Repentance is “a regret for the ill done in that past, and out of all this a change of life for the better” (Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, p. 259).
Posts Tagged ‘repent’
Repentance: Understanding Bible repentance
Monday, May 24th, 2010
An overview of repentance
Saturday, November 28th, 2009An overview of repentance
THE BIBLE WARNS US IN MANY DIFFERENT PLACES AND WAYS THAT ADDING CHRIST AND KEEPING SIN WILL NOT WORK.
a) In Mt. 3:2 John the Baptizer told people to “repent.”
b) Jesus (Mt. 4:17) preached this same message: repent
c) In Lk. 24:46-47 Jesus said the prophets had predicted “repentance.”
d) In Lk. 13:3 Jesus said “repent or perish.”
e) The apostles, in places such as Acts 3:19, said “repent.”
f) Later in the New Testament (2 Pet. 3:9) Peter said God wants all people to “repent.”
2) Repent is a key word in the scriptures.
3) What does this key word mean?
a) Some would say repentance means “sorrow for sin.”
b) Others say it is “regret” (remorse).
4) Repentance goes deeper.
5) This fact might cause some to think that repentance must be confession.
6) As important as confession is, it is still not quite repentance.
7) If all the preceding things do not adequately describe repentance, what about cessation from sin?
8) Maybe repentance means a person is doing something bad and they quit that activity.
9) Repentance does involve the cessation of sin.
a) Repentance is a recognition of sin, a turning from sin, and embracing what is right.
10) The jailer in Acts 16 typifies repentance.
11) People at Ephesus had some books that were not consistent with the gospel (Acts 19:19).
12) Think of the wayward son in Lk. 15 – he had sorrow; he was ready to apologize.
13) The people of Ninevah “repented” (they turned from sin and turned to God).
a) Repentance applies to the non-Christian; it is a step in becoming a Christian.
b) When a Christian becomes involved with sin, he or she also “repents.”
14) There are some motivations to encourage repentance.
a) God’s love motivates us to repent as do God’s blessings.
b) Concern about punishment will also cause people to repent.
15) Repentance is really a process that involves all people (Acts 17:30).
a) 2 Cor. 7:9-10 as “godly sorrow.”
b) With the human race there is “wordly sorrow” and there is “Godly sorrow.”
16) Ps. 51:4.
17) Rom. 1:16 says the gospel is God’s “power” to salvation.
18) Eph. 6:17 refers to the Bible as the “sword of the Spirit.”
19) Heb. 4:12 says the word of God is “living, active and sharper than any two edged sword.”
20) God’s word “works” in people’s lives (1 Thess. 2:13) and the scriptures urge people to repent.
21) When we repent, the result is forgiveness.
a) Lk. 15:10.
22) Jesus once told a story about a man who had two sons (Mt. 21:28-32).
23) Jesus also said this son later “repented” (he changed his mind for the better).
24) Repentance is one of the least understood and applied commands in the Bible.
Solitary Confinement
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009A man breaks the law and is put in jail for his crime. Once inside, he plunges even deeper into trouble; he violates some stringent code of prison behavior. So how does the warden and criminal justice system handle his latest misconduct?
Often times the offender, depending upon the severity of his deed, is placed into solitary confinement. The inmate is purposely isolated and cut off from his peers; he is denied any opportunity to interact with his fellow convicts. He is unable to see or hear from another human being until and unless the administration decides he can. It’s lockdown for days, weeks, perhaps even months on end.
It occurs to me that a prison is not the only place where folks employ solitary confinement.
A husband and wife have a spat. The disagreement reaches a heated, fever pitch and both members are left wounded and hurting. How does the couple address each other’s rude conduct? At least some married people I know force one another into isolation.
First they engage, then they withdraw. They put each other in a sort of mental cage. They stop talking (Proverbs 15:23); they withhold love, affection, and marital intimacy (1 Corinthians 7:1-5). They sequester themselves and refuse to interact until the other humbly (and perhaps even repeatedly) apologizes and repents. It’s verbal, emotional, and physical lockdown until such time one mate decides the length of detachment has been long and harsh enough (cf. Mark 9:33-34).
I’m certainly no expert on how to handle discipline issues in American jails, but as far as I can tell, solitary confinement–at least at home–is little more than a selfish form of cruel and unusual punishment. And it only serves to divide couples to an even greater extent. Words that were shared so freely are now non-existent. There is little or no attention, no tenderness, and certainly no whispers of care and mutual fondness. Even though there are two people, sharing the same last name, living in the same house, they feel lonely, removed and terribly alone.
What’s even worse, if at least one of the spouses doesn’t eventually initiate some type of contact and communication, the two will often severe the relationship entirely. As one preacher friend often reminds me, “What we will not talk about, we will divide and divorce about.”
What about you, good reader? Have you put your mate in jail? Is he or she in solitary confinement? The Bible says:
“Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands
what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you”(Ephesians 4:25-32).
Putting your spouse in solitary only means that both of you will suffer. It’s a punitive form of torture where both the warden and inmate experience undue pain.
God says, “…It is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Repent, apologize and forgive, talk, and get out of jail.
–by Mike Benson
