~ The Way Of Repentance ~

THE WAY OF REPENTANCE

And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. (Luke 7:29,30)

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.( 2 Peter 3:9)

What a tragically sad observation Luke makes here in chapter 7, verse 30. Cushioned in between Jesus tribute to John the Baptist and His likening His generation to foolish, discontented children, we find this significant and revealing statement. The Pharisees and lawyers had rejected God's will for themselves because they were apparently too proud to submit to John's baptism. Or as the Amplified Version puts it, they "annulled and rejected and brought to nothing God's purpose concerning themselves". How often we read in the gospel accounts of their self-righteous opposition, proud determination and manipulative tactics, all with the goal of hindering and undermining the words and actions of Jesus. But here we are given an important key to their apparently blind behavior. The scripture indicates that there may have been a different outcome for them had they been able to receive the baptism of John.

What was the baptism John preached? Repentance! (Matt.3:11). What was the will of God that the Pharisees and scribes rejected for themselves? Peter writes that God's will is that ALL should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Repentance is essential to salvation. After John's imprisonment Jesus preached repentance (Mat. 4:17). And after Jesus, Peter and Paul preached repentance (Acts 2:38, Acts 17:30). In both the Old and New Testaments, the Hebrew and Greek words for "repent" imply sorrow, a change of mind and a turning from one course of action to another.

Believers have numerous, often vague, understandings of this word "repentance". For many of us it's something we engaged in once briefly when we were first confronted with the reality of the Cross and the sacrificial love of Christ. If we were truly born again, the stark revelation that we were lost in sin, unable to change, and in need of a Savior, produced within us deep sorrow and a heartcry for forgiveness and redemption. Sadly, many who currently go by the name of Christian have never even experienced this initial repentance, having never received a full gospel message, but a sugar coated version devoid of foundational truth.

Repentance is Attitude

Repentance, however, is much more than a singular necessary but unpleasant event we'd prefer to forget, like a trip to the dentist. Repentance is an ATTITUDE essential to any maturing believer's walk. It is meant to be ongoing and ever present, as much a part of a believer's life as prayer, faith and communion should be. It is deeply entwined in the fabric of a life that brings forth holiness and produces lasting fruit for the Kingdom. Walking in the way of repentance is a willingness and deep commitment to walk in brokenness and the fear of God, while AT THE SAME TIME rejoicing in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and the assurance of salvation.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Phil. 2:5-8)

Jesus walked the way of repentance. Now before any of you start hurling stones, let me elaborate. I am not saying Jesus had NEED of repentance. He did not, because He knew no sin. Nevertheless He chose to submit to John's baptism of repentance, even against John's own objections (Mat. 3:14-15). The sinless One, in whom Satan had nothing, accepted a baptism of repentance while the ones who saw themselves as sinless could not bring themselves to do so. What irony, and what tragedy for them! This was not an isolated event in Jesus' life. It was a public demonstration of an attitude and way of life He continued in until He was crucified. It's the same attitude that empowered Him to proclaim through blood and sweat on the night before His death, "not what I will, but what You will." This is the mind that was in Him; this is the mind that we need in us.

"The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit." (Psalm 34:18)

I have heard it said "we've had enough of repentance, it's time to celebrate", as if the two were mutually exclusive. Such a statement conveys a deep misunderstanding of the Biblical concept of repentance. For one thing, a repentant lifestyle is not about being laden down with guilt. Those who live such a life live it from a firm revelation of their righteous standing before God, secured by the Blood of the Lamb. They live near to God, and they fear Him because they know Him. They also celebrate Him because they know Him. For another thing, a repentant lifestyle is not about shame. It is not about walking under a false sense of condemnation or an unhealthy pre-occupation with sin. It is not about somberness, though it IS about judging oneself soberly. Those who live a repentant lifestyle are also the most joyful believers, because God has drawn near to them and in His Presence is fullness of joy.

There are times when it is easier to see something more clearly when we can see what it is not. Let's consider for a moment, then, what repentance is not:

It Is Not Regret

The scriptures tell us that there is a great difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow. The first leads only to death, the second to repentance (2 Cor. 7:10). Worldly sorrow is born out of sorrow for ourselves because we have not had our own way. It is a work of the flesh. Godly sorrow, however, is a work of the Holy Spirit. It will lead us to repentance if we yield to the Spirit's conviction.

It Is Not Tears

Of course tearfulness can be a genuine part of repentance, but tears alone are not repentance. We are told in the scriptures that Esau sought repentance with many tears after he had sold his birthright to Jacob and lost his inheritance, yet was unable to find it. (Heb. 12:17)

It Is Not Exclusively For The Unsaved

The scriptures do not speak of repentance only in reference to "sinners". In Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus commanded believers at Ephesus, Sardis and Laodicea to repent over specific areas where they were displeasing Him. Speaking to the Ephesian church, the Lord told them that they were to repent and do the "first works". Repentance from dead works is foundational to a believer's life in Christ (Heb. 6:1). Only through our willingness to have our dead works revealed to us so that we can repent will we do the "first works," the living and relevant works of God springing forth from a close and vibrant relationship with Him.(Rev. 2:5)

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.(Isaiah 57:15)

This repentant lifestyle pours forth only from broken vessels. It draws God's attention like an irresistible fragrance rising up before His Throne.

It is well past time for the Body of Christ to again embrace a repentant lifestyle. We need to sorrow, we need to reconsider, we need to turn. Each one of us is faced with myriads of decisions every day of the week where we CHOOSE either our own way, or God's way. Simply put, that's exactly what repentance is about - turning away from our own way, and choosing His way. Not in an attempt to attain our own righteousness - we can't. But because we have seen Him for Who He is, and because we are desperate to be revived. Or are we?

Cheryl McGrath

Great South Land Ministries