Repentance - Good For Mind And Soul

Repentance
GOOD FOR THE MIND, GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Faith flows into repentance just like water flows down hill. The Bible is very clear that there is not a man or woman who has ever lived who has not sinned and rebelled against the commandments of God.

Rom 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The Bible is also very clear that those who have a clear mind, and have not ruined their conscience through sin and dishonesty will admit to that fact that they are not perfect, and that they have some serious flaws. When the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed to good and honest people, faith is born. The only source of true faith is to be found in the word of Christ and the very proclamation of the gospel will produce faith in the hearts of men.

Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith is the assurance and conviction in someones heart that something is true. When a good and honest heart is brought face to face with the conviction that they have not been living the way their creator and God would have them to live, a very important thing happens in their heart. This thing is so simple and so obvious, yet the Bible often stresses the obvious and simple things lest we miss them.

Many times in the lives of men and women things are done in all good conscience that they later find to be wrong. This is true in the moral and well as the physical realm. Man devises a method of building with certain materials and then later finds that the consequences of using that material are great. Asbestos, cyclamates, cancer causing chemicals, faulty gas tanks, etc . . . multitudes of things are done, and then reevaluated and discarded due to new evidence that links them to something bad.

When someone is brought face to face with a flaw in their reasoning or conduct which bring serious consequences into their lives something will have to be done. They cannot remain in that condition long without having a nervous breakdown. When a serious mistake is made, it must be dealt with, and made right, or the guilt and remorse will lead one into depression or will sear the conscience and destroy the soul.

Saul of Tarsus was such a one as this. Imagine the jolt when it became clear to him that he was in the wrong, and that his whole life was upside down. The men of Pentecost were another such group, who find out they have killed the Messiah and the son of God.

It happens the physical realm as well. A person makes a mistake or causes a problem and knows full well that they are to blame. If by admitting their mistake they can save a serious problem from happening, and yet by admitting it they present to themselves a new host of problems such as loss of a job, or loss of prestige, they are in a dilemma. In this area, conscience works against pride and intellect.

It may be best for them to keep quiet, but the conscience works on them. If they change their mind, and tell all, they have repented. If they remain sorry, but cannot bring themselves to do anything, they have not repented, and serious mental problems will soon enter the picture.

Many of the mental wards of our day are filled with people who would not repent when they oppurtunity was there, and have destroyed themselves. Others simply destroy their conscience without overthrowing the mind. In some respects these are more pitied as the true joys of life will never be theirs for they are no longer whole.

Repentance is therefore not only a spiritual requirement, but it is also good mental health. Consider David:

Ps 51:3 "For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me."

Ps 51:8-10 "Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

Ps 38:1-4 "O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me."

The term repentance is defined and outlined in II Cor 7:8-11 as it has been accomplished in the lives of those brethren.

BACKGROUND

Paul has discovered that the Corinthians were not living as a congregation of the Lords people are required to live. He wrote them the I Corinthian letter to rebuke and admonish them to change their minds about how they are living. He now is explaining to them how he felt about the sending of that letter, and about what it was that made him so thrilled now. In this way we can clearly see what it is that God truly expects of us.

2 Cor 7:8-11 "For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter."

Repentance is therefore, simply speaking, Godly sorrow leading to a change of the mind, the will, and in a change of life. If any of these are lacking, then no repentence has occured. Consider it then on its broadest level.

Rom 3:9-12 "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.""

Rom 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

I Jn 1:8-10 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."

Rom 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Are the facts proclaimed by the Bible. If any heart is activated by faith, then they know that this is true. More powerful than any other mistake could ever be, this weighs on the conscience of one with a good and honest heart. The obvious existence of God, the obvious validity of the Bible as his word, the obvious understanding of the clarity of the above verses will be a burden greater than any heart of true understanding and pure conscience will be able to bear.

It weighed so heavily in Acts 2 that they actually interrupted Peters sermon to find out if there was any way to absolve themselves from the guilt of sin which they knew was theirs. Peters answer is the heart of this article. The only way to get rid of the guilt, and receive the remission from God, is to repent, or change the mind and DO His will.

Acts 17:30-31 "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

Luke 13:3 "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

Acts 2:36-38 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Repentance is the golden key that unlocks the door of guilt and accountability and brings forgiveness and seasons of refreshing.

Acts 3:19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,"

CONCLUSION

In essence, Repentance therefore is the simple change of mind that accompanies a new set of facts, that proves a previous conduct wrong. It causes the honest hearted to change their life. It is simple, yet essential to salvation.

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