Repentance
Gordon Henry Hayhoe
Table of Contents
Repentance
The Lord Jesus, after He had completed the blessed and glorious work of redemption on Calvary's cross, was buried and rose again on the third day. The Scripture has recorded the various occasions on which He met with His own after His resurrection giving them abundant proof that the work of redemption had been completed. "Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 4:25-5:1.
Before His ascension to heaven, He told them of the coming of the Holy Spirit which took place on the day of Pentecost, and He commissioned them to carry the blessed message of salvation to "whosoever will" in the whole world (Mark 16:15). He said that "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations." (Luke 24:47). The apostle Peter called upon those of the nation of Israel to repent in Acts 2:38, and Paul later on when preaching to Gentiles in Acts 17:30,31, told them that, "God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead." Also when Paul gave charges to those at Ephesus, he said that his message in the gospel was the necessity of "repentance toward God. and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 20:21.
With the Lord's help I would like to consider in the light of the Scripture, the subject of repentance and its importance in the proclamation of the gospel message. The real meaning of repentance is a "change of mind," and so God calls upon men and women to have a change of mind about their real condition in the presence of a holy God who hates sin. We read in the Bible, which is God's Word, "Thou (God) art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." Hab. 1:13. Many people look very lightly on sin, and laugh about it as though it were nothing, and even are entertained by jokes about sin. They are like a man who has cancer and does not know the seriousness of his condition. He gets a real "change of mind" when he visits the doctor and the doctor tells him his true condition. If he thinks the doctor is only joking he might laugh, but if he believes the doctor, he is very seriously concerned and wants to hear about a remedy.
God has very clearly told us about our true condition as sinners, He tells us that "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23. He tells us that "the wages of is death." Rom. 6:23, and that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Heb. 9:27. But He not only tells us of our true condition but He tells us that there is a sure remedy. Listen to these lovely verses that tell us of God's remedy. In wondrous love He sent His own Son to bear the full penalty for our sins on Calvary's cross. "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree." 1 Peter 2:24. "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." Heb. 9:28. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7. The question is, if you have truly repented and have a change of mind about your true condition, will you accept the remedy God has provided? It is offered as a gift, if you are ready to take your place as a guilty sinner before Him. Some are concerned as to whether they have repented enough and if they have felt and confessed every sin. Now the Bible says, "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." Rom. 8:8. Until a sinner comes to the Lord Jesus, his whole life is sinful before God. He is called upon to own his true condition—not a question of whether he has repented enough. The man who got the blessing in Luke 18:13 simply acknowledged his guilt and said, "God be merciful to me a sinner." We read in Job 33:27, "He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light." "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Isa. 55:7.
True repentance then is a real change of mind. It is when you accept what God says about your true condition as lost and guilty before Him. Then are you now willing to accept His free offer of forgiveness and salvation through the atoning work of redemption accomplished by the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary when He bore our sins in His own body on the tree? 1 Peter 2:24. Salvation is "not of works, lest any man should boast." Eph. 2:9. If you will but take God's offer of salvation as a free gift (Rom. 6:23), you will then have peace with God and the assurance of your salvation by just resting on His unfailing Word, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life." 1 John 5:13. It is not a question of feeling you are saved, but it is taking God at His word. Then you can say, "I know I am saved," "for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me." Acts 27:25. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 5:1.
G. H. H.
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