What is repentance?
a) One of the words and concepts many no longer understand is “repentance.”
b) This word is applied to people as well as entire congregations, but fewer and fewer seem to know what it means.
2) Today we want to go back and study what the Bible says about repentance.
3) In Lk. 13:3 the Lord is recorded as saying “repent or perish.”
a) Sometimes people say things like, “Do this or you might die. Do this or you will likely die.”
b) Jesus said: “Do this [REPENT] or you will perish.”
4) This perishing is associated with the idea of eternal destruction – the place we call hell.
5) Mt. 4:17 – READ
6) Out of all the things Jesus could have taught about He emphasized repentance.
7) Acts 2:37 – READ
a) All accountable people are guilty of sin (Rom. 3:10, 23).
b) When people realized their guilt in the death of Jesus and asked what they were to do, what were they told?
c) Verse 38 – READ
8) “All men everywhere” need to repent (Acts 17:30).
LET’S NOW TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT REPENTANCE IS.
a) Verse 16 of Mt. 11 talks about “children in the marketplace.”
b) Children in Jesus’ day played some games and some of these games were played in the marketplace.
2) Mt. 11 indicates children sometimes acted out things they had seen at weddings as well as funerals.
3) Mt. 11:17 – READ
4) Jesus said He and John the Baptist had dramatically different styles.
5) Verses 18-19 continue the thought – READ
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7) In Mt. 11 we read about unbelief – unbelief in spite of many mighty miracles from God in the flesh.
8) If unbelieving people “repented,” what would this mean? Repentance would mean a turn.
9) Does repentance involve anything more than turning from unbelief?
10) Acts 8:13 – READ
11) Simon wanted to buy the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18-21).
12) Verse 22 – READ
a) Simon was not told to “believe again” – he had not lost is faith.
b) In this case “repentance” involved a desire to buy God or God’s power.
13) Repentance is a turning; we might call it a radical change.
14) Repentance may involve turning from unbelief to faith (Mt.11) or for sin to righteousness (Acts 8).
SOME WILL NOT REPENT.
a) One of the clearest examples of this is found in Lk. 16.
2) A man asked for another man who had died be allowed to go and tell his brothers about the afterlife.
3) This information is in Lk. 16:27-28. The request of the rich man was denied.
4) Luke 16:30 contains the last recorded words from a man who is still suffering for his sins:
5) but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent.
6) This man who had died finally learned the importance of repentance.
7) After people die, if they are not right with God, what people learn repentance will not help them or others.
8) This chapter closes by saying someone coming back from the dead would not work.
9) Have we repented and continue to repent as a Christian?
