Foundations of the Christian Life. Chapter 11 - Repentance, the Gift of God.

Foundations of the Christian Life.
Chapter 11. Repentance, the Gift of God.

HOW REPENTANCE WORKS IN OUR LIVES.

We are looking at spiritual foundations. In the last chapter we looked briefly at Hebrews 6:1-3 which is going to be the starting point for the remainder of this series of studies.

Hebrews 6:1-3
"Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement. And God permitting, we will do so."

Here we saw that the foundation of our Christian life IS repentance and faith.
Baptism & etc. are only instructions about the application of repentance and faith. God will not allow us to go on to maturity if we have not laid the foundation of repentance and faith.

In the last chapter we looked at how Christ, as mediator, acted as our representative and offered on our behalf a perfect repentance and faith for us. He laid a foundation that we can walk on.

This connection between Christ as mediator and the foundation of repentance and faith is clearly implied in Hebrews chapters 5 &6.

Let me give you a bit of background into Jewish literary style. In 1973 I did a course at university on Biblical History and Literature. The Lecturer was a wonderful, godly Anglican who was one of their top Old Testament scholars, Dr.F.I.Anderson. (I am not an Anglican myself so I have no bias about this; he just was a gorgeous guy.) There I learned some interesting things about Jewish Literary style.

The one that is of importance to us here is the concept of Bracketing.
In English when we are writing and we want to put into the text some extra material, maybe an explanation or an aside comment, and this material is not part of the main thread of what we are writing what we do is “bracket” it. We put little curvy things around each end of it and then the reader knows that this is in a sense extraneous material to the context and the context of meaning connects with the text at either end of the bracket.

So it looks a bit like this: Context (explanation) Context.

Now in Hebrew the same sort of thing happens but the way they do it is different; they don’t have little curvy brackets. Instead what they do is they repeat a thought, usually in almost exactly the same words, at the beginning and end of the text they want to mark out. But not only is the way of bracketing different the purpose is also different. In English it is to mark out extraneous material not really necessary to the context in hand. In Hebrew it is the opposite – it is to highlight the part in the brackets so you take particular notice because it explains the phrase that is bracketing it. In other words the bit in the middle is crucial to the understanding of the phrase that brackets it.

Now in Hebrews 5-7 we have such a “bracket”.

Hebrews 5:7-11 – the start of the bracket.
Talking of Christ who “was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.”

Hebrews 7:1 – the end of the bracket.
“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, …”

Here the writer introduces the subject of Christ as High Priest – as mediator if you like. And he goes on to say that really because of their immaturity they can’t understand what he wants to say about this. He calls them to move on to maturity as we have read. Then in Ch 7:1 He returns to this theme of Christ as Priest and expounds some of it – clearly he thought that this bit which he explains about the High Priestly ministry of Christ they could understand . So effectively he brackets this section on laying foundations and going on to maturity with the teaching of Christ as High Priest, as Mediator, and in doing so he indicates that there is an integral connection between the two sets of ideas.

One of the implications we are intended to draw from this bracketing is clearly the idea that the High Priestly mediation of Christ is intimately connected with the foundation of repentance and faith.

I don’t profess to understand all the connections between these two ideas but I just point out there is a connection and I want to move on from there to examine our repentance.

Two ways repentance is foundational:
(i) To start the Christian life we need to repent.

Acts 2:37-38.
“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

(ii) Repentance is an ongoing principle of the Christian life.

Romans 12:2.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We are transformed into the image of Christ through “changing our mind”, i.e. repentance.
The "deeper life" is no more, and no less, than a deeper experience of repentance and faith.

In our last chapter we discovered that repentance in actual fact is not something we “do” in the sense that it is not something we initiate. Rather it is something Christ has perfectly done for us and that we receive as a gift. It is a blessing of the New Covenant.

Why, then, are we commanded to repent and have faith if Christ has already done it for us?
What is the Relationship of Our Repentance and faith to Christ's Repentance and Faith?

We need to see our repentance and faith as part of a bigger process.

THE DIVINE CYCLE OF REPENTANCE.

* The process begins with God who sees the repentance and faith of Christ as perfect and accepts them as the basis of the covenant between himself and mankind. The covenant is thus sealed, completed from both the divine and the human ends. The conditions required for the establishing of the covenant from both divine and human ends are completed. The Divine Gift of forgiveness and relationship is given as far as God is concerned, and the human requirement of repentance and faith is also completed.

* God then offers to us the covenant as a gift, and the first two things we find in the covenant blessings are gifts of repentance and faith.

* These gifts of repentance and faith we receive as part of the covenant gift and we then put into them our own content – in the case of repentance we put in our sins and in the case of faith we put in our belief and trust – and then we offer this back to God through Christ.

