Jesus spoke of the importance of repentance in the first words of his ministry (Matt 4:17) I heard a teaching recently stating that you “can not repent because that would be a ‘work’, and according to Ephesians 2:8 you can not be saved by works. You must be saved by believing only”
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
It’s dangerous to form a doctrine around one verse because according to 2 Timothy 3:16.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Because of this we know that if you see 2 scriptures that appear to contradict one another, this is an opportunity to study it out and reach out to the Holy Spirit for the meaning.
Don’t confuse the importance of repentance with the teaching of salvation by works. There is no change of heart without repentance, and following Jesus requires change.
Warning!
For starters, in this teaching (or any other), you should not take my word for it. Read your bible! It is not the job of your pastor or deacon or church elder to study to show you approved. You are to study to show yourself approved (2 Timothy 2:15)
Secondly, everyone will stand before God in judgement. You will not be there with your spouse, or your best friend, or your pastor. You will stand alone for him to say either “Well done good and faithful servant” Luke 19:17, or “Depart from me for I never knew you”. Matt 7:23, Luke 13:27
Third, we are living in the last generation. As such, false doctrine and doctrines of devils (as mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:1) are growing. Your only defense against ignorance, is education. And in this context your only defense against false doctrine is to know your bible.
The meaning of Repentance
Repentance in the New Testament comes from the greek word Met-an-o-e’-o meaning to turn from, to think differently after, to change your mind, to change your inner man, particularly as it relates to the acceptance of the will of God.
Growing up, I had a misunderstanding of the meaning of this word as only a basic apology. But the importance of this word / action is evident in the first words spoken by Jesus when he began his ministry.
Repentance in the Beginning
In Matthew 4, Jesus had been in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted of Satan, and in Matt 4:17 the first words that he said publicly were “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near you.
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””
I find the very first word Jesus spoke to begin his ministry being “Repent” to be very significant.
In Luke 13, Jesus was talking to a group about the importance of repentance.
“There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”” Luke 13:1-5 NKJV
Repentance from the Apostle Paul
In the book of Acts Paul commanded the Aeropagus’ to turn from their man made idols, repent and turn to God.
“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.””
Acts 17:26-31 NKJV
Repentance at the End (Revelation)
In Revelation, Jesus speaking to the loveless church at Ephesus, warned them about leaving their first love (Jesus)
““I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
Revelation 2:2-5 NKJV
Again In Revelation, Jesus speaking to the lukewarm church at Laodecia told them that because they are lukewarm he would spit them out of his mouth, unless they repent:
““I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”
Revelation 3:15-16 NKJV
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ””
Revelation 3:19-22 NKJV
The Hard Truth
A hard truth for people to accept (either in the church or in the world) about Christianity is that there are murders in heaven, and there are people who spent a lifetime in church that will never see heaven.
What’s the difference? Repentance.
Moses was a murderer. King David was a murderer. And perhaps worst of all was Paul (who wrote half of the new testament by the Holy Spirit). He was not just a murderer, but he hunted down and tortured christians.
The common thread with all of them was humbling themselves before God, repenting, and turning away from their worldly lives and turning to God.
I hope you are blessed by this message. If you are religious and this message has offended you, that’s great! I hope it has offended you enough to read your bible.
Do you know Jesus?
If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, and you want to, here is a good place to start:
- Forgive those who have done you wrong. Make a list of those who have done you wrong, ex-spouses, former bosses, anyone that you think has done you wrong. One by one say (out loud) that “I choose this day to forgive (and name the person) just as Jesus forgave me.” Remember that forgiveness is a choice. You don’t wait for feelings of forgiveness to come so that you can forgive. You forgive, so that the feelings of forgiveness will come.
- Repent. Next you want to repent from your sins by saying out loud, “Lord Jesus, I repent of (and name the sins you know of) and I ask you to help me remember the sins I don’t know of that I may be washed clean of them. Lord I believe that you are the risen son of God, and I choose to repent away from my life and turn towards you.”
- Surrender. Finally, “Lord, I surrender my life to you. I don’t want to make you a part of my life, I want to surrender my life to you. I know that I was bought with a price, and I by prayer and faith I accept your salvation, and I accept your Holy Spirit inside me.
- Find a local church to get plugged into. Do a google search for “Spirit filled church close to me”, or you can reach out to us and we can help you.
