Great Doctrines of the Bible
Special English Version

Lesson 12
REPENTANCE
(Changing your mind about Sin)

INTRODUCTION
Most preachers do not preach strong messages about repentance anymore. They have almost forgotten the word repentance. God commands all men everywhere to repent. Because of that we should know what the word means. We should know what to do about it. We plan to tell you the clear meaning of the word. This lesson will show that it is necessary for salvation. We will show you that the Bible teaches repentance. The Bible says that both the believer and the person who has never believed are able to repent.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS LESSON

• Many people today say that repentance is not necessary. They say that repentance is not needed for this day of grace.
• There are others who say it is necessary, but pay no attention to it.
• The churches are accepting millions of people who are not saved and have not repented. Many of these people are Christian in name, but are not born again.
• It is very important for people to know the truth about repentance.
• Churches throughout the whole world must preach and teach this doctrine.

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THE LESSON

I. THE MEANING OF REPENTANCE

1. What repentance is not:
   1. It is not a fear of punishment.
      People who commit crimes often are sorry for their deed because they are afraid of the punishment. This kind of fear does not mean that the person hates his sin or that he turns to God. Matthew 27:3 tells us that Judas was sorry for his sin when he saw that Christ was condemned to die. He was sorry for what he did, but he did not hate it so much that he turned to God. He just wished he had not done it, that is all.
   2. It is not trying to live better in your own power.
      Many people who do wrong, turn away from it, but they don’t know anything about a new life in Christ. They are only changing in their own power. They are only changing the way they live. They only stop doing what they were doing before. Sometimes they join a church but that does not give them the new birth.
   3. It is not only sorrow for sin.
      A person who believes in Christ is always sorry for his sin, but it does not mean that he repents. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul says that the sorrow that God uses leads people to turn from sin so they can be saved from the punishment of sin.
   4. It is not doing something to pay for your sin.
      Doing something to pay for your sin is not possible. Christ has already paid for our sin
      (Mark 10:45; 1 Peter 2:24). The Bible does not say that God commands all men to pay for their sin. God commands all men to repent (Acts 17:30). If doing something for our sin can save us, then we can buy salvation with our works.
2. What repentance is:
   1. The Greek word “metanoe’o” means “to change your mind and purpose.” In the New Testament it is always a change for the better. It always means turning away from sin.
   2. In 2 Corinthians 7:8 and Matthew 21:29 the word “metamelomai” means being sorry in your heart.
   3. True repentance, then, involves the mind, the feelings and the will.
      When does true repentance happen?
      1. When a person says in his mind, “I am a person who is guilty of sin. I have sinned against God and deserve the punishment of God” (Psalms 32:5; 51:3-4; Luke 13:2-5).
      2. When the person feels bad about his sin (2 Corinthians 7:10-11; Acts 3:19; Luke 10:13).
      3. When a person says, “I will turn from my sin.” “I will turn away from my idols and trust the Gospel of Christ completely.” “I will obey the Lord.” (Mark 1:15; Ezekiel 14:6; 18:30; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Acts 26:20).
      4. Illustration: We find the best illustration of repentance in the story of the son who took his part of the inheritance. He wasted it in sinful living (Luke 15:11-24).
         1. Verse 17 says that he came to himself. This is the mind. He admitted to himself that he was wrong.
         2. In verse 19 he realized that he was dying from hunger. He felt that he was not good enough for his father to call him son. Here we see his feelings. He felt bad because he was so foolish when he was young.
         3. In verse 18 he said, “I will get up and go to my father.” This was the will.
            • Just knowing in his mind that he was wrong and feeling bad for what he did to his father was not enough. He still had to go home.
         4. True repentance is always connected to believing (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21). When the believers in the city of Thessalonica turned from their idols, Paul called it “a work of faith” (1 Thessalonians 1:3,9).
         5. There are many verses that talk about salvation but they do not talk about repentance. But it is always understood that when a person repents he is saved.

II. WE CAN FIND THE DOCTRINE OF REPENTANCE IN BOTH THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS

1. The Old Testament.
   1. The people in Ninevah repented when they heard the preaching of Jonah (Matthew 12:41).
   2. Job repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:6).
   3. Ezekiel asked the nation of Israel to repent (Ezekiel 14:6; 18:30).
   4. Other verses that show repentance: Deuteronomy 30:2; 1 Kings 8:33; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Nehemiah 1:9; Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 55:6-7; Hosea 10:12-14.
2. The New Testament.
   1. John the Baptist told people to repent. This was before Pentecost (Matthew 3:2,8).
   2. Jesus preached about repentance. This also was before Pentecost (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; 2:17; Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
   3. Peter told people to repent at the time of Pentecost. He also preached about it after Pentecost (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 2 Peter 3:9).
   4. Paul preached about repentance after Pentecost (Acts 17:30; 20:21; 26:20; Romans 2:4; 2 Timothy 2:25).

III. IS REPENTANCE FOR THE JEWS ONLY OR IS IT FOR EVERYBODY EVERYWHERE IN THIS DAY OF GRACE?
Some people today are teaching that repentance is not a part of the message of the Gospel.

1. On the day of Pentecost, Peter called the Jews to repentance (Acts 2:38) The people who
   are not Jews had not received the Gospel yet. At this time the Church was made up of only Jews who had believed in Jesus.
2. In Luke 24:47 the Lord Jesus commanded the believers to go to all nations. He said they should tell people about repentance and forgiveness of sins.
3. In Acts 17:30 Paul was preaching to the people who are not Jews and said that now God commands all men everywhere to repent. In Acts 26:20, Paul says to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God and do the works that show that they repented.
4. In Romans 2:4, Paul was preaching to the people who were not Jews and he said that the goodness of God leads to repentance.
   • Repentance is for everyone. It is for the Jews and for people who are not Jews.

