Does repenting mean never doing the same sin again?

Take a look at this Scripture, what think you?

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

It would seem to me that there are 'besetting sins' which are not easily overcome and that require patience (not to mention practice) to overcome (or win that battle).

Strength of will does not come to everyone 'naturally'...

Look at this scripture:

2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds
2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2 Corinthians 10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

-also-

1 Corinthians 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

-lastly- (The most important verse of al! )

Phillipians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Christ gives us the strength to do the job...

But, it take self discipline and practice to pull some tasks off...

Mike Sr.

 

also,

Why would Jesus tell us to forgive our brother "seventy times seven" if God isn't willing to do the same with us?

(Temper the above sentence heavily with Romans 6:1-2)

 

Thought I's post the actual reference...

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

 

Excellent, SpiritualMadMan! That was the exact passage I was thinking about.
xdisciplex, I suggest you should read Romans chapters 6 through 8. It will really give you a tidy explanation of the issue, and will delve into the implications of the will.

But as for repentance, the word "repent" in English and the word "metaneoe" in Greek literally mean "to rethink" or to "change one's mind." Any dictionary or lexicon will say so.
Continuing in that line of thought, "repentance" is not an action on our part; it is receiving a new mind, that is, the mind of Christ. Through sufficient surrender of the will and changing of our way of thinking, from our way to God's way, we are granted repentance-- having a new mind-- and do not struggle against sin. Of course, this is a product of the Holy Spirit at work, since one who has not encountered Him and been regenerated will not have much desire or direction in their thought-life, God-wise.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Blessings,
SpyHunter

 

That may depend on the context in which repentance is used. In 1Cor.5, a man was sleeping with his father's wife. This was a horrible case of incest, not even done among the Gentiles. It was scandalous. Paul gave instructions to discipline such a one out of the church. The object of the discipline is to bring the man to repentance. According to the Second Epistle of Corinthians that object was achieved and the man was accepted back into the church. It is a difficult thing to do for many people. However, true repentance means that such a man will never do or fall into that type of sin again.

On the other hand if you repented of the lie you just told to your wife, that may be different. Man is born a liar. The heart is deceiful above all things and desperately wicked. It may be that you will lie again. It may be that you will have to repent again. The Bible also says:
"Let God be true but every man a liar." (Rom.3:4)

I am sure that almost everyone of us have lapsed back into sin that we have asked forgiveness for. Some of you have lost your temper, gotten angry at someone. Have you repented, and then done it again. Can you stop completely? Perahps some can. There are many things in our lives that are very difficult to control because the simple fact of the matter is: Though we are saved, we are still sinners--sinners saved by grace.
DHK

 

"Back to repentance" would indicate, since "to repent" means a change of mind, that he would reject the sin at its root. Is that done by action? Sin is in the heart, in the very being. I cannot physically reject an emotion or thought.

I'm not saying we never struggle, and I'm not say that our salvation is not assured. But repentance is not "feeling sorry." That is conviction. Repentance is not "asking forgiveness." That is confession. Repentance is a decision to stand for the better-- which is why we can turn from repentance. It is by this decision that faith flourishes; without it, we wither and every evil thing is rampant. If you feel plagued by compromise, then REPENT. More than feeling sorry, more than asking forgiveness, it is a new mentality and paradigm derived from the former (godly sorrow and forgiveness). After all:

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death.

Blessings,
SpyHunter

 

I think you are right on the mark with this, DHK.

There seems to me that sins can be categorized into willful and natural, meaning that there are sins where your will drives you into it. Your flesh wants something so you do that thing, or something to attain that thing.

Natural to me is something that is even more insidious as it is so deep in our nature that we do it without thinking. Lieing can be an example of this. In a tough spot a man will often tell a lie without really thinking, it is a purely natural response (self-preservation ). Same goes for losing ones temper, exceeding the speed limit (usually because of not paying close enough attention to it). We need to be vigilant to guard against this, but it still happens because it is very difficult to be vigilant 100% of the time.

I think my point is that the willful sins are in a sense, easier to recognize for what they are and resist then the ones that are so ingrained in our fallen nature. I think these are the ones the Psalmist calls "presumptuous sins".

I also believe that nobody will ever be free from sin in this world. You would need to be blind and deaf to avoid any sinful thought, which is as much sin as the action. Drive down the highway and try to keep your eye from falling on a billboard that triggers an impure thought. Watch TV and you'll have the same problem.