But we need to recognise in God’s economy we already have the covenant before we offer back the repentance and faith – we have to, because the repentance and faith are gifts of the covenant and not found outside the covenant. We tend to think that we enter into the covenant through repentance and faith, but that is not really so. The grace of God is so great that he sees our heart and freely gives us the covenant, and in that giving he also gives us the repentance and faith we need. Christ has already perfectly repented for us and made the way for us to enter the covenant. Our repentance is thus of secondary importance, not of primary importance; it is our response to being accepted by the Father into the covenant, rather than a condition for our entry into the covenant. It is grace not works.

We are not to offer our own repentance, but we are to receive the gift of repentance from God, mediated to us through Christ, and it is this gift of repentance that we offer back to God. But we offer it back filled with our content – our sins, our brokenness, our fallenness.

The reason for this gift of repentance is that our repentance is always imperfect and incomplete. The fact is that our repentance is always mixed with falsity including:
* Ignorance – we simply cannot remember all of our sins. Nor do we know how sin has corrupted us.
* Fear – we do not come to repentance very often out of a motive of love, rather out of some fear of punishment.
* Rebellion – really most times we come in repentance we really don’t want to repent, we like our sin too much. Rather we are dragged to repentance by the love of God.
* Deep in our hearts we really don’t believe that our repentance will be enough to be accepted by God.

Our repentance is therefore always imperfect, and if our repentance were what was required for us to be saved then none of us would ever make it. Thus God has provided, in Christ, a perfect repentance for us.

We offer our imperfect repentance, and Christ takes it up, wraps it up in his perfect, vicarious repentance and offers it to the Father. Our repentance is mediated to the Father through Christ, and it is made perfect in him. Thus our repentance is not accepted because of ourselves, but because of Christ.

This mediation of repentance by Christ frees us from a clear bondage - the fear, "Maybe I haven't repented properly, or completely."

This is our greatest fear. This fear is at the root of many abuses in Church history including:
* The Roman Catholic practices of indulgences or penance.
* The belief that when disaster strikes our life (financial problems, health problems, etc.) it is because there is some hidden sin in our lives.
Both of these false beliefs are rooted in the idea that “it is our repentance that needs to be acceptable to God”. If that were the case then we would have reason to fear, but we have no reason to fear because Christ has offered a perfect repentance for us and our imperfect repentance is made perfect by being clothed in his perfect repentance.

Repentance is a Gift of God.
However one could object: “If Christ has offered for us a perfect repentance, does our repentance have any significance?”

We are faced with a seeming contradiction – repentance is nearly always found in the Bible in the imperative – i.e. it is a command, something we must do. How then do we reconcile the fact that Christ has already perfectly done it for us with the clear command that we should also do it?

Answer: in the Divine economy repentance is vitally important to us. We cannot come to the Father unless he draws us, but once he draws we need to respond. However the response he is looking for is not something we have in ourselves, but is rather a returning to him of the gifts he has given us. In the first instance he is looking for us to return to him the gift of repentance.

HOW CAN WE KNOW IF GOD IS OFFERING THE GIFT OF REPENTANCE?

(a) God is always offering repentance to the world, to be received by faith.

1 Timothy 2:4.
"This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

Titus 2:11.
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men."

2 Peter 3:9.
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

It is God's desire that “all men be saved”, so he freely offers the covenant containing the gift of repentance.
(I fully reject the extreme views of Predestination that have been taught in some sectors of the church. These suggest “Some men are predestined to salvation and some to damnation”. The three verses just quoted say clearly that God wants all men to be saved. It is inconceivable that God would be so self-contradictory as to want “all men to be saved” and then predestine some to Hell. The subject of Predestination is beyond the scope of these studies however so we will leave it there.)

(b) Repentance is a Spiritual Gift.

Once we are Christ's, we find that God is always offering repentance to us in Christ. It is one of the spiritual blessings available to us in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Repentance is submission to the Lordship of Christ, so is not only available to us, it is DEMANDED of us. But God always first gives us the things he demands of us.

(c) When God is offering Repentance to an individual the Holy Spirit brings conviction of Sin.

John 16:7-11.
"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."

Illustration: - Acts 2:37.
"When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?""

It is impossible to repent without the Holy Spirit first awakening our conscience and producing in us guilt and godly sorrow.

2 Corinthians 7:9,10.
"…your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."

When the Spirit convicts we sense a deep inner sorrow over our actions that leads us to repent.

(d) If we repeatedly reject the voice of conscience, it will lose sensitivity and become hard.

Illustration: - 1 Timothy 4:2.
"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron."

This can happen because of repeated rejection of conscience, or by repeated involvement in sin, or by a definitive decision of will to go a certain sinful direction. God is offering repentance to the world, but individuals can become hardened and not hear his voice.

