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REPENTANCE: TURNING AWAY

Mthobisi Dladla Obakeng Siko

REPENTANCE: TURNING AWAY.

2013

The concept of repentance has been the main focus of God since the day a man fell by sin. The only two chapters in the bible that seem to give us an eased mind concerning sin are the first two chapters of the first book of the bible; Genesis. These are the chapters that show us the original plan of God with creation where after He had done what was His purpose, He looked at His own wise design of creation and the bible says "God saw all that he had made, and IT WAS VERY GOOD. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31). The perfectness of the creation as it was - without any void or spot or imperfection only to be subject to death a few chapters later. Then there was the Tree and then there was the command, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die . (Genesis 2:17). However due to unfortunate circumstances inspired by that serpent of old, the devil (Revelations 20:2) Eve was deceived and Adam fell into transgression and ate of the tree God told him not to eat and sin entered the world through him according to Paul when he says Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned (Romans 5:12).

Therefore from the day that sin entered the world, God in the past had found certain men lavished them with grace due to their righteousness and made covenants with them, (Noah and Abraham being the pillars) and He chose their descendants to bless and show them mercy and cause them to repent for the sake of the covenant He had with their fathers according to the word which says The just man walketh in his integrity: HIS CHILDREN ARE BLESSED AFTER HIM. (Proverbs 20:7). Isaac was blessed because of the integrity of his father Abraham as God appeared to him one night and said I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I WILL BLESS YOU, AND MULTIPLY YOUR DESCENDANTS, FOR THE SAKE OF MY SERVANT ABRAHAM. (Genesis 26:24).

REPENTANCE: TURNING AWAY.

2013

The descendants of Abraham that God spoke of saying to Isaac Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and YOUR DESCENDANTS I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. (Genesis 26:3) were the well-known children of Israel, whom God delivered from the land of Egypt; in deep slavery, took them through the wilderness and caused them to inherit the Promised Land. However they did not just inherit the Promised Land but also the gift of the Presence of God and an election of being a nation of God (Exodus 19:6). However due to the fact that Egypt was a land of idol worship, when God took the children of Israel (who had learned most of Egypts practices) out of the land, He had to sanctify them and set them apart by giving them His laws and commandments (Exodus 20, Leviticus 18:1-5, Deuteronomy 6:25), which declared His standard of righteousness; the same standard the children of Israel were expected to live by. Nonetheless through constant struggling they failed miserably to keep the law of God as every man turned aside to sinning.

All the other nations of the world God had not given His law except Israel, nonetheless they were without excuse to commit sin because as Paul said Indeed, when Gentiles, WHO DO NOT HAVE THE LAW, do by nature things required by the law, THEY ARE A LAW FOR THEMSELVES, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of THE LAW ARE WRITTEN ON THEIR HEARTS, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) (Romans 2:14-15), therefore their condemnation was always just, however God through His Sovereign will showed mercy to some of them. For instance those who stayed in the land of Nineveh whom God caused to repent through the preaching of Jonah and God said of them And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people WHO CANNOT TELL THEIR RIGHT HAND FROM THEIR LEFTand also many animals? (Jonah 4:11). Even though the Gentiles had their hearts as an instrument of the law, the Jews had an advantage over the Gentiles with accordance to sin because they had the law to guide them.

REPENTANCE: TURNING AWAY.

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The heart alone could not do much good since every mans heart was not cleansed and deceitful as Jeremiah says THE HEART IS DECEITFUL above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9). How could the Gentiles follow a heart that is so deceitful? And even Israel hadnt received the promise of the new heart according to the prophesy of Ezekiel that says I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26) the stony heart was the heart that made Israel a stiff-necked people who constantly refused to do the will of the law of God and Moses knew that the promise was not yet fulfilled when he said to them BUT TO THIS DAY the LORD HAS NOT GIVEN YOU A HEART TO UNDERSTAND or eyes to see or ears to hear. (Deuteronomy 29:4) and God Himself says OH THAT THEY HAD SUCH A HEART IN THEM, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!(Deuteronomy 5:29).

The promise of the new heart and the new spirit was only going to happen when the Messiah comes, who would establish a covenant based on these terms. Nonetheless before the promise came they still had the law as a standard of righteousness as Paul says Before the coming of this faith, WE WERE HELD IN CUSTODY UNDER THE LAW, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. SO THE LAW WAS OUR GUARDIAN UNTIL CHRIST CAME THAT WE MIGHT BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. (Galatians 3:23-24). The terms continued when God also says And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:27).

