The Path Of Repentance

What is true repentance and why is it indispensable in the Christian life?

"For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin that dwells within me."

Romans 7:18-20

To comprehend the concept and importance of repentance, it is best to first understand why you need to repent to begin with. What happened necessitating repentance?

The Fall of Man

Despite mankind being created in God's image, the Enemy succeeded in corrupting man in the garden of Eden through a deceitful temptation. This temptation caused the boundless potential in man, by which he was to represent and serve the Creator, to be defiled. It also prevented mankind from fulfilling God's original plan with him. And although God's sovereignty is of such a nature, He had to have allowed this temptation, it was brought about by man executing his free will.

However, it wasn't just an act of disobedience. Moreover, it was an act of corruption to forfeit God's original plan and purpose with His creation. During the fall of man, his soul was contaminated and his body corrupted into sinful flesh. This happened because Satan came against Adam and Eve with devious words which caused both to think contrary to God. And thinking contrary to God, always lead to sin. Even to this day Satan uses the same strategies he applied during the fall of man to keep you from reaching fullness in Christ. And he does this by disguising lies as the truth. To distinguish which is false and which is true, a proper knowledge of God's Word is indispensable.

"You are of your father the Devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

John 8:44

By relenting to the doubt sown and man choosing the tree of knowledge, the exploitation of his own free will was completed by a formidable adversary. Man succumbed to a fallen state the moment sin was introduced. This fallen state alienated man from God and also strained the original nature of his natural and boundless relationship with the Lord.

The Solution for Man

In this hopeless state, the Almighty set the stage for His merciful and gracious salvation through His son Jesus Christ. In love and obedience He was willing to be crucified for all sin and to pay the price to ratify the devastating consequences of the fall by taking man's sin upon Himself. And through Christ's resurrection, death is conquered and a way to nullify the destruction caused by sin is presented to man. Undeservedly and for free. All living souls deserve eternal condemnation based on the sin they are born into. Yet, a loving God put together a solution through justification and sanctification leading to your glorification. But this salvation is only attainable if you seek repentance for your sins and transgressions because it restores the holy relationship between yourself and the Lord by delivering you from evil.

"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."

1 Corinthians 15:22

All people are born with wicked hearts and are enslaved to sin, but through Jesus Christ they now have an expectation at eternal life. By accepting Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you are regenerated and justified by His redeeming blood in an instant. Thereafter, the "new creature" needs to embrace the continuous journey towards sanctification. To become holy and live holy because God is holy. To become holy and live holy because you love the Father and sincerely seek His kingdom. And you endeavour in this journey with an intense and deep gratitude.

"Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."

Romans 5:18-19

The change from the rebirth is not physically discerned, nor by feelings because it is a state of steadfast belief. In this belief you know beyond a shadow of doubt that God does not accept you based on your works. He accepts you by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It goes without saying there should be a profound change in the life of the new convert due to these new convictions. But if you wish to see to what extent you have changed, take a look at your reflection in the spiritual mirror which is the Word of God. The Word is the seed you plant which accomplishes renewal through sanctification.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Transformation whereby the new creature is regenerated is accomplished by the indwelling Holy Spirit. To be spiritually minded as opposed to carnally minded empowers the Spirit to gradually perform a change in you that bears fruit. The indwelling Holy Spirit fuels your passion for Christ and keeps the changes relevant. And your devotion and commitment to follow Christ makes the Spirit feel cherished by you, causing the Spirit to dwell in you.

"To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Ephesians 4:22-24

New converts and the spiritually mature need to think from a kingdom-minded perspective. Minds need to be renewed otherwise ignorance will create an obstacle concerning your relationship with the Lord. To think like Jesus is a state of mind requiring your utmost focus and dedication. The state of the mind, determines the state of the flesh and a healthy frame of mind is only possible through knowledge and devotion to His Word. All this is part of God's merciful plan of salvation and you need to realise that God's goodness and infinite wisdom is far beyond what your finite mind is able to grasp.

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 2:5

The Meaning of Repentance

True repentance is only possible if a repentance unto life has occurred. And repentance unto life is a gift from God and not an ability of man. It is a radical change and commitment to turn from the things which do not glorify God. It is an absolute confession, a change of heart and mind, and a willingness to turn to God by resisting the temptation to sin and transgress.