Illustration: - Exodus 5:1-11:3.
Pharaoh "Hardened his heart" so often that eventually he lost his opportunity to hear - God "hardened Pharaoh's heart". Once God hardens your heart it becomes impossible to repent, the chance of salvation is lost, and all that is left for you is the wrath of God.

HOW DO WE REPENT?

How do we receive the gift of Repentance?
Like all other spiritual gifts and blessings Repentance is released in our life through confession.
In Chapter 5 I outlined the process, the way of God, by which he brings us into all of his promises and blessings. There were seven steps:
1. Promise (A gift or blessing God has for us to experience).
2. Profession (Confession).
3. Principle (the conditions we need to fulfil to receive the promise).
4. Problem (Satanic opposition to our receiving the promise).
5. Perseverance (Stick with the promise and the principle).
6. Patience (God changes our character so we can receive the promise).
7. Provision (The experience of the gift or blessing).

Repentance is thus no different to any other spiritual gift or blessing. Christ has provided it for us, but to have that blessing released in our lives experientially we need to confess it.

What does confession mean?

Greek: Homologeo (and other related words). Literally it means, “the same word”.
It has two ideas that are brought together in the same Greek word. The idea is that:
(i) We come to agreement with God.
(ii) We speak that agreement out loud.

Steps of Repentance:

(i) Recognise the calling of the Holy Spirit to repent.

Repentance, being the gift of God, never starts with us. It never comes out of any desire in us or decision we may make. Rather it starts in the heart of God. God calls us to repentance, and we can only respond or refuse to respond.

* Recognise that deep feeling of conviction over our sin or sorrow for the pain our sin has caused. This is the call of God to repentance. If you don’t feel it ask God to convict you, to show you how he feels about it.
* Receive the grace of repentance to enable you to repent. “Father, I receive your grace, your gift of repentance about this sin…”

(ii) Align your mind with God’s point of view.

We can never repent of anything that we don’t think is wrong. We need to come to see that God’s opinion of our actions and our opinion are different, and then we need to come to agreement with God. We were wrong.

* Agreeing with God that our action were wrong. “Father, I agree with you that this is wrong, it is sin…”
* Commit to learn what God’s will is on that issue – study the Bible.
* Commit to life-change – doing the will of God when you understand it.

(iii) Confess your sin, and turn away from it.

* Accept personal responsibility for our actions with no excuses. We are to acknowlede our personal responsibility for sin. It is only as we acknowledge that it is ours that we can then pass it over to Christ for him to deal with. “Father I confess I was wrong, I sinned against you in doing this…(be specific). I give you my sin now.”
* Confess the sin with our mouths – out loud. We sin with the body we need to confess with the body also to break the power of the sin over our physical bodies. Silent agreement with God is not sufficient – he asks for confession of sins.
* Naming our sin. In naming one's sin, the falsehood is owned and becomes defined.
To hide in shame or self-defensiveness is to resist grace and to grant the fallen self and the evil one the right to empower sin and its destructive effects.
* Sin was specific so Confession needs to be specific. A general confession of “all our sins” is sufficient for justification, but not for salvation. We must face the shame and name it specifically to be free from it.

1 John 1:9.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

* We need to "confess our sins", this means speaking out loud.When we do God does two things:
* He "will forgive us our sins". The slate is wiped clean from a legal point of view in the throneroom of God. We are forgiven.
* He "will cleanse us from, all unrighteousness". Sin leaves a stain in our lives, we are left polluted and some part of our life is destroyed when we sin. Jesus not only forgives our sins when we confess them but he also removes he stain, the pollution and begins ro restore the destruction sin has caused.

James 5:16.
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

* This is in the context of sickness and healing. Some people are sick because of their sin.
* When this is the case confession to an other person brings the possibility of healing as they can break the iniquity of us.
* The Christian (the "righteous man") has authority from God to release from both the sin and the consequences of the sin, i.e. the sickness.

(iv) Receive the cleansing of the blood of Jesus for your sin.
“Father I receive now the cleansing of the blood of Jesus for this sin now. Wash me clean in Jesus name, I pray.”

C. S. Lewis:
“We have a strange Illusion that mere time cancels sins. I have heard others, and I have heard myself, recounting cruelties and falsehoods committed in boyhood as if they were no concern of the present speakers, and even with laughter. But mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of sin. The guilt is washed out not by time but by repentance and the blood of Christ.”

Sometimes after claiming Christ’s cleansing blood you may still not feel cleansed or free from the sin. In cases like this follow the directive in James to confess to someone else. You need to be able to trust their confidentiality. They should pronounce forgiveness over you (called “absolution”) as in John 20:23.

John 20:23.
"Jesus said to his disciples, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.""

