The meaning of true “repentance”…
God requires repentance
The Lord God of the Old Testament always demanded true repentance, and He never changes. The same is true in the New Testament. Are you following this God?
Or have you fallen for a different god of a different gospel? Are you expecting God to change His ways, or are you willing to change everything you are — to truly repent and follow Him? The Bible shows us His ways.
“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and
with all your strength, and
with all your mind;
and your neighbor as yourself.”
A good definition of repent, could be this:
willing to change everything you are
No bigger choice
We get no bigger choice in all the universe than this one: what to do with Jesus. We get one chance on earth, and then it’s all over. And it has to be on His terms. Our sinful, manipulative, self-centered, rebellious terms for salvation — are just that: sinful. God is asking us to repent of our ways, and turn to His ways.
Understand Repentance
These are verses that help us understand “repentance” as God defines it:
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
* Jeremiah 7 – Warning to Repent Excerpts:
3 “Amend your ways and your deeds….”
5 “…if you truly amend your ways and your deeds….”
8 “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and [c]offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, 10 then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations?
23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and [i]went backward and not forward.
The horn you toot
God doesn’t give a hoot about the horn you toot. It’s His way all the way, and on That Day, what we say will be just another horn in the lamenting protest band as we see Heaven disappear forever and we go down some dark black hole to hell (if we have not truly repented). [Matthew 8:12; Revelation 16:10; Matthew 6:23; Genesis 15:12]
He died to give us hope. He is it. Christ is our hope.
FOR MORE:
8 Steps for Real Repentance from Psalm 51
Practicing Sin – Not Following Christ
Virgins, Talents and Judgement
LINKS:
- I Have to Believe w/ lyrics. Sung by Rita Springer (on YouTube)
- Gonna Be Worth It!! With lyrics – Sung by Rita Springer (on YouTube) “…I don’t understand Your ways…” “…pulling me into Your ways…”
- Also a good video with this same song: Worth It All!! video by espaytons
Leave a Reply