True repentance is not an act of physical sadness or sorrow, but rather a change of heart. Where there is a deep regret for the shame the sin produces and an asserted effort to continue in holiness. You need to long for the change to commence while mourning the sin itself. Converts hate the willful sin which remain in him or her and become convicted by the Holy Spirit to undergo a change. This change is achieved by the indwelling power and conviction of the Holy Spirit and not through human abilities. So all the glory can be given to God and man be prevented from boasting.

"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death."

2 Corinthians 7:10

Repentance also means turning to Christ. It is impossible to repent without having turned to Christ and change because there can be no believing salvation without repentance. It is not just admitting you were at fault. It is taking ownership of your responsibility through which restoration of the damage that was done by the transgression may commence. Never leaving the details of the sin or the transgression concealed.

In your sinful nature the battle waged against sin, even after accepting Christ, is constant. Repentance is not a feeling of remorse or guilt because you were caught in sin but refers to a godly sorrow leading to salvation without fleshly regrets. But it only comes to those who humble themselves because true repentance acknowledges sinfulness and instills a deep desire to be forgiven. For example, are you sorrowful because by your actions you grieved a holy God, or are you ashamed for being caught?

"Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience, not realising that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?"

Romans 2:4

There is no point in asking for forgiveness if the intention to commit the same sin still lingers in the sinner. The complete commitment to change needs to be undeniable. If you repent without the sincere desire to turn from said sin, the hindrance the enemy establishes in your relationship with Christ, will indeed persist.

The word repentance is derived from the Greek word "metanoia" and the meaning can be divided into the word "meta" meaning, after, and "noia" meaning, to understand. The Greek word means you turn from sin, but biblical repentance also means you radically change your mind and your actions. And although repentance is not another word for faith, it is an element of unshakeable faith.

"After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth."

Jeremiah 31:19

Due to the consequences of the fall of man, everyone originally rejects Christ. This means that in our depraved state we reject the Light because it exposes the things we do in the dark and in our fallen state we do not want the things exposed because we like to do those things. But through the gift of repentance given by the grace of God and by turning to Christ, you can change your mind from rejection, to faith in Christ.

Still, you need to keep in mind that no one is able to come to Christ through his or her own abilities unless they were called of God as is clear from John 6:44. Also, salvation is not accomplished through repentance but rather by grace through faith in Jesus. However, true repentance will lead to good works and a changed life, and that is why it is a vital component of a saved life. When you confess your sins you admit having wronged and when you repent you recognise that wrong and manifest your desire and will to change. The reality is simply this, there can be no true conversion to Christ without true repentance.

The Types of Repentance

It is possible to identify two types of repentance. First there is the repentance you deliver because of your shame of a life lived apart from the loving embrace of the Lord. This is the life lived not consecrated to Christ. Where you are guided by your fears and desires dictated by your love of the world. This is the repentance you give when heeding to His call and accept Jesus by grace through faith. God calls and you answer obediently. At this point you are born again and regenerated and all your sins are forgiven in a moment. But not only does God forgive you your trespasses, he also forgets the transgressions committed. Even the ones you neglect to mention. This is the repentance given when one is regenerated.

"as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us."

Psalm 103:12

It is paramount you know the Holy Spirit will never condemn you of sins. The Spirit wants to free you from any bondage and not condemn you. If you experience guilty feelings after you have repented when accepting Christ, know the Enemy is trying to deceive you because guilt distorts your identity in Christ. It is not possible to commit to repentance through your own power because it is a conviction produced by the power of the Holy Spirit. And this same Holy Spirit needs to guide and help you as your inherent weakness disables you from changing by yourself. Notwithstanding that this change commences in an instant from the inside and then manifests to the outside as you endure in your journey to sanctification.

"The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned."

