The issue of repentance should be thoroughly understood by all, Christians and non-Christians alike, for without true repentance, the grace of God that brings salvation to all men, cannot be applied to a person’s individual life. We often hear those now famous words “I take full responsibility for my actions” after one’s sin has been found out or exposed by the media, however there are certain facts pertaining to the issue of repentance that should be explained before we delve further into the subject.
[1] True repentance cannot be generated by the human agent. It can only come from God. As fallen beings we can feel sorry for the results of our actions when they bring us negative feelings of remorse, resentment, embarrassment, or fines and imprisonment etc. However, to feel sorry for the sin itself is something that cannot be initiated by us, no matter how bad we may feel about our behaviors. Let’s read:
Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand [to be] a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
2nd Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
2nd Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
When the apostle Paul states that the sorrow of the world worketh death, we can find a fitting example of what he is speaking about in the experience of Judas who repented himself, but his experience proved to be the pseudo kind, for the Bible tells us that after he repented of betraying Christ to death, he went out and hanged himself, and as a rule without any exceptions, the godly sorrow that God gives as a gift never ever leads to suicide. Let’s read:
Matthew 27:3 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,
27:4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What [is that] to us? see thou [to that].
27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
If a person has committed a very horrible crime, and they leave a note saying that they could no longer live with a guilty conscience, and they take their own lives, we can know for certain that the sorrow they felt did not come from God.
[2] Genuine repentance never seeks as its primary goal, a reversal of one’s misfortunes on account of sins or crimes committed. On the contrary, there is manifested a decided willingness to bear the brunt and burden of one’s wrongdoing, without blaming anyone or any circumstance for one’s sins.
After David had numbered the children of Israel, he invoked the displeasure of God, and an angel was sent to destroy throughout Jerusalem, those who were sharers in David’s guilt. When David saw the devastation taking place, he requested that he himself suffer for his sin, instead of the people, and as a rule, this attitude to willingly bear punishment for one’s guilt is an evidence that genuine repentance has taken place. Let’s read:
1st Chronicles 21:17 And David said unto God, [Is it] not I [that] commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but [as for] these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.
Whenever David’s conscience was aroused to the enormity of any sin he had committed, he routinely manifested that willingness to bear the full consequences of his wrong doing. This attitude is critically important in the process of salvation, as it has a lot to do with our views of God as being just or unfair in His dealings with us. Many people harbor a silent, inner grudge towards God, for in their minds they view the wages of sin as a punishment from God that is too severe for what they view as the petty act of eating a forbidden fruit. And very many, even amongst Christians, secretly disagree with God in their minds over the issue of judgments meted out on account of sins. That’s one of the reasons why we often hear the querry, “where was God in such and such a disaster”, or “If God is love, how can He permit such devastations to occur”.
With David however, a completely different spirit emerges, and that’s why in the majority of cases, David was granted to a large extent, a reversal of his misfortunes on account of his sins. Let’s observe that attitude carefully again, for it has tremendous implications for us living in the 21st century, as we will explain later. Let’s read:
2nd Samuel 15:30 And David went up by the ascent of [mount] Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that [was] with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
2nd Samuel 16:5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name [was] Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.
16:6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men [were] on his right hand and on his left.
16:7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:
16:8 The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou [art taken] in thy mischief, because thou [art] a bloody man.
16:9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
16:10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
This same willingness to bear the full responsibility and results for one’s sins was manifested in the thief on the cross, and that’s the reason why he found pardon, peace, and assurance in Christ.
What is worthy of note is that at the onset of Christ’s crucifixion, both thieves railed on Jesus, but as the repentance from God came their way, a very great change came over one of them. Let’s read:
Matthew 27:38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 27:44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
Luke 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
The great issues at stake in the process of repentance is not the enormity of guilt or the heinous nature of the crimes committed. The deciding factor is whether or not we will accept God’s repentance when it is granted to us by the deep conviction of the Holy Spirit, which leads us to the next important point.
[4] God’s gift of repentance must be received during the time of our probationary period, for the time comes in everyone’s life, when a deliberate and persistent rejection of the voice of conscience, calling us to repentance, goes forever silent, nevermore to be heard or recognized, even though we may continue to live for many years thereafter.
A man by the name of Pedro, desired to relocate to the city of Miami after living for several years in the quiet countryside of Homestead, since he was looking for a Job in the downtown financial district. He finally found a home suitable to his liking, and immediately set about to purchase it.