REPENTANCE: TURNING AWAY.

2013

Now the prophets spoke this not knowing that this Israel that they spoke about was not Israel according to the flesh, for not all who are descended from Israel are Israel (Romans 9:6) but that these were the children of promise which also included the Gentiles who would be called to salvation and partakers of the Holy Spirit, no wonder Paul talks about this lack of revelation from the prophets concerning the Gentiles fellowship of the same body of Christ with the Jews as the HIDDEN MYSTERY, saying I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the MYSTERY which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. TO THEM GOD WILLED TO MAKE KNOWN WHAT ARE THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF THIS MYSTERY AMONG THE GENTILES: WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY. (Colossians 1:25-27). The prophets prophesied under the thought that the Jews would be the only ones to partake of the Spirit of Christ, God having hid to them that Gentiles would be fellow heirs of the promise. Therefore being fellow heirs of the Spirit meant being fellow heirs of the promise of the new heart, as even Peter testifies after the first convent of the Gentiles (Cornelius his relatives and close friends) saying So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them (the Gentiles: Cornelius company) BY GIVING THEM THE HOLY SPIRIT, JUST AS HE DID TO US, and made no distinction between us and them, PURIFYING THEIR HEARTS BY FAITH. (Acts 15:8-9). Therefore what began as one nation ended up as the whole world, as God also testifies in one place saying And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, You are not My people, There they shall be called sons of the living God. (Romans 9:26). Nonetheless before the salvation that was to be brought at the coming of Jesus Christ, God had strived with the nation of Israel to bring them to repentance; to have them turn away from wickedness and to fear Him and serve Him. Firstly, when one talks about repentance what is he/she talking about? What is this concept that God has strived to impart to humanity since the fall of men? It is the activity of reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs. It is to make a radical turn from one way of life to another with response to wanting to do that pleases God.

REPENTANCE: TURNING AWAY.

2013

In simple words it is a change in heart. No man repents to himself, even though he repents for himself because it is God who commands us to repent from sins. Hence repentance means more than just turning away from sin but it also means returning to God; thats actually the full package of salvation repenting and returning or reconciling with God. Hosea exhorts Israel concerning this matter saying O Israel, RETURN TO THE LORD YOUR GOD, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity; Take words with you, and return to the Lord. Say to Him, TAKE AWAY ALL INIQUITY; RECEIVE US GRACIOUSLY, FOR WE WILL OFFER THE SACRIFICES OF OUR LIPS. (Hosea 14:1-2). There must be returning or reconciliation as the purpose of repentance; meaning we repent because we want to be reconciled with God. According to the dictionary reconciliation is the restoration of friendly relations or a relationship that has been broken; it is mending a broken relationship. Thus by understanding that, we can also understand that the reason that God commanded reconciliation was because the relationship He had with Israel was broken.

In His mercy and grace He says to Israel O Israel, says the Lord, IF YOU WANTED TO RETURN TO ME, YOU COULD. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more (Jeremiah 4:1) and also with more expression and love when He says They say, If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another mans, May he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; YET RETURN TO ME, says the Lord (Jeremiah 3:1). God wanted His chosen nation to return to Him having departed to serve other gods and play the harlot with Him; having committed sins which separated Him from them since He says through Isaiah Behold, the Lords hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. BUT YOUR INIQUITIES HAVE SEPARATED YOU FROM YOUR GOD; and your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2).

REPENTANCE: TURNING AWAY.

2013

Sin is the only thing that can separate us from God, however not from His love since Paul says But God demonstrates His own love toward us, IN THAT WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8). Therefore God loved us and gave Jesus up for us (John 3:16) even while we were still sinners, so that means that we were not separated from His love or else He wouldnt have given Jesus for us. Paul puts it this way with such power when he says But God, who is rich in mercy, BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT LOVE WITH WHICH HE LOVED US, EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN TRESPASSES, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). (Ephesians 2:8-9) THIS IS SO POWERFUL. Even when we were dead in trespasses God still loved us because of His great love, no wonder Paul says For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, NOR ANY OTHER CREATED THING, SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD. (Romans 8:38-39). Sin doesnt separate us from Gods love; it separates us from His Presence and breaks our relationship with Him.

