What is repentance?

I would like to discuss what the true definition of repentance. But not have enough time to discuss tonight. Because I have to go to work tonight - 3rd shift job. On Monday, I will discuss on this with verses, what the repentance, itself means.

Before start discuss on it.

Both Late Curtis Hutson and Jack Hyles misintepreting on repentance, serious costly people's soul because of 'Easy Believism'.

Both saying repentance is not necsscary mean for turn away from sins. Both saying it means chnage mind. Hyles said, repent means change from unbelief to belief.

Most baptist churches seem not emphasis or stress on repent, they use 'Easy Believism' by witness to them, simple saying, 'believe on' instead than warning them about sins.

Later next week I will discuss on repent with verses. Bible talks lot on repentance. It always emphasis on repentance, because God is holy, and He hates sin.

In Christ
Rev. 22:20 -Amen!

 

Amen!

 

Repentance is an about face and a change of direction twards sin as Paul33 so well put it.

Quoted by DeafPosttrib: Most baptist churches seem not emphasis or stress on repent, they use 'Easy Believism' by witness to them, simple saying, 'believe on' instead than warning them about sins.

Not so! Repentance is taught in every baptist church I have ever been in or visited.

Easy Believism gets a bad rap. A person given the gospel and truly repents can be saved. Often times it is as easy as 1-2-3. It is the simplicity of the cross that saves. Those that call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED!

 

The GRACE to be saved comes from GOD,The FAITH to believe God to BE saved...comes from GOD,AND TRUE REPENTANCE to turn FROM SIN and UNTO GOD...well...That comes from GOD ALSO! Man..in his unregenerate state before salvation,with his DEAD SPIRIT possesses NO CAPACITY to help or save himself.GOD IS SOVERIEGN!...BUT....Whosoever WILL may come!
OK all you theologians out there...let the games begin!

Greg Sr.

 

I would say that repentance is NOT turning from sin to Christ, but turning to CHRIST from our sinful condition. It may seem subtle, but grace is not about man, it is about Christ. We, as sinful man, lack the ability to turn from sin apart from the enabling power (i.e. grace) of God. So I reiterate... Repentance is turning to Christ from our present sinful condition. I will post more later.

Chad

 

Do not mean to disagree with a man more learned than I, but in Grudem's definition who is the focus on, God or Man? It is God that is doing the saving, so in effect when we repent we are turning to Christ. This is important because when a man gets saved he may not understand what repentance is, but if we preach Christ and Him crucified the sinner will not feel compelled to quit sinning, but compelled to turn to the grace that is in Christ. The natural product of turning to Christ is a changed life, and in effect a turning from sin. But beyond that a person is saved, in my view, when they recognize that Christ is the offended one to whom they need to be reconciled. At the moment of conversion a person is saved, but it does not end there. The person now begins the process of sanctification. Since we are saved by turning to Christ, it follows that we will experience sanctification only in the same grace that saved us. We are sanctified then by depending on Christ to do what he said He would do.

Galatians 3:3 KJV
(3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

If Salvation is turning from sin to Christ,then sanctification would be the process of continually turning from sin to Christ. THe problem is in our flesh dwells no good thing.

Romans 7:18 KJV
(18) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

We do not possess the ability to turn from anything, we can only turn to the Holy Spirit who enables us (GRACE) to perform that which we would not otherwise do.

Romans 8:13 KJV
(13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

May seem like semantics to some, but I think there is a key difference in the two views of repentance. While one sees man turning from sin to Christ, the other (correct in my view) sees man turning to Christ the enabler (GRACE). Turning to Christ by faith is the impetus for turning from sin not vice-versa.

Chad

 

Well, I have always considered it to be a 180 degree turn from saying "my way is right, my will be done" to:
"God's way is right, God's will be done."

 

Repentance - Gr(metanoia) a change of mind

When we define Repentance, we have to ask, is this repetance in regards to salvation or something else?

In the Old Testament King James Version God is seen to be repenting in this passage:

Now there is definitely a repentance that leads to salvation as we know from 2 Corinthians 7:10. So what is involved in this repentance?

Its hard to believe, but there is only one passage in the entire New Testament that contains the phrase "repent and believe" and the Gospel of John never mentions repenting or repentance - its always believe in the Gospel of John.