We live in a world that promotes sin at every turn. How easy is it to go from working to feed your family to it becoming a lust for money? This can cripple some of us. You need money to live, but when does it become a bad thing (the love of money). There is such a point that some encounter, not all.

Also, you can't address everything at once. We just don't have the capacity. If you have 20 besetting sins, for example, can you give full attention to defeating all 20 at once? I think that this also is part of growth and it doesn't happen all at once. It takes time. It also takes a lot of prayer and baring you're soul before God. I think it is even used by God to root out pride and make us humble. Former sin is often used by God for His glory.

In any case, I probably have gone on too long, but I know where you are coming from on this. As DHK said, we are still sinners--sinners saved by grace.

 

People with sinful human natures as we all have ... have certain inherited and cultivated sin tendencies and so yes they should want to and try to stop doing that sin but more than likely they will find themselves being tempted over and over by some certain sins and will fall over and over till they finally get the victory over it.

Thats why the Bible says little children do not sin but if you do sin we have an advocate.

 

Hold onto your hats, the Apocalypse is nigh: I agree with DHK! I sincerely hope it's right, otherwise I'm well and truly stuffed.

 

NO IT DOES NOT!!!! We are in this sinful flesh and we will struggle with it until we get to Heaven. However that doesn't mean that we have an outright excuse to sin. We can overcome all things through Christ. It might take some longer that others to overcome. I believe that some people have weaker flesh than others. Thanks.

 

NO IT DOES NOT!!!! We are in this sinful flesh and we will struggle with it until we get to Heaven. However that doesn't mean that we have an outright excuse to sin. We can overcome all things through Christ. It might take some longer that others to overcome. I believe that some people have weaker flesh than others. Thanks.

 

I think that people forget the various shades of sin.

There is ANOMOS, which is lawlessness. You willfully violate the standards of God's righteous.

There is HARMATOS, which the stinking flesh and its corruption-- "that which is natural to do."

And then there is HUSTEREO, which is simply shortcoming. We can never measure up to God's glory, and since we are to be perfect as Christ is, we fall short. We do not pray like He does, we do not think like He does, we do not love like He does. All of this is shortcoming, and those who walk in it are SINNING.

However, as John put it in his first epistle, there is sin "which leadeth not unto death." That is, a Christian does not live in a state of rebellion unto God (they are not violating God's moral expectations), and they have crucified the flesh with its passion (their carnality lies dormant under the Spirit's power), but since we all continue to fall short of Christ, then we are still "missing the mark."

I believe it is this third "sin" which we will never be freed from until we enter Heaven and are fully conformed to the image of Christ. But I do absolutely believe that lawlessness and carnality can be overcome in this life. If you do not, then that's fine-- I will pray for your strength to remain firm. However, if you consider yourself dead indeed to sin, then it's all the more easier to present yourself pure and blameless before God the Father (Romans 6:11).

Blessings,
SpyHunter

 

One more thing:

"All of this is shortcoming, and those who walk in it are SINNING."

That is to say, we must rely on His grace and Holy Spirit all the more due to this shortcoming. I wasn't meaning to sound like an insane legalist; I am not.
It's just that if we resign ourselves to "anomos" or "harmatos," then we will have all sorts of unnecessary struggling-- innate shortcoming is hard enough itself without having the flesh's passions unnecessarily nipping at our heels.

 

Sounds like a "faith without works is dead" kind of thing...

 

No. Works do not defeat sin. Only the Spirit-- anything else only covers it up. Even works. Works are only the signs of life; they are not life itself. I believe Jesus reserves that post (John 14:9).

 

When I say repentance means changing ones mind I mean this:

First, we stop making excuses and agree with the Holy Spirit that it is sin...

I, personally, don't think we have really repented until we stop making excuses and take responsibility for (committing) our sins.

Next, implicit in that agreeing with the Spirit is the knowledge that we can not defeat sin in our lives without the Power of God.

So part of repentance entails asking for help to stop sinning...

Of course that's just one man's opinion.

Mike Sr.

 

...and a good opinion it is, Spiritual Mad man

 

Repenting means that we admit to our sin and that we will do everything humanly possible not to repeat that sin.

Because we are human, we cannot always keep that promise, but we must be sincere in our attempt not to repeat.