Extra Stuff on Repentance

Extra Comments & Scripture (Pulled From Main Study)

Misunderstandings About Repentance

If God speaks of Himself as repenting, from blessing and judgment, then maybe our religious ideas of what it means to repent are wrong.

Jeremiah 18:10 (KJV) If it do evil in my [God's] sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

Joel 2:13-14 (KJV) ...For he [God] is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him...

The words "repent" and "turn" are used by English translators interchangeably, as will be seen. Thus, the above verses (and many more) make sense if repent means to turn, to look in the opposite direction, to change the view of the mind and heart.

From Robertson's Greek Commentary on the word "repent" in Mt 3:2: "Repent (metanoeite). Broadus used to say that this is the worst translation in the New Testament. The trouble is that the English word "repent" means "to be sorry again" from the Latin repoenitet. John did not call on the people to be sorry, but to change (think afterwards) their mental attitudes (metanoeite)... The Old Syriac has it better: "Turn ye." The French (Geneva) has it "Amendez vous." This is John's great word (Bruce) and it has been hopelessly mistranslated. The tragedy of it is that we have no one English word that reproduces exactly the meaning and atmosphere of the Greek word. The Greek has a word meaning to be sorry (metamelomai) which is exactly our English word repent and it is used of Judas in Mt 27:3"

Elementary Education?

Repentance is 1 of 6 "elementary teachings" as defined by Scripture.

Heb 5:12-6:2 (NIV) In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again... Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instructions about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

Sandy Gregory: "Repentance is the underlying process that characterizes all movement towards God. Throughout the Old Testament, repentance was the theme of all preaching. John the Baptist preached repentance. Jesus, in Mathew and Mark, opened His ministry by preaching repentance. In Luke, Jesus says: "If you do not repent, you will all likewise perish", and Luke concludes with the directive of Christ to go and preach repentance. Peter preached repentance at Pentecost. Paul preached repentance in Acts 17. To five of the seven churches in the Revelation, Jesus says "Repent", and the book concludes with the directive that those who do not repent will continue in an evil way. And so it seems that repentance is of the utmost importance."

The Kind Of Sorrow That Leads To Repentance

2 Cor 7:8-10 (Phi) ...I can see now that the letter (1 Cor) did upset you, though only for a time, and now I am glad I sent it, not because I want to hurt you but because it made you grieve for things that were wrong. In other words, the result was to make you sorry as God would have had you sorry, and not to make you feel injured by what we said. The sorrow which God uses means a change of heart [NIV: repentance] and leads to salvation without regret--it is the world's sorrow that is such a deadly thing.

The Ministry Of Repentance

2 Tim 2:25-26 (NIV) Those who oppose him [the Lord's servant] he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading to knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Our Reaction To Repentance In Others

Luke 17:3-4 (NIV) "...If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."

Repentance and Desire

A.W. Tozer: "Right desires tend towards life and evil ones towards death. That in essence is the scriptural teaching on the subject. Whatever a man wants badly and persistently enough will determine a man's character... When our desires are bad the whole life is bad as a consequence, when the desires are good the life comes up to the level of our desires, provided that we have within the enabling Spirit.

"At the root of all true spiritual growth is a set of right and sanctified desires... We can have whatever we want badly enough if, it hardly need be said, our desire is according to the will of God. The desire after God and holiness is back of all real spirituality, and when that desire becomes dominant in the life nothing can prevent us from having what we want. The longing cry of the God-hungry soul can be expressed in the five words of the song, "Oh, to be like Thee!" While this longing persists there will be steady growth in grace and a constant progress towards Christ-likeness."

The Pleasures Of The Lord

Ps 16:2-11 (NIV) I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."... The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods... Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup... The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me... Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices... You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Ps 17:15 (NRS) As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Ps 36:8 (NIV) They [the high and low] feast in the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.

Don't Miss The Chance!

Heb 12:16-17 (NRS) See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears.

Applications of Repentance:

Repentance Issues From Marriage Group Version:

Repentance Bible Study