Imagine this - Jesus was at the cross having taken all our sins in His body and was numbered among the transgressors and He is not a different Jesus from the one the Father testifies twice of saying THIS IS MY BELOVED SON (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5), yet on that cross before His departure to the lower parts of the earth, He cries out with anguish because of a reality that had transpired and that is when the Almighty, His own Father before us had forsaken Him and His cry is evidence of this when He shouts ELI, ELI, LEMA SABACHTHANI? (Matthew 27:46) which also means My God, My God why have you forsaken Me. Even in Jesus most sorrowful hour when God forsook Him, God still loved Him He turned away His eyes on Him because He was filled to the full with the measure of our sins, for God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

REPENTANCE: TURNING AWAY.

2013

Jesus ministry was a twofold ministry; He came to bring repentance and remission of sins and in so doing, reconcile us with the Father. Paul talks of this reconciliation when he says For God was in Christ, RECONCILING THE WORLD TO HIMSELF, no longer counting people's sins against them. And He gave us THIS WONDERFUL MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION (2 Corinthians 5:19) The forgiveness of mans sins was part of the reconciliation. Additionally the second part talks about us been given the ministry of reconciliation or the message of reconciliation, which included preaching both forgiveness of sins and repentance. We are able to see this when Jesus is about to commission the first disciples (we also included as the last) to preach the gospel to the world and says to them Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, AND THAT REPENTANCE AND REMISSION OF SINS SHOULD BE PREACHED IN HIS NAME TO ALL NATIONS, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:46-47) Therefore our mandate is not just to preach remission or forgiveness of sin but also repentance from sin.

The ultimate blessing of Jesus coming was repentance and we can see that in the book of the Acts of the Apostles in the third chapter where Peter had performed a miracle in the name of Jesus and the people of Israel gathered around him with amazement at the miracle that had been done and one of the things he says to them is, 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 (Acts 3:19) There are two thing things that the men of Israel were required to do that day for the purpose of salvation , the first is repentance and the second is conversion. And then Peter carries on with his sermon (we will skip a few verses so that we come to the main point) and says Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, And in your seed all the families of the earth SHALL BE BLESSED. TO YOU FIRST, GOD, HAVING RISEN UP HIS SERVANT JESUS, SENT HIM TO BLESS YOU, IN TURNING AWAY EVERY ONE OF YOU FROM YOUR INIQUITIES. (Acts 3:24-26) This scripture is quite powerful.
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Peter says in the last one, God sent Jesus to bless them in turning away every one of them from their iniquities or granting all of them repentance that was the blessing, repentance.

Ultimately there can never really be true salvation to even a believer if there is no repentance first. Truly speaking, no person can be saved without repenting that is why Paul says to the people of Athens, Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to REPENT, (Acts 17:30). Every man everywhere is commanded by God to repent, thats the first step to salvation. Before a person can truly and genuinely come to Christ he/she needs to accept the reality that they are sinners who need a Savior, its only then can people repent and receive salvation. Unfortunately due to the fact that this age has the most watered down gospel, people dont really come to Jesus because they find that there is something wrong with their sins however they come to Him because we preach a gospel that attracts the natural man. We flaunt money and cars, in the name of prosperity and tell people that For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, THAT YOU THROUGH HIS POVERTY MIGHT BECOME RICH (2 Corinthians 8:9), and todays gospel is made up of prosperity. Paul says the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him (1 Corinthians 2:14) therefore if we preach a gospel that is not foolishness to the natural man then that gospel is not from the Spirit.

How is it that in todays church when a message of repentance is preached people label it the condemnation gospel? When Peter preached the first sermon after the experience of the first baptism of the Holy Spirit, he preach and the bible records about those who were listening that when they heard this THEY WERE CUT TO THE HEART, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? (Acts 3:37) these people were convicted of the reality of their sins, they were pierced and crushed in their spirit because of what they had done, but today
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we preach a feel good, look good gospel. Today we dont think anyone should be convicted of their sins and realize that their need a Savior because that would be condemnation, One man of God said something profound in one of his sermons, he said todays Christians want to feel good without being good. When Stephen the martyr preaches to the council, the bible speaks about those who were listening that WHEN THEY HEARD THESE THINGS THEY WERE CUT TO THE HEART and they gnashed at him with their teeth. (Acts 7:54). Were these men not filled with the Spirit? Then why is it today we think that those who are filled with the Spirit are only those who preach the grace gospel?