So is it possible that the repentance that leads to salvation is tied up in belief? It makes sense if we understand that repentance is turning from one thing to another(which most here would agree it is, a change of mind).

If we believe that Jesus Christ is our God and Savior, and that he has paid the penalty for our sins, then we had to turn from - change our minds from our previous belief, that we were not sinners, that we did not need a savior, that what we were doing was not wrong. So in this sense, when we mention repentance, it is the flip side of belief.

But if we make the repentance that leads to salvation, be more than this, that it is not only recognizing(changing our mind about our actions) that we have sinned against a Holy God and seeking and accepting his forgivness, but it is in fact turning from our sins in order to be saved, we have introduced a concept that is foriegn to the New Testament.

Which sin must we stop doing in order to be saved? All(sinless perfection) or most? Maybe a particular bad habit? If we will just give that up than God will save us?

I challenge someone to list passages from the New Testament that say we need to "repent(turn from our sins) of our sins in order to be saved" and we will look at these together.

Another interesting point, why is the New Testament filled with admonitions for believers(and they are cleary recoginzed as sons of God, elect and such) to repent of their sins(including bad habits), if they already turn from their sins when they came for salvation?

IFBReformer

 

Good illustration Paul. I might even use it some day as an illustration (anonymously).
My pet peeve is the preachers who preach: "Repent from all your sins." That's not repentance. That is an impossible act which man cannot do. It is impossible for man to even remember all the sins he has ever committed, let alone list them all and confess, then repent of them all one by one.
That is what the expression actually means. You can't repent of all your sins. You can repent from your sinful way of life that you were living before.
Repentance is a change of mind in respect toward God. I repent from my sinful life, and change my mind toward God. My attitude is changed 180 degrees. It is no longer the sinful lifestyle I desire; it is the Godly lifestyle I desire.

As the old deacon illustrated repentance in a simple way that the congregation could understand after the minister preached a lofty sermon that no one could understand; he went down the middle of the aisle shouting:
"I am going to Hell; I am going to Hell; I am going to Hell, etc."
Then he changed direction 180 degrees and walked up the aisle shouting:
"I am going to heaven: I am going to Heaven; I am going to Heaven, etc."
That is repentance.
It is a change of heart in respect to one's attitude toward God.
DHK

 

I agree with the general opinion from the previous posts, to borrow from the SBC FAITH Evangelism program:

T is for Turn. If you were driving down the road and someone asked you to turn, what would he or she be asking you to do? They’d be asking you to change directions, right? In the Bible, to turn means to repent. We must all turn from something – sin and self. Jesus warned his listeners in Luke 13:3, "…unless you repent (turn) you will all likewise perish". But we not only turn from something (sin and self) we must also turn to Someone, Jesus Christ. We must trust Christ only!

I believe a false repentance is when one is either sorry they got caught in their sin, or sorry they are going to hell. A true repentance is when one is sorry that their sins put Christ on the cross and they turn away from their sin and following their own desires to put their faith and trust in Christ to be the Lord of their life.

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death

 

So a person who is truly saved is not going to sin anymore(stick his hand in the lawn mower)?

Support that with scripture.

You can easily support that God does not want believers to sin anymore with scripture.

You can easily support that God brings chastisment on his own for sin with scripture.

You can easily support that God takes away rewards for sin with scripture.

But you cannot support the premise that true Christians do not sin anymore after they are saved - the Bible acknowledges this sad fact because we are in the mortal corrupted bodies.

IFBReformer

 

Please!!!!!
Someone let me in on the RIGHT way to witness to someone?????????????
What are most churches NOT doing????
Any takers..>?

 

This last post of yours I agree with in many ways. I am not an easy-believiest, I do believe there will be change in the life of anyone who has believed in their heart(as opposed to only their head).

But I am going to drill you into a corner here to get you to really think out your position. I find often times Pastors or others have these lines they say from the Pulpit, which while they sound scripturual, and may very well be scriptural, are never practically applied.

Here are some questions.

You acknowledge that as believers we still we sin, but how much?

Do you believe that if anyone is a true believer his life will be a pattern of righteousness and holiness with only momments of failure?

If you believe that all true believers will progressively become more and more righteous - why is that the scriptures seem to indicate Believers can and do loose rewards and some will get no rewards but be saved so as by fire?

Can a true believer die in backslidden state, out of fellowship with God over sin in their life?