However, after the transaction was finished, and he had moved into the home of his dreams, he realized that he had a very serious problem on his hands, for the neighbors on both sides of his fence had several dogs that barked all night, robbing him of much needed sleep. At first he could not deal with the situation, since he was spending many sleepless nights listening to the persistent barking of the dogs, but after some time, a strange thing began to happen. The sound of the dogs’ barking became less and less prominent in his hearing, until after several months, he could sleep undisturbed throughout the night without even hearing any barking whatsoever. The same is true of the voice of the Holy Spirit, who pleads and entreats the sinner, calling us to repentance, but if we do not take any proactive steps in accepting the gift, the time eventually comes when we do not hear any “Barking” whatsoever, and the voice of God in our consciences goes forever silent, never ever to be reversed. That’s why a profound warning is issued in the scriptures to every person living on the planet. Let’s read:
Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
3:15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
This is exactly what happened to king Saul, who when he was reproved by the Lord through the prophet Samuel, manifested a stubborn ,
self-willed attitude on several occasions, until the voice of God went completely dead in his conscience, never afterward to be sounded in his mind. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all [that was] good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing [that was] vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
15:13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed [be] thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
15:14 And Samuel said, What [meaneth] then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15:15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
15:17 And Samuel said, When thou [wast] little in thine own sight, [wast] thou not [made] the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
That’s why after several experiences like these, in which the voice of the Holy Spirit was repressed and rejected and denied, then God’s voice went completely dead in Saul’s mind, nevermore to be heard during the rest of his life. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 28:5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.
28:6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
The stark difference between the genuine and false types of repentance can also be clearly seen in the experiences of the Jewish people, during and after the day of Pentecost. When the convicting voice of the Holy Ghost was brought home to minds of the hearers, some acknowledged their guilt, and were granted godly sorrow for sin, and by so doing were completely exonerated by God. Let’s read:
Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
2:37 Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?
2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls.
2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
However, this was not the case with everyone, for when the same Holy Ghost came through with vivid remonstrances in their consciences at the stoning of Stephen, a completely different attitude was manifested in the utter rejection of His convictions. Let’s read:
Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers [did], so [do] ye.
7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with [their] teeth.
7:57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
7:58 And cast [him] out of the city, and stoned [him]: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
Two completely different attitudes with two completely different results. One group received the gift of repentance and was saved, the other rejected the gift and was lost. The very same experience took place with Esau, who for many years had treated the gracious overtures of God with disdain. Whenever the issue of the birthright came up, or whenever anything of a religious nature was mentioned, he became very irritable and annoyed, as was manifested in his attitude towards the birthright, which included both spiritual and temporal blessings. Let’s read:
Genesis25:30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]; for I [am] faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
25:31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
25:32 And Esau said, Behold, I [am] at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
25:33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised [his] birthright.
And so it was that from that time forward, the voice of conscience became more and more faint, until Esau was unable to hear any “Barking”, and his probation was forever closed, even though he lived for many years after, and later realized the terrible mistake he had made. Let’s read:
Genesis 27:30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
27:31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.
27:32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who [art] thou? And he said, I [am] thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
27:33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where [is] he that hath taken venison, and brought [it] me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, [and] he shall be blessed.
27:34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, [even] me also, O my father.
27:35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing.
27:36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
Hence the reason why a stern warning comes down to us, living in a time when the work of salvation is
made the subject of jokes and mockery. Let’s read:
Hebrews 12:16 Lest there [be] any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
This then leads us to the fourth and final point:
[4] When God’s gift of repentance is received by individuals, there must be a resolute turning away from sin by the grace of God, for the sacrifice of Christ in our behalf is administered but once to each person, not twice. In other words when we are delivered by God from the hand of the enemy, we should treasure our deliverance as being our most valuable asset, and should never ever afterward, return to a life of sin and crime. Let’s read:
Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
10:27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Hebrews 6:4 For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.
2nd Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known [it], to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Many today are probably wondering why such a sobering study on the topic of repentance is being presented, and many more may be querying why such serious warnings are being uttered from the pages of holy writ. The reason is that we are now living in the anti-typical day of Atonement which is swiftly drawing to a permanent close.
For many years, yea for many centuries, the Holy Spirit has been pleading with mortal man to turn from his wicked ways unto a life of obedience and righteousness. For many years the “Barking” has continued in the form of preaching, teaching, exhortations, and entreaty.
Even the voice of God through His providences have been manifested over and over again in the permission of unnatural disasters and calamities by land, sea and air, yet like Pedro, the voice of barking has been steadily growing dim in our minds, and the voice of God in the consciences of millions of people, is about to go forever silent.
When the truths of God’s word are brought home to our consciences with clarity, then it is our duty to avoid the slippery slope of hitting the “Snooze” button.
That’s why we encourage everyone to make full and thorough work of repentance as it comes to us as a gift from God, so that in the day of final accounts, we wouldn’t be weighed in the balances and found wanting. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to do just that. Let’s read:
2nd Corinthians 6:1 We then, [as] workers together [with him], beseech [you] also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)
May the Lord add His blessing to the study and doing of His every word. God bless!