You have said WHAT you did was wrong...
You have said WHY you did it...
You have said you do not want to do it again...
Now what? HOW are you going to respond? Remember, what you DO (actions) proves what you believe...
DOCTRINE #40: REPENT
Repentance is the act of giving or doing something in order to repair the damage from the sin. Repentance is a DO. Repentance is turning the other way from sin and making progress in the opposite direction. Repentance ought to result in more through justice.
Question: Do you believe you confess without repenting?
Next Doctrine: Doctrine #41
Table of Contents
If you need it, here is the support from the Word of God...
SCRIPTURE
"17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
18 but God led the people about, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt." (Exodus 13:17-18)
(We saw this in Doctrine #32: Growth. Repent didn't mean stop. It meant turn around and GO the opposite way. Repentance isn't just stopping the bad act, it is making progress the opposite way.)
"19 God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and will he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it." (Numbers 23:19-20)
(Again, repentance is reversing it. Doing the opposite. This passage said God isn't a man. God doesn't lie THAT He should repent. This meant God doesn't repent of sin because God doesn't sin. However, God does go the opposite way. Do you think God has ever gone the opposite way? God did repent.)
"7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it;
8 if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
10 if they do that which is evil in my sight, that they obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them." (Jeremiah 18:7-10)
(Justice guides God going the opposite way of both doing good and doing evil. If God could not repent, then there would be no point in God being merciful or us having a free will. Once we sin, God would instantly even out justice and there would be no way for us to choose the good if we have sinned.)
"5 And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them." (Genesis 6:5-7)
(We saw this in Doctrine #27: Evil. God repented of making man meant God will never make man again. If God could make man differently than He did, then He was wrong. If God is Right and Just, how would God make man differently than how He had done it? If God would continue to make man, then it would be HIS fault when they sinned. Before the Flood, God discovered these peoples' HOW/WHY and wasn't going to be responsible for evil in the future by not responding through justice with another "Final Judgment".)
"35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul: and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel." (1 Samuel 15:35)
(God repenting of making Saul king meant God would never go through the same process to make a king like He did in 1 Samuel 8. The people requested a king, and God was contrastive. He considered He could be wrong and did it their way. God believed their plan would fail, but the children of Israel chose to learn through experience instead of understanding. With the next king, God did a different process to make David king.)
"20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not.
21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you." (Matthew 11:20-22)
(We saw this passage in Doctrine #36: Free Will. Our ability to repent shows God doesn't make us repent. God isn't "all-powerful" over the will of people. Repentance is proof of our free will. If God made us repent, then He could make all of us repent, and there would be no hell. In fact, it would be His fault if anyone went to hell. Clearly, it is our responsibility to repent.)
"41 The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here." (Matthew 12:41)
(Jesus said the same thing about Nineveh and Jonah. Jesus offered us peace with God, and showed us HOW to humble ourselves: He emptied himself as a servant. We can turn from our natural way of thinking and turn to God's way of Thinking. Here's the story from Jonah.)
"7 And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water;
8 but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.
9 Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which he said he would do unto them; and he did it not." (Jonah 3:7-10)
(The people of Nineveh repented of their sin. God repented of the prophecy sent through Jonah. Notice, confession was not mentioned, only repentance. God saw their actions and He repented. Did you notice that God gave them a WHY for their sins, and HOW to repent?)
"16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against Jehovah your God, and against you.
17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat Jehovah your God, that he may take away from me this death only." (Exodus 10:16-17)
(Pharaoh confessed, yet he didn't repent. In fact, he did that several times. Do you think that people who confess and don't repent are close to being a follower of God? Was Pharaoh close to being a follower of God? The Pharisees had the Right SAY and a Wrong DO. What did we call these people again?)
"9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
(God's mercy gives us room to repent. Without mercy, God would equal out justice immediately and we wouldn't be able to repent. If we were not able to repent, then you are calling God a liar because He clearly desires that ALL would come to repentance.)
"20 But I have this against thee, that thou sufferest the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
21 And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication.
22 Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works." (Revelation 2:20-22)
(Jesus stated that He intentionally gave time, had mercy, so that this woman would repent. She CHOSE not to repent. Repentance is proof of our free will. Do you think the modern day church would repent if they were shown they were following traditions of man, instead of the Word of God?)
