THE FORGOTTEN WORD - REPENTANCE A Sunday School class was asked, 'What does repentance mean?' One child said, 'Being sorry for our sins.' Another child added, 'Being sorry enough to quit…' Those are good definitions. But we don't often hear the word used nor many sermons on it today. It was the message of the Old Testament prophets. It is also found many times in the New Testament. 'Repent' occurs 24 times and 'repentance' 25 times. It was the first word in the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus. Repentance is not penance, which is paying for your sin. Repentance is not necessarily accompanied by tears, although tears may come. True repentance never stands alone. Repentance is turning from sin. Faith, its counterpart, is turning to Christ. Conversion is the result. It is a complete turn around. There are men in the Bible who appeared to repent. They each admitted that they had sinned, but in none of these cases was there any true repentance. They include Pharaoh, the hard hearted, who said, 'I have sinned.' (Exodus 9:27) He even added, 'I and my people are in the wrong.' But within a few hours the Bible says he sinned again and would not let the people of Israel leave. His repentance was not genuine. King Saul also said those words, 'I have sinned.' (I Samuel 15:24), but he was as insincere as Pharaoh. Judas said the same, after the terrible realisation of what he had done came home to him. But it was too late. True repentance is turning from sin and turning to Christ, seeking forgiveness for our sin. It carries a definite decision of the will. It's turning around on the wrong road and starting the new road with Christ. . A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: U-turns are always permitted when travelling on the wrong road. |
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