IV. MUST A PERSON REPENT IN ORDER TO BE SAVED?

1. In Acts 17:30-31, Luke wrote that God now commands people everywhere to repent. God commands it!
2. In Luke 13:3,5, Jesus said that unless the people repented they would all die. These verses clearly teach us that everyone should repent. Some people felt that they were better than the Galileans who had sinned so God would not punish them. Jesus corrects them with the truth.
3. Jesus said, in Mark 1:15, that the people should repent and believe the Gospel. Paul preached that people should repent toward God and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).
4. Faith without repentance is an empty faith that is not true. Repenting without true faith is just an empty feeling that makes a person feel good. In order to be saved a person must repent and believe.

V. WHAT CAUSES REAL REPENTANCE?

1. The goodness of God causes repentance (Romans 2:4).
   Do you forget about His loving kindness to you? Do you forget how long He is waiting for you? You know that God is kind. He is the One who is causing you to be sorry for your sins and to change your mind concerning them.
   Luke 16:25 teaches us that the rich man in hell had an opportunity to repent when he was living. He received good things but he did not consider them to come from God and because of that he forgot God.
   
   2 Peter 3:9 says that the Lord is waiting for you. He does not want any person to be punished forever. He wants all people to change their minds concerning sin and turn from them. God’s goodness, love and patience should cause us to change our minds concerning sin and turn from them. When we do not consider the grace of God then we may lose it!!!
   
2. The sorrow that God uses causes repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10).
   Paul was happy that the Corinthians were so sorry for their sins and that they turned away from them. Paul said that the sorrow that God uses makes people sorry for their sin. This leads them to turn from sin so that they can be saved from the punishment of sin.
   
   Just being sorry for your sins does not mean that a person turns away from them. Sorrow causes the change of mind that is necessary. It produces a change of a person’s mind about himself, about sin and about God.
   
3. The preaching of the Gospel often causes repentance.
   In Matthew 12:41 we read that the people repented when Jonah preached to them. When Peter preached the people were troubled in their hearts. They asked Peter what they should do (Acts 2:37). When people preached the Jews became angry (Acts 5:30-33). When Paul preached, Felix was afraid and trembled (Acts 24:25).
   
   • God uses preaching to cause people to think about their sins and cause them to turn away from sin. I wish there were more men to go out and preach like Peter and Paul preached. They preached with power that causes people to feel bad about their sin.

VI. BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS BOTH HAVE TO REPENT

1. When Christians do not obey God, He asks them to repent from that sin. For example, the Corinthians were Christians. They did not act against sin in the church. Paul told them he did not approve of their actions. Later Paul was happy that they felt bad about their sin and turned away from it (compare 1 Corinthians 5:1-7 with 2 Corinthians 7:7-10).
   David was a man of God but he sinned, 2 Samuel 11:1-21. Psalm 51 tells us how he repented.
   
   Jesus asks four of the seven churches of Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3 to repent:
   Ephesus – They stopped loving God the way they did at first.
   Pergamos – They believed the teaching of Balaam and the teachings of the
   Nicolaitans. They ate offerings to idols. They married unbelievers and they committed fornication.
   Thyatira – They allowed “Jezebel” to teach. She caused God’s servants to commit fornication.
   Laodicea – They were not on fire for the Lord. They were satisfied with their riches.
   
2. God wants the unbelievers to repent of their sins (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:22). God wants them to turn to God (Acts 20:21; 26:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:10). He wants them to believe the Gospel and in the Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21).

VII. DOES GOD REPENT?

1. It looks like there are many verses in the Old Testament that tell us that God repents. For example:
   1. Genesis 6:6 says that God was sorry that He made man.
   2. Exodus 32:14 says that God relented and did not do what He wanted to do.
   3. 1 Samuel 15:11 says that God was sorry He made Saul to be a king.
2. The Bible teaches clearly that God does not repent. He cannot repent.
   1. Hebrews 7:21 says that the Lord made a promise and He will never change His mind.
   2. In Number 23:19 we read that God is not a man who lies. He is not a man who changes His mind.
   3. Malachi 3:6 teaches us that the Lord does not change.
3. God does not repent because He has sinned.
   He does not change His mind because He has made a mistake. If He repented because He sinned, He would not be God anymore.
4. How can we explain this?
   God is completely holy. He cannot do any sin. When people or nations change in the way they act toward God, then God must change His actions toward them. God offers mercy to men, and then He corrects their faults in a harsh way. That way it looks like God repents. When people repent and turn to God, God changes His mind about the evil He was going to do to them. God is still God. He still has the nature of God. He has not changed. His actions toward man have changed.

CONCLUSION
Repentance begins when a person feels bad about his sin. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a person (John 16:8). The sinner sees that his sins are like poison in his life. His sins are insulting God. This terrible feeling of guilt causes the sinner to come to God to ask for forgiveness. At the same time the sinner puts his trust in Christ because Christ died for him and rose again for him.

The MIND works in repentance and says, “I am guilty of sin.” A person’s FEELINGS say that he is sorry for his sin. The WILL says, “Lord I believe.”

We must keep busy teaching the truth to everybody with a love that comes from God. We must do it just like the prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus and His disciples.

You must make sure that you remember a certain time when you repented toward God and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. You must remember the time you turned away from sin to serve the living and true God (Ezekiel 14:6).

Examination

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