Jeremiah speaks of the prophets of old to Israel declaring their ministry saying the Lord has SENT TO YOU ALL HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, REPENT NOW EVERY ONE OF HIS EVIL WAY AND HIS EVIL DOINGS, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. (Jeremiah 25:45). God sent prophets to tell Israel to repent, that was their main ministry, whenever a prophet entered one of the cities of Israel, and the people from that city always anticipated that he had news of repentance from the Lord. When Samuel is sent by God to Bethlehem the bible says THE ELDERS OF THE TOWN TREMBLED AT HIS COMING, AND SAID, DO YOU COME PEACEABLY? (1 Samuel 16:4). The largest part of the Old Testament is made up of the books of the prophets and most of them had only one message they preached to the children of Israel and that is repentance. However todays prophets speak of business deals and contracts that God wants you to sign - what has changed? Absolutely nothing Paul talks about the ministry of the prophets that IF ALL PROPHESY, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, HE IS CONVINCED BY ALL, HE IS CONVICTED BY ALL. And thus THE SECRETS OF HIS HEART ARE REVEALED; AND SO, FALLING DOWN ON HIS FACE, HE WILL WORSHIP GOD AND REPORT THAT GOD IS TRULY AMONG YOU. (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).

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God wants everyone in the world to put off their sins both the unsaved and the saved; when it comes to repentance there is no distinction. The unsaved need to put off their sins and be saved, the saved need to put off their old man to remain saved, Paul says to the Colossians Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. (Colossians 3:5-7) These are the sins of the old man that are carried over even to salvation and Paul states that its because of these sinful habits that the wrath of God is coming upon the unsaved and he exhorts the Ephesians and us that we should not be partakers of this wrath with unbelievers (Ephesians 5:7). As Christians we are charged by God to bear fruits or perform deeds that are in keeping or are evidence to our repentance (Luke 3:8, Acts 26:20).

In like manner even when the children of Israel were called out from Egypt and sanctified to God (an image of our salvation), they were commanded by God to be holy and live in righteousness just as we are also commanded, because even though many came out of the land of slavery only a few families entered the promised land because of their unbelief and their failure to adhere to the commands of God. Similarly, we were taken out of the prison of sin, from a place of bondage and were delivered out of it (presented by the image of Israels Egypt), kept a little in the world (presented by the image of the wilderness) but unfortunately not all of us will make it to heaven (presented by the image of the Promised Land), For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14), therefore let each one work out sin own salvation with godly fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

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Repenting in itself is not just merely confessing sins, even though we usually define it that way, nonetheless it is more than that. Repentance can include confessing your sins to God but it greatly deals with forsaking them, Solomon says He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever CONFESSES AND FORSAKES THEM will have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13) So its not just confessing them that God is concerned with, its also forsaking them. When we commit sins daily and confess them to God but not have a heart to want to forsake them and change then we are not repenting, we are merely confessing and most of the sins that we confess and never turn from are the sins we commit willfully. It is premeditated sin that a person never truly wants to turn from and there is a danger with those kinds of sins, especially when they are observed in a believer, the bible says If WE DELIBERATELY KEEP ON SINNING after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, BUT ONLY A FEARFUL EXPECTATION OF JUDGMENT AND OF RAGING FIRE THAT WILL CONSUME THE ENEMIES OF GOD. (Hebrews 10:26-27) we means believers; which means if we as believers keep on sinning after we know that it is wrong yet we still do it deliberately then there is no longer a sacrifice for it but an expectation of wrath from God which is prepare for His enemies. In other words we make ourselves enemies of God by deliberate sins or sins that we dont want to repent from, no wonder Solomon says He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who REPEATS A MATTER separates friends. (Proverbs 17:9).

