Text: Acts 17:30-31

Intro:

The goals of this message are:

  1. To explain what repentance is and what it isn’t.
  2. To see how the word repentance is used in the Bible.
  3. To explain why we believe repentance is necessary for salvation.
  4. To answer a few questions which are commonly raised about repentance and salvation.

We will endeavour to cover these points under three main headings.

  1. What Is Repentance?
  2. Who In the Bible Repents?
  3. Why Do We Need Repentance?

I. What Is Repentance?

  1. Is repentance just belief in God?
    – According to Vines Expository Dictionary, the word ‘repent’ in our Bible comes from the Greek word metanoeo (μετανοέω) which is made up of two words, the first ‘meta’ meaning “after, and implying change,” the second ‘noeo’ meaning “to perceive, the mind.”
    – Repentance is defined in the Way of Life Encyclopedia as “a change of mind… Godward … that results in a change of life.”
  2. The idea here is that an individual who is taking one course of action changes their mind and takes another course of action.
    – Repentance is not just me trying to do good, although good works should follow genuine repentance, repentance starts with a work of the Holy Spirit bringing a recognition of the wickedness of my sin in the eyes of God which turns my heart away from my sin and toward God, then in faith asking for His forgiveness.
    – Genuine repentance isn’t something that we work up in our own flesh or our own strength. Genuine repentance that turns the sinner toward God is a work that the Spirit of God accomplishes in our lives when we allow God to have His way with us.
    – Acts 11:18 “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”
    – 2 Timothy 2:25 “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”
  3. Repentance is a work of God in our hearts which turns us from sin unto himself.
  4. To put it simply, the Holy Spirit works in the life of an individual challenging them of their sin and bringing about a change of heart and mind toward God. The sinner then turns away from, or repents of his wicked ways, and in faith casts himself at the feet of God and asks God to forgive His sin and to apply the blood of Christ to his own life. Yes, the blood of Christ atones for all sin, but this atonement must be personally appropriated.
  5. Isn’t faith enough?
  6. There are a lot of people out there who believe God exists and may even believe in the God of the Bible, but they aren’t saved and on their way to heaven because they haven’t turned from their sin and self, in fact, they feel they will obtain heaven by their own efforts.
    – It isn’t enough to simply try to turn from sin, but it also isn’t enough to just believe. Salvation requires that genuine repentance from sin be coupled with faith toward God.
    – Man has been given the opportunity to make his final decision to accept or reject His Creator. The path that Adam and Eve chose in Eden was the path of sin and self. This is the path that God calls man to turn from and to turn back to his Creator God.

II. Who In the Bible Repents?

  1. God repents (Jeremiah 18:8-10)
  2. Here we see that God when intended to judge a nation for its wickedness, if that nation turned away from its wickedness God would see their repentance and repent of the evil he had planned to do unto them.
    – Do you see how the heart of man toward God has a great influence on God’s actions toward man? When men turn to God, God blesses men.
    – God was not repenting from sin, but rather, was turning away from the path of judgement. The path of judgement was right, as long as man continued in rebellion against God, but when man turned back to God, the path of mercy became the path that best aligned with the character of God. As a result, God repented of the “evil” he intended to punish sinful man with and instead offered him mercy.
  3. In verse ten, we see the opposite of verse eight. Here God intended to bless this nation, but the nations heart turned away from God and they turned to evil. It says that God would repent of the good He had intended to bless them with because their heart had turned away from Him.
    – In both cases God was just in his actions toward men. God’s actions toward men are in perfect balance with His justice and mercy.
  4. Man Repents
  5. Negative repentance (Exo 13:17)
    – Did you know that there was a time when God specifically didn’t want his people to repent?
    – God knew that the children of Israel might panic if they had to face an enemy so early on in their journey out of Egypt. God didn’t want the children of Israel to repent, or to turn back to Egypt, and so he led them away from the possible conflict.
    – This passage makes it clear that, even in relation to man, repentance does not always mean turning from sin. The word repentance is always defined either specifically or contextually so that we understand what the individual is repenting or turning from.
  6. Positive repentance (Luke 13:1-5)
    – The context here makes it clear that the repentance being spoke of is repentance from sin, as Jesus askes them, “Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans”?
    – Jesus then told his listeners that they all needed to repent or else they would also perish.

    1. Repentance from sin is a doctrine clearly laid out for us all through the New Testament and it is a vital part of the Gospel message.
      – Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”
      – Mark 1:15  “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

III. Why Do We Need to Repent?

  1. For the sinner
  2. Repentance is necessary for salvation
    – When a man turns from his sin unto God, God sees the change of that man’s heart toward God, and God has mercy on him.
    – Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
  3. Repentance precedes forgiveness.
    – While God is under no obligation to forgive us, He has chosen in accordance with His grace and mercy that He will forgive those who repent of their transgressions against Him.
  4. Genuine repentance and faith in God are life changing and should not be taken lightly.
    – There is nothing in this life that is more important that making that decision to turn from sin and put your faith in Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. There is no other way to receive forgiveness of sins and to have a home in heaven when you die. Jesus is the only way.
    – Genuine repentance will precipitate changes in the character and lifestyle of the individual.
  5. For the saved (Rom 6:1)
  6. What profit is there in continuing in the things from which you have been saved? Those sins are the sins you turned away from the day you trusted Christ as your personal Saviour, why turn back to them?
  7. Even after salvation, repentance is the course of action we are supposed to take whenever we realize we have sinned against God.

Conclusion:

  1. To put it simply, repentance from sin is turning in faith from sin and self to God.
  2. Repentance is absolutely vital to the doctrine of Salvation and must not be undermined. If you undermine the doctrine of repentance, then you are undermining the doctrine of Salvation and hindering sinners from being saved.
  3. 2 Corinthians 6:2 “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”