What is repentance?
 

I have noticed that repentance is missing in many professed conversions. Repentance is vital for our relationship with God, but yet so many only think of it as an apology. talk is cheap and God is looking at our actions.

Re: What is repentance?
 

Im glad you asked that question. This is Biblical New Testament repentance.

Luke 14:25-27

25And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Its when one surrenders their life to Christ. They die to all other competing interests.

Much different than saying Im sorry

Re: What is repentance?
 

Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

We are not to think that God is ever sorry. In order to be sorry there must be a mistake. God does not mistakes and there is nothing for Him to be sorry for, but yet He does repent. Repentance means to change your mind. Because the people of Ninevah changed their minds from doing evil and thus changing their evil actions; God also changed His mind from destroying them.

Repentance isn't being sorry it is changing your mind from doing evil. Godly sorrow worketh repentance. being sorry for sin will many times bring you to the place where you want to make that change, but to repent we must make up our minds that we are going to serve the Lord and no longer our own lustful desires.

Re: What is repentance?
 

Lets get where the rubber meets the road. To repent means to stop sinning. It includes an apology for we owe God an apology but it also means liars quit lying, fornicators quit fornicating, etc etc.

There is also the idea of restitution (where possible and beneficial).

But the basic idea is to change your course.

Re: What is repentance?
 

:nod

Re: What is repentance?
 

Faith in Jesus Christ is what God wants. So if you want to know what repentance really is.... it's simply believing in Jesus Christ.

Re: What is repentance?
 

There is only one way to "stop sinning" and that is to believe in Jesus Christ.

Re: What is repentance?
 

Michael is on the right track. It's about believing in Jesus. Also, as the book of James says (such "faith without works is dead")

Re: What is repentance?
 

AMEN!

:thumbsup

Re: What is repentance?
 

This is false. belief and repentance aren't the same thing. belief may lead a person to repentance, but it isn't repentance. There are many who believe, but yet never change their lifestyle and I consider that rebellion. To believe that God doesn't want you to do something and for you to do it anyways is wrong. To think that God will pardon you because of your belief is ludicrous and doesn't rightly divide the word.

I must first believe and then I must obey. Every time scripture speaks of faith it is understood that obedience is present. Paul understood this, but we live in a generation who doesn't. We must be clear about this because people have taken this saved by faith and totally misrepresented what the Bible teaches. We must strive to be more like the one we believe in.

Re: What is repentance?
 

Psalm 51 is a good example of repentance!

Re: What is repentance?
 

Be careful what you quickly dismiss. It is a sin to not believe the record that God gave us of his son. So any mention of repentance without mentioning believing on Jesus will always be found lacking.

Re: What is repentance?
 

Just suppose a terrorist put a bomb in your work place and you were told about the bomb, but you do nothing. Do you really believe? NO! If you really believe then you will flee the building and run until you are safe from the terrorist's bomb. Faith (believing) without works (repentance) is dead. Jesus DEMANDED folks to quit sinning.

John 5:13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.
John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

John 8:10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
John 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Re: What is repentance?
 

One can be sorry for things they do. But without making Jesus LORD of their life God does not count it as repentance. We can even PRAY and tell God we are sorry for sins. Yet if we dont make Jesus LORD of our life we are still in sins.

But when we do repent and are baptized into his name accepting him the LORD of our lives our sins will be forgiven.

Then we can with receiving the Spirit move on to living a life to the will of God. Now IF, and again I say IF we sin after that we confess the sin and stop doing it God will restore us to fellowship.

Re: What is repentance?
 

This one gets it

Re: What is repentance?
 

Exactly! :nod

Re: What is repentance?
 

If Jesus is Lord of our life we are going to be obedient. Acts 2:38 is to a group of people who already believe. After believing they were sorry for their sins. After sorrow they repented and that means they changed their lifestyle to please God. Repentance isn't as deep as people make it, but it simply means I quit being disobedient to God and I have begun to serve Him.

Repentance=change

If I have repented I can't continue in sin.

Re: What is repentance?
 

:highfive

Re: What is repentance?
 

Change=Repentance happens when one first believes in Jesus.

Re: What is repentance?
 

easy believism. Believing in God alone doesn't change my lifestyle it is the choice I make afterward.

.

If you define that believing as making a change then maybe we just define things differently. As long as people change I don't see the problem.

Re: What is repentance?
 

1 Cor. 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Re: What is repentance?
 

Stop trying to argue against "easy believism" for a moment and listen.

Is it a sin to not believe in Jesus? Yes

Since not believing on Jesus is a sin then isn't changing your unbelief to belief actually turning from your sin (of not believing on Jesus)? Yes

Isn't repenting turning from a sin? Yes

So is believing on Jesus repentance? Yes, repenting is turning from a sin, not believing in jesus is a sin. So turning from unbelief to belief in jesus was repentance.