By God covering our sins He is seeking our love and the amount of sin that God covers in your life is proportional to your amount of appreciation and love for Him, thats what Jesus meant when He gave the parable of the two debtors, saying There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. TELL ME, THEREFORE, WHICH OF THEM WILL LOVE HIM MORE? Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he forgave more. And He said to him, You have rightly judged. (Luke 7:41-43) Then Jesus after He had said this; because of the Pharisees who were with Him, who were troubled at the fact that He allowed a woman who was a sinner to anoint Him and touch Him, He
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adds on THEREFORE I SAY TO YOU, HER SINS, WHICH ARE MANY, ARE FORGIVEN, FOR SHE LOVED MUCH, BUT TO WHOM LITTLE IS FORGIVEN, THE SAME LOVES LITTLE. (Luke 7:47). Pauls forgiveness for his persecution of the church and the love he has for Jesus afterwards is practical proof of this principal truth. Nonetheless when we keep on sinning we separate ourselves from God, from His fellowship, like we said before there is nothing that can separate us from His love but continuous sin and lack of repentance can separate us from His fellowship. Peter also contributes to the ineffectiveness of grace when the extreme case of deliberately sinning takes place, after we have known the truth when he says For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, THEY ARE AGAIN ENTANGLED IN THEM AND OVERCOME, THE LATTER END IS WORSE FOR THEM THAN THE BEGINNING. (2 Peter 2:20).

Even for a believer who has been practicing righteousness and holiness, when he/she falls they have to repent its not just those who have never lived a repented life even though theyre believers. Anybody can fall if they are not under the grace of God; it is His grace that keeps us nonetheless Solomon encourages us when he says FOR THOUGH THE RIGHTEOUS FALL SEVEN TIMES, THEY RISE AGAIN, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. (Proverbs 24:16). These are the times of a believers trouble, when a believer is troubled with great temptation and if not escaped, sin comes along and the usual cause of any believers going back to sin is a loss of joy and love in salvation. David pleads with the Lord saying RESTORE TO ME THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51:12). If you can recall the reason behind this prayer that it is right after David had sinned by taking Uriah the Hittites wife and schemed to get him killed in the battle because he didnt want to take responsibility for his wrong actions. David doesnt just plead for the restoration of joy in salvation but also a willing spirit to keep him going and not loose heart, even Jesus says to the church of Ephesus Nevertheless I have this against you, THAT YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; REPENT AND DO THE FIRST WORKS, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its placeunless you
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repent. (Revelation 2:4-5). Jesus required this church to go back to their old good ways of love sometimes we need to repent by going back to the good we used to do that weve fell out of. Some of us need to repent and go back to our prayer habits, our fellowship and bible study or meditation habits which we have forsaken due to various factors that now occupy, not just the time for those things but also the joy and love we had for those habits, even God says to Israel in their time of greatest disobedience by turning aside to follow other gods, Stand in the ways and see, AND ASK FOR THE OLD PATHS, WHERE THE GOOD WAY IS, AND WALK IN IT (Jeremiah 6:16).

It is very hard for grace to work for a person who refuses to repent, because grace is supposed to teach us to deny ungodliness and live a sober life in this present age (Titus 2:11) and also to serve God acceptably with godly fear (Hebrews 12:28) and Isaiah testifies of this when he says Let grace be shown to the wicked, YET HE WILL NOT LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS; In the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, And will not behold the majesty of the Lord. (Isaiah 26:10). When a person who hasnt truly repented finds grace he will always uses it as a license to sin and Paul warns us of this thing saying What shall we say then? SHALL WE CONTINUE IN SIN, THAT GRACE MAY ABOUND? GOD FORBID. (Romans 6:1-2). There is truly no other way to say this except in this way: There is no such thing as once saved always saved, God rebukes this idea in two passages in the bible, firstly when He says Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, and THEN COME HERE AND STAND BEFORE ME IN MY TEMPLE AND CHANT, WE ARE SAFE! ONLY TO GO RIGHT BACK TO ALL THOSE EVILS AGAIN? (Jeremiah 7:8-10 - NLT). The house of God is not a place for people who havent repented to hide themselves in, only to go out and carry on sinning again afterwards. Secondly God says in Ezekiel BUT IF A RIGHTEOUS MAN TURNS FROM HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND COMMITS SIN AND DOES THE SAME DETESTABLE THINGS THE WICKED MAN DOES, WILL HE LIVE? NONE OF THE RIGHTEOUS THINGS HE HAS DONE WILL BE REMEMBERED. BECAUSE OF THE UNFAITHFULNESS HE IS GUILTY OF AND BECAUSE OF THE SINS HE HAS
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COMMITTED, HE WILL DIE. (Ezekiel 18:24). What God said in Ezekiel is important because He lets us know that even if a man was right in His doing in the past, the presence of that one wrong thing forfeits his previous righteousness, no wonder there are people who are living right with God all their lives and in the end they just go astray and go to hell, even though they had been previously walking rightly.

