A.From the beginning, the gospel has always called upon men to repent.
1.John the baptist preached the message, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2).
2.Likewise, Jesus preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17).He also said, "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
3.When Jesus sent the apostles on the limited commission, they also preached that men should repent (Mark 6:12).
4.When the Jews who crucified Jesus asked Peter what they should do, he commanded them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
5.When Paul preached the gospel to the Gentiles in Athens, he said, "God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” (Acts 17:30).
B.The gospel call to repentance is clear and unmistakable, but many of us struggle to answer that call.How can we make repentance effective in our lives?
II.HOW TO REPENT
A.Let us first understand that repentance is a gift from God.
1.God has given us an opportunity to repent through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
a.The early Jewish Christians recognized repentance as God’s gift when they heard of the conversion of Cornelius and his household and said, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18).
b.Repentance would be of no effect without the merciful grace of God in Christ.Rather than leading to life, it would lead to nothing.
c.Those who refuse to repent are rejecting God’s gift.Notice Romans 2:4 – "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”See also 2Peter 3:9.
2.This gift is bestowed through Christ by the hearing of His gospel.
a.As the gospel is preached, the word of God calls men and women to an effective repentance that changes them through Jesus."Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2Cor. 5:17).
b.As the Lord’s bond-servants preach the gospel, they gently correct sinners with the hope that "perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth” (2Tim. 2:25).
B.Next, we must change our hearts in order to change our ways.
1.The word "repentance” means "a change of mind.”This change is the key to repentance.
a.In the original Greek language of the New Testament, the word for repentance is metanoia, which literally means "afterward understanding.”It is the idea of a person believing differently about something than he did before.
b.We make a mistake if we attempt to repent by changing only our outward behavior.True repentance requires first a change of the heart followed naturally by a change in behavior.
2.Specifically, we must be convinced that sin as God defines it is utterly wrong and undesirable.Only belief in God’s word can give this conviction (Rom. 7:13).
C.Finally, we must stop sinning and do good works appropriate for repentance.
1.Obviously, repentance requires us to cease from sin.This does not mean that we will never sin again, but it does mean that we must give up the habits and regular practices of sin (1John 3:6-10).Stated simply, when we add Christ to our lives, we must subtract sin.
2.Not only must we stop doing what is wrong, but we must begin doing what is right.The Scriptures describe this as bearing fruit or performing deeds appropriate to repentance (Matt. 3:8; Luke 3:8; Acts 26:20).
3.A good example of full repentance is seen in the commandment of Ephesians 4:28 – "He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”
4.Zaccheus is another good example of repentance because he pledged half of his possessions to the poor and promised to repay fourfold anyone he defrauded as a tax-gatherer (Luke 19:1-10).
5.It is through these good deeds appropriate to repentance that others will recognize us as true disciples of Christ, for Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16, 20).
III.REASONS TO REPENT
A.The Lord told men to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand.Indeed, it is now here.
1.God revealed through Daniel that He would establish His kingdom during the days of the Roman Empire (Dan. 2:44).He did this when Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven to sit on the throne of David at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:29-36).
2.Now that the kingdom of God is established, we have even more reason to repent.
a.Those who do not repent through Jesus Christ will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.These unrighteous and unclean souls will not be allowed to enter God’s kingdom because of their sin (1Cor. 6:9-11; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 21:27).
b.There is no compromise in this matter.Regardless of what men say or what is accepted by churches, God has barred unrepentant sinners from His kingdom forever.These souls will die unless they obey the gospel and repent (Luke 13:3; 2Thess. 1:8-10; Rev. 21:8).
B.We should repent because judgment is coming.
1.The coming judgment is the motivation Paul gave to the Athenians in Acts 17:30-31 – "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
2.Those who reject God’s offer of repentance will provoke God’s wrath at the judgment.Notice Romans 2:5-10:
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
C.We should repent because we have godly sorrow.
1.Every sinner who would be saved needs first to grieve for his sin.This godly sorrow comes only when a sinner knows that he has offended God and understands what this means.
a.In words of David, a sinner needs to confess to God, "Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge” (Ps. 51:4).
b.These words come naturally when a sinner understands that he has rejected and dishonored his Creator and Sustainer.His sin is wrong only because God has said it is wrong, so his offense is truly against God alone.His sin has severed his relationship with God and damaged his soul to the point of death (Isa. 59:2; Rom. 6:23a).
c.This is not a matter of being sorry enough for God to forgive the sin, but it is a matter of genuine contrition that God accepts.David said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
2.When this grief is conceived in a sinner, it leads him to repentance.Notice 2Corinthians 7:9-10:
I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
IV.CONCLUSION
A.Just before God established His kingdom, Christ and other servants of the Lord preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
B.Now that the kingdom has been established, repentance is more important than ever.Therefore, let every sinner repent, for the kingdom of heaven is now.
