REPENTANCE

Repentance is an often misunderstood subject. Strangely enough I think we often confuse repentance with belief. They are two different things. They go hand in hand, but they are two things.

Repentance is the starting point of Salvation. I say that simply because is it where and how Jesus began his public ministry. We see it in Matthew 4:17; “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (NASB)

Repent: Repent means more than regret. It means regret plus a sincere change of heart toward God. To break that down a little bit, lets look at the two steps.

• Regret is when we have done something wrong that we with we had not done. Many times in our day to day life we say that we regret something, when in truth, we really just regret getting caught at that something. Sin (the violation of the laws of God, and thereby the person of God) is something all of us are guilty of (see Romans 3:23). We often regret sin, but all to often the problem is that we regret that we now have to face the penalty for that sin, rather than regretting the actual transgression of the person of God. That is where the second part of true repentance comes in.
• A sincere change of heart toward God is the second part of true repentance. For that to occur, this idea by its very nature implies an acceptance that God is real, and that he has authority over you. But it also says that where as before this moment of repentance that we were living in a way of life that is contrary to what God desires of us and for us. Some may say, no, I do not live contrary to God, rather I live in apathy to God. Those who live this way, are mistaken because to do second is to do the first. (Matthew 12:30)
• To better understand the differences between repentance and regret, we will look at the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. (Read it)
• -The story, told by Jesus, features three people prominently; the Father, the eldest son, and the younger son. In Jewish culture, the eldest son would be entitled to two shares of the inheritance; where as the younger son would receive only one share. We see in the story that the younger son get in a hurry and asks his father for his share of the inheritance early. When he receives what he has asked for, he goes and spends his wealth on ‘loose’ living. Later, after all the money is gone, he finds himself feeding pigs, and longing to eat the very food he is throwing to them. Remember, pigs are unclean animals to a Jew, and therefore this was considered a very demeaning job. What we see here is that the young man got to such a point while working this job, that he was nearly starving himself.
  
  -What causes a man to do that to himself? Why didn’t he return home as soon as he realized he could not support himself any longer? Because he suffered from the same issue that many of us suffer from; PRIDE. He was too proud to go home. I feel safe in saying at this point, this younger son, was filled with regret. But his actions remained the same.
  
  -Later, the bible tells us that that young man ‘came to his senses.’ He came out of the pit that pride and arrogance can put us in. And he realized that his Father might be willing to receive him back. Not as a son of course, but as a hired servant. He would at least have enough then to eat. (And chances were slim that he’d have to feed hogs.) From there, he went back to his fathers house and was received, not as a hired man, but as a son. WHY?
  
  -He was received back as a son, and not a hired man because of his change of heart toward his Father. Now, we do not have time to discuss the actions of the Father, but what we do see here is that the son’s regret, combined with his change of heart toward his father, leads him home. Away from his ‘loose’ living, away from his suffering, but toward and into his fathers house. That change of heart is what Repentance is. That is the same kind of change that we are called to exhibit toward God the Father in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven: Notice Jesus statement, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven….” In this statement, he makes no effort to apologize for the kingdom. (To apologize in this sense is to offer a rational explanation.) He just asserts that the kingdom is real and exists.

• The evidence for and about the Kingdom. First, what is the Kingdom of heaven? Is it just heaven? No, it has to be more, otherwise it is just a place. Rather for the kingdom of heaven to exist, heaven must exist, but also the King there of must also exist. So in other words, the statement is self apologizing. The assertion itself explains itself. But if that is not enough:
  
  - When Moses asked God for his name, the answer is “I AM” (Exodus 3:14)
  - When Jesus was being questioned by some of the local Jews, he told them plainly, “before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58)
  -In both these verses, the assertion itself is the witness to the validity that God is real, and that Jesus is divine.
• But what does that mean for us? For the answer we will look at Romans 1:18-20. (Read it)
  
  -In this passage we see that Men (Humanity) are without excuse. The Bible says that the creation itself is a testimony to the creator. But humanity chooses to disregard Him. We look for every other excuse we can find. (Example: Matter + Chance + Time = Life)
  
  -I have spoken to many people who think, “if God would only show himself, I would believe.” “If he cares so much, why doesn’t he come down here and help?” “Why not just come?” What we forget, is that that is an age old question, and the answer to the question is - He did. God showed himself to us through Christ. He became Human, and lived and walked with us. He showed us miracle after miracle attesting to who he was. But even with his presence and his miracles, we (humanity) did not recognize him. (John 1:10) So when the presence of God on earth combined with sinful men came to an impasse, the creator (Jesus) would not hurt the children that had been created (humanity), and the created crucified the creator. So he, Jesus, gave us one last miracle. This time, the miracle would be the one that would shake the world from that day on. Three days after Jesus’ death by crucifixion he rose to life. He physically got up out of the grave and walked out. He was and is alive.
  
  -So the point here is if we are ever temped to say, God if you would just show yourself, I would believe… we need to remember, that is exactly what he did in Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand: In this last part of Jesus’ call to repentance, we see one last assertion. It’s ‘at hand’ or ‘near.’ In Jesus day, people were still awaiting the messiah, let alone the end of time, and the rapture was not even a thought in their minds. But Jesus’ assertion is that not only should we be looking for all of this, but the time is ‘at hand.’

• As followers of Christ, we can see plainly through the reading of the New Testament that we are to live in full expectation of his imminent return. (Example: I Thessalonians 4:14-17)
  
• The world (all of humanity, regardless of belief) awaits the day when the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (That doesn’t mean that all the world accepts that, or even knows it. But the entire world will know it when it happens.)
  
• For that we look at Revelation 19:11-21. (Read it)
  -Another question that people ask about God is if he is all powerful, why doesn’t he just exterminate evil? Well, the victory was won at the cross. That was Satan’s defeat. But the vanquishing has not yet occurred. The passage we just read shows that the victorious king is coming, and when he does, all evil will be done away with.
  
  -These are the words to what we know as the ‘Battle hymn of the Republic’ by Julia Ward Howe. Most of us hear it as a patriotic tune. But this time, read these words as a statement of the coming Christ.
  
  Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
  He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
  He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
  His truth is marching on.
  
  I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
  They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
  I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
  His day is marching on.
  
  I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
  "As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
  Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
  Since God is marching on."
  
  He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
  He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
  Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
  Our God is marching on.
  
  In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
  With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
  As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,
  While God is marching on.
  
  He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
  He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave,
  So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
  Our God is marching on.

Jesus is coming back: We all need to know that. And it is 100% irresponsible to talk about the return of Christ without talking about how to be saved. We make it so hard, so often. But it really is simple.

• Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
• That is a very short statement. But it is simple and straight forward. Will you believe? Will you do what Jesus first called us to do? Hear him now, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
  
  -Will do as Jesus says? I hope so.