"19 Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;
20 and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus:
21 whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been from of old." (Acts 3:19-21)
(Repentance, not confession, results in sins being blotted out. Once again, your ACTIONS prove what you believe. Confession is a SAY, which is a WHAT. If you have a Right WHAT with a Wrong or No HOW/WHY it is deception. If repentance does not follow confession, then it is deception! Has anyone ever confessed to you only to do the same action over and over again? Have you ever done the same thing to God?)
"4 John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins." (Mark 1:4)
(John the Baptist preached repentance, not confession. Notice, he was in the wilderness. He didn't exert his will over people by standing in the public and telling people to confess and repent. He intentionally went away from where the masses were. The individual's act of coming out to him was an act of confession, so all he preached was repentance.)
"31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are in health have no need of a physician; but they that are sick.
32 I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:31-32)
(Jesus also said His purpose was to call sinners to repentance, not just confession. You would have to be humble to admit that you are a sinner. There is not truth in you if you believe you have no sin. If you are a sinner and you repent, you are following the words of Jesus. What would happen if you do not repent?)
"2 And he answered and said unto them, Think ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they have suffered these things?
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish." (Luke 13:2-3)
(Jesus said that without repentance, everyone would die as sinners.)
"12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent." (Mark 6:12)
(The disciples went out and preached repentance. Their message was a message of action.)
"8 Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance:
9 and think 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." (Matthew 3:8-9)
(Notice, repentance ought to result in fruit/growth/creation/good. We go the opposite way and actually do something good, not just stop the bad act. The impression of a lot of people outside the faith is that "christians" believe in a set of DONT's: the Law. That we have defined ourselves by what we do NOT do. Does repentance create something more in your life, or do you consider it to be bringing you back to "zero"?)
"44 And he said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me.
45 Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures;
46 and he said unto them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day;
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (Luke 24:44-47)
(After Christ rose, He stated that we ought to be preaching repentance to all the nations.)
"30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent:
31 inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)
(After the Holy Spirit was given, Paul stated there were times when God overlooked sin because of ignorance (the Law), but now we need to help people repent because Judgment Day is coming. Remember, now the Law is written on the hearts of everyone and the Spirit of God is on all flesh for us to feel conviction. We would have to make a conscious decision to turn away from God. We have to make a conscious decision not to think like God.)
"29 For the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of.
30 For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience,
31 even so have these also now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they also may now obtain mercy." (Romans 11:29-31)
(The gifts and calling of God work without repentance. If we needed to wait for people to be perfect in order to benefit from the gifts of the Spirit or the calling of a pastor, then we'd never benefit. However, some people think if their gift to preach, teach, etc. doesn't fail when they are sinning, it means they are allowed to sin. Just because God has given you a gift (WHAT) does not mean that He wants you to use it ANY way you desire. This is deception.)
"1 Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 of the teaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.
4 For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,
6 and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (Hebrews 6:1-6)
(This verse is misunderstood by many people. We've seen there is no forgiveness for blasphemy of the Holy Spirt and that a person's conscience can be so seared over to the point they don't have the ability to have free will. This verse was covering a different case. Notice, this case only covers a believer. If a person becomes a believer, then willfully sins, it is impossible for them to come back without repentance. They cannot crucify Christ again to start over. They need to repent. It is impossible for us to do anything that would take the place of our choice to repent.)
It is possible for people to fall away from the faith; that is part of having a free will. "Once saved always saved" is not the Word of God, but the tradition of man. If you can make a conscious decision to follow God, does that mean that you can make a conscious decision to NOT follow God?
It is now time to open up one of the most powerful Doctrines we will ever know. These Doctrines have shown you the importance of words and definitions, namely the way God's definitions create.
What would happen if the entire modern church believes something that was taught by a man instead of found within the Word of God? Do you think we would hold God back with our natural way of thinking? Do you think we could hinder God's Will with one definition of a word? How important do you think words really are? Answer this question before continuing...
What is your definition of GRACE?