Psalm 34:22

Another type of repentance is the sincere and heartfelt sorrow or regret you experience when the Holy Spirit convicts you of sinful behaviour in your daily life. The Lord is very much aware of your weak nature and knows you are bound to stray. And this is why repentance is also an ongoing reality in every believer's life. Do not use your weakness as an excuse and never forget the Lord is privy to all your deepest secrets. Ongoing repentance presented as you are convicted also acknowledges you know pride leaves no room for grace. This is important as 2 Peter 3:9-10 explains that God will give the unrepentant soul up to his own desires and hardness of heart. And when you are left to your own devices, you will surely not prevail.

"Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you."

Acts 8:22

When you accept Christ the penalty of all your sins and transgressions are removed. However, the reality of such sin deteriorates your relationship with the Lord and that is why continuous repentance as convicted by the Holy Spirit is important for reconciliation to God. Therefore, it is crucial for Christians to maintain a repentant heart by confessing sins and transgressions. It restores your personal relationship with the Lord and forms an integral part of the whole process of sanctification. But it is just as important to remember that as new creatures in Christ you need to abandon your old ways.

Whatever sinful actions brought you pleasures and enjoyment need to be rejected and a new path of holiness need to be embraced. In whatever you do, your true intents and purposes need to be clear to yourself as it is clear to God. Born again believers do not want to continue in sin because this would be nothing other than an intended rejection of Christ. Remember, deliberate and continuous sin is the evidence that true salvation never took place to begin with, or that the believer has severely strayed. Sinful ways need to be rejected and your words and deeds affirm this.

"Bear fruit in keeping with repentance."

Matthew 3:8

The repentance is worthless if you callously persist in your sinful ways. And no matter how sorry you appear every time, absolution is not attainable without true repentance. The fulfillment of the promise of perpetual peace is also not possible without repentance and without repentance the only promise that will transpire, is to perish. The life you lead need to authenticate the sincerity behind your repentance.

"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."

Isaiah 55:6-7

The Need for Repentance

The main purpose and goal of Jesus was to call sinners to repentance.

"And Jesus answered them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

Luke 5:31-32

"From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Matthew 4:17

These Scriptures declare that nothing you do, could ever prevent you from qualifying for God's grace. You only need to heed to His call, accept Jesus and confess and repent of your sins. Even though your conversion is a once in a lifetime event, your walk towards holiness will be an enduring journey until such a time you are glorified. In Hebrews 10:26 you are warned against those who think they have accepted God but have in fact turned away from His will and ways. They are the ones who find the ways of the world more appealing. In their ignorance they think an all forgiving and gracious God only requires a once off acceptance and fail to comply with enduring and heartfelt commitment and devotion.

"For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgement, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries."

Hebrews 10:26-27

If you reject Christ's payment after having first accepted it, after receiving the truth, there remains nothing else for you to do as you can only be redeemed once. Because to receive a second redemption would mean Christ need to be sacrificed again. And this means His original death and resurrection wasn't sufficient. In a real world when you deny Christ after having accepted Him, it means the conversion was false. It is imperative you understand if Jesus is not enough for you, your sins cannot be forgiven. There would be no point to begin with.

Be mindful of the fact that an Omniscient God always sees through faith shrouded in hypocrisy. This is where people want to be justified but they are not willing to take steps towards sanctification. And when you live to glorify yourself, it will always lead to apostasy.

"These people honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teachings as doctrines the commandments of men."

Matthew 15:8-9

Everything you receive from God is a gift, but the Lord will never impose or force any gift upon you. Therefore, you need to willingly and graciously receive and use it through your own free will. And this is especially true regarding repentance.

"If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say 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."

1 John 1:6-9

Upon accepting Jesus you become renewed instantly. But in time and due to your sinful nature you may become wounded and polluted by being influenced to open doors leading to oppression. The Enemy knows a wounded heart is susceptible to being ensnared and the powers of darkness are relentless in their pursuit to damage personal relationships with the Lord.

Thankfully, true repentance is how you reconcile to God whenever you go astray. Through sincere repentance you can receive healing, grow in spiritual maturity and by repenting, you refuse to give in to the Deceiver. It also sustains a healthy and dynamic relationship between yourself and the Lord. By not repenting of your sins the alternative is to suffer the consequences of such behaviour and it is far more dire than you can possibly anticipate.

"Remember therefore from where you have fallen ; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."