There is great power in having someone speak this word of release/forgiveness over you. Quite simply, Absolution is the act where some other believer in Christ takes the authority given by Christ here in John 20:23 and speaks forth forgiveness and release from the sin. As we have seen in Chapter 5 such confession, the speaking out of God’s word, has power and causes to happen what is said. In this practice of Absolution the Catholics have been blessed through the practice of the Confessional, where many Evangelical Protestants have missed out on the freedom God has for us in being absolved of sin. The rise of the Christian Counseling movement in the last 30 years has seen the power of such absolution and many Protestants are now enjoying the blessing of it.

(v) Submit to Jesus Christ as Lord of your life.

* Confess the new truth God has shown you – agree with it verbally. Commit to doing it from now on.

(vi) Be Converted.

* Accept the gift of God’s grace of a changed nature. This will be seen in a changed lifestyle.
* Align your will with God’s will on this matter. “Father, I submit my will to you, especially in this matter of….(be specific). I commit to living according to your word in this area of my life from now on.”

Ephesians 4:22-24.
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."

* Put off the old nature that enjoyed doing those wrong things. Give it into Christ’s Cross through confession:
“Father God I confess the fallen nature in me that enjoyed sinning in this way ….. (specify the sin) ….
I confess the wrong doing of that sin and I ask for your forgiveness and I give over to the Cross of Christ the fallen nature that enjoys it so that you can put it to death.”

* Put on the new nature which is like Christ through confession:
“Father God I now receive the new nature given to me in Christ. Take my old sinful self and replace it with the new nature of Christ. I receive ….(Specify the new character trait God wants you to have) now in Jesus name.”

Repentance, then, is not just a feeling sorry for sins and their consequences, but it involves our desiring a radical inward change of our nature, and a corresponding change of lifestyle. Nor is repentance something we only do once at conversion. As we seek God it needs to be a daily experience.

As you come to understand the will of God in any area of your life, recognise your previous sinful ways, confess and turn from them. Find out the will of God in that area, accept it and do it.

Some Considerations in Confession:

1. The Use of Christian Symbols.

Depth confession involves the good of Christian symbols that make real to us what is occurring on unseen levels. Three symbols are particularly powerful in repentance:
1. The Cross, use a wooden or metal Cross as an aid to faith. Hold the Cross in front of you and speak the sin into the Cross. Imagine it being taken into Christ.
2. Water, as a symbol of cleansing. During absolution those ministering can administer the cleansing of water. Sprinkle water liberally over the confessee in order to manifest the power of Christ to not only absolve sin, but also to cleanse the deep heart from its defiling effects. We need not only washing from a guilty conscience; our bodies need to be washed with pure water as well (Hebrews 10:22).
3. Oil, as a healing balm, or a symbol of the gift of the Spirit to fill and empower the area previously weakened by sin.

2. Seeking the forgiveness of those we have sinned against:

Andy Comiskey:
"In most cases, sin involves another person. And most of us have wounded others in our lusts and in our addictions. A significant part of our healing involves the willingness to not only confess our own sin and receive forgiveness, but also to acknowledge how our sin has affected others. We do so by seeking out those whom we have wounded and requesting their forgiveness for the ways we have sinned against them."

Jesus is clear about our need as His followers to make every effort to be reconciled to those we have wounded.

He considers such efforts to be prerequisites to worshipping Him wholly and freely.

Matthew 5:23-24.
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

Such confession to those we have wounded by our sin requires great wisdom as to how and when to carry it out. One should not normally do this without first getting advice from your spiritual leader. However this should not be used as an excuse for not doing it. The freedom we seek through God’s forgiveness is in some way dependent on our willingness to confess and ask for forgiveness from those we have hurt.

THE TEST OF TRUE REPENTANCE.

Is a continuously changing lifestyle; conforming more and more to Christ.

Matthew 3:4-8.
"People went out to John from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Repentance produces fruit – a life of freedom, a changed character, a manifestation of Christ in and through our lives.

HOMEWORK:

Galatians 5:19-23. The Fruit of the Flesh and the Fruit of the Spirit.
“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Ask God to show you any area of your life that is “the fruit of the flesh”.
Put it to death on the Cross. Repent of it.
Find the corresponding fruit of the Spirit.
Receive by faith that fruit of the Spirit in Jesus name.

TRANSFORMER VERSES:

Acts 2:37-38.
“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

PRAYER:
Father God, I thank you for the gift of repentance that has power to free me from the guilt and power of sin and change me into the image of Christ.
I receive that gift now, in Jesus name.
I ask that you would, by your Holy Spirit, work a process in my life whereby you reveal to me my sinfulness and enable me to repent of it. Convict me by your Spirit I pray, in Jesus name.
(Wait a few moments and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Anything that comes to mind that you have done is certainly the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. Commit to setting it right and go through the steps of confession as outlined in this chapter.)
Amen.