The Doctrine of Repentance Part 2

The Doctrine of Repentance Part 2 2020 10 25

Mark 1:14, 15

There is the story of an old cowboy who found oil on his sprawling ranch back in the early 20th century. It wasn’t long before an oil company found out and came knocking on his door to exploit the find. Pretty soon, the hard-working old man was extremely wealthy. But when one of the oil executives was out to see the rancher one day, he didn’t see a vehicle in sight. So as he visited, he told the man that now he was rich, he should ride in style. He told him he should have a nice car to ride around in. The old man said, “Sure. Ok.”

So the oil executive purchased a beautiful Rolls-Royce and had it delivered to the ranch.

Some time later, the same oil executive was in the nearby town in his travels and saw the Rolls sitting there, hitched up to a team of horses. On top of the Rolls was a seat the rancher had obviously fastened in some way to the beautiful car.

The problem was, the rancher knew nothing about cars, and because no one had told him, he didn’t even realize all the power at his disposal, right under the hood! All that comfort and shelter from the weather was practically useless to him, because nobody had told him anything about how automobiles work.

Well-meaning people say to a non-Christian, “All you need to do is ask Jesus into your heart,” or “Close your eyes and repeat after me, and you will go to heaven,” They often truthfully say, “Jesus loves you and wants to save you and all you need to do to be saved is to ask Him into your heart.” But as we saw last week, that is not the gospel.

Unfortunately, there are lots and lots of people who are like the rancher. They have heard that Jesus loves them, but they know nothing about Him, why they even need Him or what kind of power is available to those who have a real relationship with the Saviour of the whole world.

Mark 1:14, 15

Once again, we’ve just read the very words of the Living Word, Jesus Christ, who says, “…repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

It’s pretty clear from both these passages that repentance is critical to salvation. You must repent. Vaguely asking someone named Jesus into your heart is not enough. I am convinced that the reason we see so many weak, ineffective churches and so many worldly Christians is because so many simply are not. They have not repented, neither, most likely, have they even heard the gospel. But what kind of evidence should we expect to see as a result of repentance?

I First Things First

  1. Last week we first talked about what the gospel. God has given us a very helpful framework in the inspired words of His servant Paul. 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

  2. Paul did not preach “Jesus loves you and you just need to ask Him into your heart to be saved.” He preached according to the scriptures! What scriptures? The Old Testament! The New Testament wasn’t even written!

    1. He answered the question, “Why must I be saved? What do I need to be saved from?

      1. He explained sin and why it’s a problem. He taught that all have sinned (Romans 3:23; 5:12) and that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). That’s serious!

      2. Eternal death is not an end of existence, as so many say they believe, but it is separation from God in the lake of fire forever! (Revelation 20:10, 14, 15)

    2. Paul preached that “… God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

II Repentance

  1. Looking back to part one, you will recall that true repentance, as Jesus and Paul taught, is not a change of life. It is a change of mind toward God that produces a changed life.

  2. When a person stops believing in themselves and the things of this world, and starts believing God, that is repentance.

    1. The first evidence that a person has truly repented is her faith in Jesus Christ. A person who believes God WILL immediately put his faith in Jesus Christ as his Saviour. Immediately! If he does not, he still does not believe God.

III Evidence

      1. True repentance brings very real evidence. “But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” Ezekiel 18:21

        1. This is from the Old Testament, but it still applies! God does not change (Malachi 3:6). Only a person who believes God has the power to turn from his sins.

        2. A person who has truly repented has trusted in Jesus Christ, and all his sins are washed away. He still sins occasionally, but it is no longer a way of life. His life is changed supernaturally by the power of God and he is no longer a slave to sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:8 – 10

        3. A person who really is saved loves God and wants to please Him. He hates sin and hates it every time he sins. It bothers him when he gives in to temptation.

          1. A saved person does not have to keep carrying around the burden of sin and guilt when she sins. She can do as God says in His Word.

          2. It’s not that a person who repents no longer sins, but that he willingly admits it to God and believes he has been washed clean from his sin.

IV Lack of Evidence

      1. An unsaved person will rarely admit to sin, and even if he does, he doesn’t mean it.

        1. He cannot admit to sin, because he does not believe God. He may or may not say he believes God exists, but he does not believe God or he would do what He says: “Repent and believe the gospel.”

        2. Confessing that you have wronged someone, even if you call it sin, is not admitting that you have committed wrong against God, which is what sin really is.

        3. Truly admitting sin after wronging someone means believing you have sinned against God by what you’ve done, because God is the one who says it’s wrong.

        4. (The reason the world keeps changing laws and allowing things that were once illegal is because, without God, they have no moral compass. If everything evolved by random chance from nothing, how do you actually determine good and evil?)

V Lack of Evidence Among “Christians”

  1. Why does it appear that there are so many very worldly Christians? Why are so many living just the same way they’ve always lived, with exactly the same values, habits and practices as before they say they became a follower of Christ?

  2. Why are “Christians” attacking other Christians for declaring that the Bible is the Word of God and that it’s unchanged, pure, and true?

  3. Why do we see “Christians” calling good evil and evil good?

  4. Why do we see “Christians” heartily approving and even living the most immoral lifestyles?

  5. Why do we see statistics like this one from the Christian Post: “Young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 who identify themselves as evangelicals are almost as sexually active as their non-Christian peers, according to the article “(Almost) Everyone’s Doing It. “

    1. The article says that 80% of evangelical Christians are included in this statistic and that 42% are currently in a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

    2. The root problem, according to a licensed counsellor quoted in the article, is that they don’t know why it matters, because no one has told them.

  6. AHA! They haven’t been told a lot of things. If a person has not heard the real gospel, he don’t even know HOW to be saved and born again. He’s not a true Christian, but one of the MILLIONS around the world who have had another gospel preached to them, namely that “All you have to do to be saved is ask Jesus into your heart,” or some other trite nonsense. That so-called gospel is accursed! (Galatians 1:8, 9)

    1. They have never repented. They don’t even know they need to! It’s heart-breaking! That’s why there’s no evidence of a changed life in so many who identify as Christians! There never was a change, because they never heard about WHY they need to be saved, nor WHAT they need to be saved from, nor HOW to truly be saved!

      1. They are not born again, because they have never repented, that is, that they are wrong and God is right, and put their faith in Jesus Christ. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” John 3:3, 7

Conclusion

If you have never repented, the chances are good that you don’t see much wrong with a lot of the things accepted by the world. Live and let live. Don’t be so judgmental! But these are things that seriously offend God! This is not a message to find fault with people! All are sinners, the Bible says. This is a warning, going out in love, that your eternity and the eternity of countless millions around the world is at stake! You must believe God and put your faith in Jesus Christ. If you really believe God, you have repented and believe that what He says is true. You have put your faith in Jesus Christ. The evidence is a changed life. Saving faith in Jesus Christ WILL change you!