Revelations 2:5-6

Jesus Christ was tortured, humiliated and crucified, to atone for your sins. Even though He was sinless, He accepted the consequences of sin on behalf of sinners so we may stand before the Almighty, blameless. Shouldn't this reality alone point you to a much deeper awareness of the importance of true repentance? Especially given the fact that your unredeemed wickedness can only lead to eternal condemnation?

"No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Luke 13:3

All the powers of darkness have been disarmed by Christ's redeeming work on the cross. This means the enemy has no control over you once you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour. He may tempt you, but he can never control you. The enemy only exudes an influence over a believer once they accept and believe his lies. The important thing to remember is that Satan is always limited to what God allows. This means he cannot harm a believer by his own accord because the Sovereign God is in absolute control. Never Satan and certainly never man.

The saved can never be separated from the love of Christ and no principality of darkness has any right to afflict God's elect unless it is ordained for a divine purpose by Almighty God. And although Satan is powerful you know that according to Proverbs 16:4 even the wicked was made for the Lord's own purpose for the day of trouble and disaster. Surely God's sovereignty is made clear throughout Scripture and especially in the book of Job where Satan is dependent on God's permission to afflict Job.

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him."

Colossians 2:13-15

This Scripture is irrevocable proof that all your sins were nailed to the cross. All the accusations by the Accuser were nullified and he no longer has the ability to accuse you once you accept Christ. Because in the eyes of your merciful Father you have been justified and declared innocent through the blood of the Lamb. This means if any person other than yourself or the Holy Spirit tries to convict you to repent of past transgressions revealed to them through "prophetic" knowledge, after you have received Christ, you know they are deceived.

The Lord does not only forgive you of all transgressions when you sincerely repent, He also forgets them. In light of this truth I just want to make a short reference to the "Courts of Heaven". Some proponents of the "Courts of Heaven" believe the Holy Spirit reveals sins and transgressions of past generations of which the believer then need to repent. In other words, repenting on behalf of another for their transgressions. Supposedly to receive forgiveness to have the burden lifted. But this belief is contrary to Scripture because Ezekiel 18:19-20 is undeniably clear that each sin is only imputed to the sinner. This means that the sins of others, whether they be family, governments or friends, are never held against you. The "Courts of Heaven" as a form of prayer, have no basis in Scripture and unfortunately many have been convinced it is a foolproof ritual to achieve some or other physical breakthrough. Either in health or wealth and the same people are quick to ignore the exceedingly greater importance of reaching a spiritual breakthrough.

With regards to repentance through prayer, the "Courts of Heaven" is nothing more than a man-made distortion of Scripture aimed at deceiving the ignorant and desperate. Seeking knowledge in a spiritual realm to achieve a breakthrough instead of first and foremost focusing on the Word of God is dangerous as it may open doors through which a cunning Adversary will deceive. And if he was able to deceive Eve, he is certainly able, if you give him the opportunity, to deceive you. Remember, the Holy Spirit needs to persuade you to repentance and not the world. And like Charles Spurgeon said, for the repentance to be true, it needs to be absolute.

"Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago."

Acts 3:19-21

May the following words from an unknown Christian inspire you to be compelled to become a repentant disciple always striving for the glory of God:

"The dice has been cast and I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made, I am a disciple of Christ.

I will not look down, let up, slow down, back away or be still. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be first and I don't have to be right, significant, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded.

I now live by faith, love with patience, lift by prayer and labour with power. My pace is set, it is fast and my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few but my Guide is reliable and my mission is clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, be deluded nor delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice. I will not hesitate in the presence of adversity. I will not negotiate at the table of the Enemy. I will not ponder at the pool of popularity and I am not fazed by

secular significance.

I will not give up, back up, let up or shut up until I have prayed up, preached up, stored up and stayed up the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and I must go to fulfill the Great Commission until He returns. I must give until I drop, preach until all know and do works which testify of my faith until He returns.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no trouble recognising me. For who I am and my words and deeds are clear for all to see.

I am a disciple of Christ because I have considered the cost and know that it may cost me everything. I am willing to risk it all for Christ because I know I will inherit His eternal reward."