True, genuine, and sincere repentance is absolutely necessary before salvation can occur. Little is said today of the necessity of “repentance.” The gospel message seems to stress “believing in Jesus” without much (if any) explanation of what is really involved in the process of truly “believing in” and “receiving” Jesus Christ into one’s life as Savior and Lord. When a person understands all that is involved in “Truly Believing” in and “Accepting” Jesus as Savior and Lord, then he can truly become “Born Again” and therefore a “Child of God!”
The Bible states that the process of Believing in and receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord involves hearing the Gospel, being convicted of sin by The Holy Spirit producing a “Godly Sorrow” in the person, the person acting on this Godly Sorrow to repent of his sin and confess his sin to Holy God, the person asking Jesus to Come into his heart and life to be Savior and Lord, and finally receiving Jesus Christ into his heart and life as Savior and Lord. All of these are important to True Salvation and becoming a “New Creation” in Christ Jesus. Of these, repentance receives very little emphasis in today’s preaching and teaching of God’s Word.
Repentance comes as a person’s response to The Convicting Power of the Holy Spirit of a person’s sinful condition before The Holy God – “Jehovah” – The Great “I Am.” The effect of The Holy Spirit’s conviction is to produce a conscious recognition of the sinful condition in a person’s life and the absolute depravity – “eternal lostness” –“eternal damnation” of the soul without salvation from this condition. The Holy Spirit always points the Way to Jesus Christ (John 16:13-15) and presents Jesus to the lost person as The Only Way (John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 ) to be forgiven of sin, cleansed of all unrighteousness, and “born again” into The Family of God (John 3:16).
It is now up to the “convicted” person to give an answer. Having received “a measure of faith” from God (Romans 12:3) and having “Godly Sorrow” produced in him by the Holy Spirit’s Conviction, the person can now confess his sinful condition (and repent of his sin) to God, ask for forgiveness of his sins, ask for cleansing of his sins, ask Jesus to come into his heart and life to be Savior and Lord, and then receive Jesus Christ into his heart and life as Savior and Lord. Of course, there is another possible choice, the person can say “no” to The Holy Spirit’s Conviction and continue in his sinful state. And, allow me to point out here that “doing or saying nothing” is in effect saying “no” to The Holy Spirit’s conviction and invitation to receive Jesus Christ into one’s life as Savior and Lord. There is no other choice available to the person in this situation. When presented with The Holy Spirit’s Conviction, a person must either say “yes” or “no” – either “accept or reject.”
There are many who think they can say “not now” but in doing so they are actually saying “no” to The Holy Spirit’s Conviction. Such individuals, thinking that they can choose to accept Jesus at any time of their own choosing fail to realize that a person may actually be “saved” – “born again” ONLY when Convicted by The Holy Spirit. According to God’s Word, The Holy Spirit is under no obligation to return to the person and convict them of their sinful state again. Because of this we need to realize that one of the best prayers we can pray on behalf of an unsaved person is, “God, in Your Mercy, send Your Holy Spirit to this unsaved person to convict them of their sinful condition and their need of Jesus as Savior and Lord.”
I am greatly concerned that many people simply try to “add” Jesus to their lives as their “ticket” to heaven. One can never just add Jesus into their lives without first confessing their sin, repenting of their sin and allowing God to Forgive them of their sin and also to “Cleanse” them of their sin. Jesus Christ does not come into a life that has not first been forgiven of sin and cleansed of all sin by God. We need to understand that we cannot receive Christ and be filled with The Holy Spirit until we are emptied of our sin. Being “Saved’ – “Born Again” – made a “New Creation” in Christ Jesus” occurs only after all sin has been truly confessed, repented of, the person cleansed by God. The person now must ask Jesus to come into his heart and life, and actually receive Jesus Christ (welcomed Him in).
It is important to note that repentance is closely associated with confession. True confession cannot occur unless the person is willing to repent of his sin – to “turn away from” his sin and stop willful sinning. It is important to note that John The Baptist (the “forerunner” of Jesus) preached repentance. In Matthew 3:1-2 we read, “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, (2) "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Jesus also preached repentance at the very beginning of His Earthly Ministry. In Matthew 4:17 we read, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Jesus emphasized the importance of repentance in Luke 13:3 where He states, "I tell you, no, but unless your repent, you will all likewise perish.” Jesus expands this teaching on repentance to include believing the Gospel Message – Believing in HIM! In John 3:16 Jesus states, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The Apostle Peter adds to this teaching in Acts 2:38 where we read, "Repent, and 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.”
Far too little is taught or spoken of “repentance” or the need to “repent” in today’s Christian writings and teachings. It is a critical component of confession. In fact, I believe that we can accurately say that unless confession of sin is accompanied by repentance of sin, salvation cannot occur. Christ will not come into “a vessel” (a human being) that has not fully confessed and repented of (renounced, turned from) sin.
We find a great discussion of this subject of Repentance in Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers, where we read, “A turning away from sin, disobedience, or rebellion and a turning back to God (Matthew 9:13; Luke 5:32). In a more general sense, repentance means a change of mind (Genesis 6:6-7) or a feeling of remorse or regret for past conduct (Matthew 27:3). True repentance is a "godly sorrow" for sin, an act of turning around and going in the opposite direction. This type of repentance leads to a fundamental change in a person's relationship to God. In the New Testament the keynote of John the Baptist's preaching was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). To the multitudes he declared, "Bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8). When Jesus began His ministry, He took up John's preaching of the message of repentance, expanding the message to include the good news of salvation: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel" (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15). In Jesus' preaching of the kingdom of God is seen the truth that repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin: by repentance, one turns away from sin; by faith, one turns toward God in accepting the Lord Jesus Christ. Such a twofold turning, or conversion, is necessary for entrance into the kingdom (Matthew 18:3). "Unless you repent," said Jesus, "you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3,5). This is the negative, or judgmental, side of Jesus' message. The positive, or merciful, side is seen in these words: "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10).
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Pastor J. Gilbert Hammond