THE TRUTH ABOUT REPENTANCE

CREATION:

In looking for truth one of the most basic questions is, "Where did

I come from?" God's book, the Bible, answers this question. It tells

that God always has been and always will be, and that God has

created everything else that is. "In the beginning God created the

heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1 NIV).

God's most important creation was man. God made man so man

could worship God and have fellowship with Him. God gave a man

a beautiful garden called Eden to live in. The man, named Adam, could

freely take of all the beautiful things in the garden except for one

tree. God told Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and

evil or he would surely die.

Man was given a choice. He could love and obey God, enjoying

the good things God gave him, or he could choose to disobey God.

SATAN LIES TO MAN:

 

Just as God is all good, there is a being that is all bad. His name

is Satan. Satan used to be God's angel. However, he wanted to be equal

with God and led, a rebellion of angels against God. God, having all power,

overcame the rebellion. He has prepared a place to punish Satan

forever. Right now God still allows Satan to try to work against Him.

The way Satan works against God is to try to get man to serve him

rather than God.

Satan appeared to Eve, Adam's wife, in the Garden of Eden and

told her to eat of the forbidden fruit. Eve listened to Satan's lies. She ate of

the tree of knowledge of good and evil and gave it to Adam. He ate also.

When they ate, they disobeyed God and sinned. Sin is disobedience to

God.

RESULTS OF SIN:

God had to punish Adam. He made Adam leave the Garden of

Eden. Outside of the garden Adam had to work hard for his food,

grow old and die. Adam's greatest punishment was that his sin

separated Him from God. The saddest part of being a sinner is being

separated from the God who created us.

Adam and Eve are the father and mother of all mankind and all

men are sinners like they were. Even when we are born, we are sinners

separated from God. "This is what happened: Sin came into the

world by one man, Adam. Sin brought death with it. Death spread

to all men because all have sinned" (Romans 5:12 NLT).

People who do not change from being a sinner will die and go to

hell with Satan and the rebellious angels. Hell is a lake of fire and

sulphur (Revelation 21:8 NLT).

POSSIBILITY OF CHANGE:

God still loved man even after man sinned. Satan won a victory in

the Garden of Eden, but God was not defeated. God had a plan how

 

to change man from being a sinner. God warned Satan that there would

be a child born to a woman who would come to crush Satan's head

(Genesis

3:15 NIV).

God was speaking of Jesus Christ. Jesus was a special child born to a

woman. His father was not a man. His father was God's Holy

Spirit. The Holy Spirit caused Mary, a virgin, to bear a child. An

angel explained to Joseph, who was to become Mary's husband, "She

is to become a mother by the Holy Spirit. A Son will be born to her.

You will give Him the name of Jesus because He will save His people

from the punishment of their sins" (Matthew 1:20-21 NLT).

Since Jesus' Father was God and not a man, He was not born with

man's sinful nature. Still Jesus was a man, a God-man, and He grew up

as a man. At the age of thirty Jesus began a public ministry. His

ministry included many miracles of healing and good works. During

His life Jesus always spoke truth, did what God wanted, and never

sinned.

Religious men of Jesus' time did not accept Him as being God.

They made plans to kill Him. They chose to beat Him and crucify

Him on a cross. Jesus, being God, could have stopped them, but He

allowed them to kill Him. Jesus even asked God, His Father, to forgive

them for their sin. "Then Jesus said, `Father forgive them, They do not

know what they are doing' " (Luke 23:34 NLT).

After His death Jesus Christ was placed in a grave. After three days

He arose from the grave. "But it is true! Christ has been raised

from the dead!" (I Corinthians 15:20 NLT). Jesus' resurrection proved

that He was God. Death held no power over Him.

Because Jesus died, was buried, and arose again, we can be changed.

Jesus had never sinned. He did not deserve to die. He died in our place.

"Christ never sinned but God put our sin on Him. Then we are made

right with God because of what Christ has done for us" (II Corinthians 5:21

 

NLT).

If we will repent of our sins (be sorry and turn from them), Jesus will

forgive our sins and wash them away with His blood. "Because of the blood

of Christ, we are bought and made free from the punishment of sin. And

because of His blood, our sins are forgiven" (Ephesians 1:7 NLT). Jesus

shed His blood for us. Our job is to repent, be baptized in His name, receive

the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), and His blood will make us free. This is the

change you should desire.

WHAT IS REPENTANCE?

In summary, true repentance is: (1) recognizing by the convicting power

of God, that you are a sinner; (2) deciding in your heart that you no longer

want to be a sinner; (3) confessing your sin to God and asking Him to be

merciful to you and forgive you; (4) dying out to sin by turning your back

on it with the intention of living a life for God, never to return to your old

sinful ways. "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any

longer therein?" (Romans 6:2).

SHOULD YOU REPENT?

God desires for you to repent. He does not want to punish you

forever for your sins. "The Lord does not want any person to be punished

forever. He wants all people to be sorry for their sins and turn from

them" (II Peter 3:9 NLT). "But now He tells all men everywhere to be

sorry for their sins and to turn from them" (Acts 17:30 NLT).

Yes, you should repent. If you do not, you will be punished forever. If

you repent, you will be opening the door to be able to live forever with

God.

HOW DO YOU REPENT?

Repentance is easy. You choose to no longer disobey God but to now obey

His Word, the Bible.

 

You may pray like this: "God, I am sorry for my sins. Be merciful to

me and forgive me. I do not want to sin anymore. I want to obey

Your Word." If you do this with a sincere heart you can believe that

God has forgiven you. You will make God very happy. "I tell you,

there will be more joy in heaven because of one sinner who is sorry

for his sins and turns from them than for ninety-nine people right

with God who do not have sins to be sorry for" (Luke 15:7 NLT).

Then God desires that you be baptized in Jesus' Name so your sins

can be washed away and He can fill you with His Holy Spirit (Acts

2:38). You do not have to suffer for Adam's sin or for your past sins.

You can be made right with God. Jesus Christ made this possible. If

you have not already repented, make your decision for Jesus and repent

this very moment.