is a just God we will reap what we sow. If you reap righteousness then heaven is your reward. If you reap sin death is your reward.Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. Turn away from wickedness.
Be blessed
@”If you reap righteousness then heaven is your reward”
how do you reap something you did not sow?
no, you sow righteousness first.
you sow righteousness by believing in Christ your righteousness.
you sow righteousness by not trying to earn righteousness by good works.
you then reap what you sow.
you sow faith in Christ alone.
@”Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near”
we repent by changing our minds about how our sins are punish and forgiven.
we repent by changing our minds that righteousness is not and never by good works by through faith in Christ alone.
this is radical statement. repentance is not turning away from sin, but turning to Christ who took away your sins
Pingback: What is True Repentance? | jesuslovesruthy
Reblogged this on Jesus Avenue and commented:
“True repentance is the one driven by God’s love. True Repentance leads to mind transformation, heart transformation then life transformation. It is not driven by fear, but exhibits worship” :)
am blessd with th topic true repentance. that it shd be out of fear but out of God’s kindness and grace to the sinner
indeed. it is the goodness of God that leadeth one to repentance.
everyday, we repent for the goodness of God is abounding.
we cant help but be affected by the goodness of God.
I have betrayed by someone who is close to me she said that she has repent but she never confess before me. Can I forgive her. Without knowing anything .But its my argue know everything.
in this world, forgiving someone is based on
1. emotion, i feel like forgiving
2. its hard to forgive big sins, small sins, i forgive you
3. i only forgive you if you forgive me
but to truly forgive someone in this world, you have to experience first true Forgiveness which is from Jesus
Luke 7:47
I tell you, her sins–and they are many–have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.
so what am i saying? you cannot unconditionally forgive someone without experiencing first the unconditional forgiveness of God through Jesus.
conclusion. ask God for a revelation on how much you have been forgiven, then you can forgive others :)
– grace and peace
1john1v8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
– Acts 10:15
This article is really helpful to me. Praise Jesus, may His Grace and Mercy continue to follow you and your family all the days of your life. Amen
Thank you for all the incredible time that you have put aside in allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal truths to you. Then you teach and share with all who will listen.