Church

Repentance

LESSON 1

Living

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RepentanceThis series of lessons has been designed for private study or classroompresentation. The purpose of this foreword is to explain certain conventionsutilized throughout the program. The overall concept is to begin with the basicconcepts necessary for the new convert to understand and progress towardmore complex doctrine. The lessons are numbered in order to maintain theproper sequence of study.

When Scripture references are encountered in the text, various actions arerecommended. When in parenthetical bold (Genesis 1:1) the verse is to belooked up and read right away. Frequently, the next textual statement willcomment on that verse. Reading verse and text in proper order will enhanceone’s understanding of the verse. Direct quotes from Scripture will be “bolditalicized and contained in quotation marks” and, unless otherwise noted,will be from the King James Bible. When the reference is in parentheticalnon-bold (Genesis 1:1) it is to provide the Scriptural basis for the statement ifconfirmation is desired. References in blue Genesis 1:1 will be listed in thelesson section entitled FURTHER STUDY.

FURTHER STUDY is the “homework” section. Its purpose is to encourageBible study at home. The referenced verses have a short summation to assistthe student desiring more knowledge about a subject to find what they arelooking for.

The DISCUSSION QUESTIONS section is primarily for classroom use.Open discussion with the exchange of ideas produces growth for all involved.Most of the time the answer is contained in the referenced Scripture butsometimes the question is offered for open discussion. Even in private Biblestudy, analysis of the question and the search for its answer can be rewarding.

This work is offered to anyone with a desire to better understand God’s Word.It is our hope and prayer that the person studying these lessons will come awaywith a better understanding of God’s will and a closer walk with our Lord,Jesus Christ.

With Loving Concern for all those seeking God’s MessageThe Church of God Rocky Mount

Rocky Mount, Virginia

“...And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom ofheaven is at hand.”

The Bible says that all havesinned (Romans 3:23) and to beforgiven we need to repent.What does it mean to repent?The word rendered repent in theOld Testament comes from aHebrew word meaning to turnback or away from, not neces-sarily with the idea of return tothe starting point. The NewTestament Greek word means tothink differently, to reconsider,to feel compunction (regret). Sowe are told that we must turnaway from something we regrethaving practiced and think dif-ferently about it, meaning that itis something we will never will-fully approach again. Thatsomething is sin. Sin is identi-fied by the law (Romans 7:7),

and therefore any violation ofGod’s law is sin (1 John 3:4).Sin is a wall between us and aloving God who abhors sin be-cause it’s a failure to obey Himand that makes it a barrier thatwill prevent our entry into HisKingdom and life in the pres-ence of His son, Jesus. The onlyother destiny that awaits us iseternal separation from God.The initial step toward repen-tance is to realize that we are ina lost state, unconverted to theChristian Way of Life. The un-converted life is filled with evilthoughts, covetousness, wick-edness, deceit, pride, foolish-ness, things that defile a person(Mark 7:21-23). This is be-cause in the unconverted, unre-pentant life the flesh rules, andthe works of the flesh are notcentered on things spiritual, buton things selfish and rebellious(Galatians 5:19-20). The car-nal mind (the mind of the flesh)

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Repentanceis the enemy of God because itis not subject to the law of God,in fact, it is unable to be so(Romans 8:7) because the heartis deceitful and desperatelywicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Eventhose who seem to be good,decent people, if they have notsubjected themselves to obedi-ence to Christ, are in the uncon-verted state. Righteousness isnot enough to save you, forman’s righteousness comparedto God’s is as filthy rags (Isaiah64:6) because His thoughts andways are so much higher thanman’s (Isaiah 55:8-9). Theremay be a way in the mind ofman that seems good enough,but without repentance therewill be no eternal life for him(Proverbs 14:12).

By this time it should be abun-dantly clear that no matter howgood we think we are, we arenot good enough! (Matthew7:21). Realizing how inade-quate we really are compared toGod’s goodness (Job 42:6), and

that our ways, from God’s per-spective, are evil and not good,we should loathe ourselves(Ezekiel 36:31). We must re-pent for the remission of oursins (Acts 2:38). First, try tounderstand that God wants thesinner to repent, it is His divinedesire that all men repent, and ifthey do, He will keep His prom-ise and give them eternal life(Ezekiel 18:21; 2 Peter 3:9).Second, if you ignore the teach-ing of one explaining the needto repent, you hurt no one butyourself (Ezekiel 33:9; 18:20)because it will be intolerable inthe Day of Judgment for theunrepentant (Luke 10:13-15).

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Third, you should obey God(Acts 5:29). It is the wisestcourse. Once one has compre-hended the need for repen-tance by realizing their loststate and the cost of remainingso, the question arises, Whatmust I do to repent? It isn’tcomplicated. Admit that youhave sinned, understand that itis against the LORD God be-cause you have not obeyedHim, (Jeremiah 3:13) andpray much in the same way asDavid, King of Israel, prayedin Psalm 51:2-4:

Wash me thoroughly frommine iniquity, and

cleanse me from my sin.For I acknowledge my

transgressions: and mysin is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only,have I sinned, and done

this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justi-

fied when thou speakest, and be clear

when thou judgest.

Sincerely expressed, this pleafor mercy will be heard. Cast-ing aside one’s pride and trust-ing in His mercy is the attitudethat God wants to see (Isaiah66:2). Rejoice, the deep sor-row for your sins leads to sal-vation but the sorrow of theworld ends in death (2 Corin-thians 7:9-10). Your joy is ingood company, because theangels will express joy withyou (Luke 15:10), for now theSpirit of God dwells in youand you are His (Romans 8:9).

1. When you repent and ask God’s forgiveness, what hap-pens to your sins? Isaiah 1:18; Colossians 2:13; Acts 3:19________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is one of the greatest obstacles to repentance?Proverbs 16:18________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What is the usual first act of obedience after repentance?Acts 2:38__________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What are the four possible attitudes of repentance?Matthew 13:3-23__________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Romans 1:28-32 Those who do not retain God in their knowl-edge are worthy of death.

Romans 3:10 There is not one righteous.

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27 Brookledge LaneRocky Mount, VA 24151

Phone: 1-888-898-7698