We need genuine repentance if we wish to be completely saved, not half repentance which means we have repented yet not with our whole heart. We want to love God and still live in the world, God talks about this kind of repentance to Israel when He says and yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah HAS NOT TURNED TO ME WITH HER WHOLE HEART, BUT IN PRETENSE, says the Lord. (Jeremiah 3:10). Israel would keep Gods commands and it would only be a matter of time before they go back to their evil ways and the Proverb which says a dog returns to his own vomit (Proverbs 26:11) would be fulfilled in them. Israel had a strange way of repenting; they wouldnt truly repent, they would only feel sorry for angering the Lord but never change their ways or forsake the things by which they made Him angry lets look at this.

The example Ive chosen is the one where they had asked for a king to reign over them while God was their King and Samuel addresses all of them at once and says Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and rain, THAT YOU MAY PERCEIVE AND SEE THAT YOUR WICKEDNESS IS GREAT, WHICH YOU HAVE DONE IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, IN ASKING A KING FOR YOURSELVES. So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all the people said to Samuel, PRAY FOR YOUR SERVANTS TO THE LORD YOUR GOD THAT WE MAY NOT DIE; FOR WE HAVE ADDED TO ALL OUR SINS THE EVIL OF ASKING A KING FOR OURSELVES. (1 Samuel 12:17-19). The strange thing about their repentance is that there is nowhere in the bible where it says they dethroned Saul and remained with God as their King so even though they were afraid and were sorry about
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something their accepted themselves to be a sin (making a man their king), they still continued with what they accepted themselves as a sin.

If God tells you to stop drinking because its a sin and you accept yourself that what God is saying is true and are regretful for doing it, then why do you keep on doing it? Many a time we sin willingly because we know the blood of Jesus can continually cleanse us of sin and we unconsciously count the blood of Jesus a common thing and take for granted His grace and God was clear through Samuel when He said Obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). Israel used the ordinances of Gods sin offering as a way to sin as we do nowadays grace. They would sin and bring a sacrifice of animals and incenses in the altar to cover their sins, yet their hearts were not repented and God responds to their audacity when He says in Isaiah TO WHAT PURPOSE IS THE MULTITUDE OF YOUR SACRIFICES TO ME? says the Lord. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.(Isaiah 1:11) and then He adds on Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; PUT AWAY THE EVIL OF YOUR DOINGS FROM BEFORE MY EYES. CEASE TO DO EVIL (Isaiah 1:16) God was more concerned about repentance than sacrifices. He also says through Jeremiah regarding the offered incenses For what purpose to Me comes frankincense from Sheba, and sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to Me. (Jeremiah 6:20). God wanted them to cease committing sin and repent more than bring sacrifices which were ordained to be offered for sin. We are not saying that nobody should confess their sins or that there is a limited amount of times a person is allowed to confess them; like the mercy of God can be measured, for we know that His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 136:1), however we are saying that without repentance it is pointless because a person will keep on sinning either way.

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We need to feel sorry and regretful about our sins and be deeply touched by how much trouble they cause to a point that we are truly driven to repent, Paul talks about his epistle to the Corinthians, how it had produced such godly sorrow which amazingly led the people of Corinth to repent saying 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. (2 Corinthians 7:8-9) if only we had such letters now to the churches, maybe many would have repented and started living holy. Additionally if our consciences have been wounded and ironed to a point that we feel no sorrow or regret due to sin we are ready to backslide and drawback to our former unsaved states sin has to have an impact in our consciences under the conviction of Gods word. When a person draws back to their former state, the love for the former sins is awaken; even when the children of Israel had been delivered out of Egypt there was a time they wished they could go back even though they were enslaved there. Its amazing to think that they wished to go back to their place of slavery than to enjoy their new found freedom from God, Stephen the martyr testifies of them saying in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,(Acts 7:39).

Another is Lots wife, who after being instructed by the angels (together with her family) to come out of Sodom because of the destruction that was coming upon that city from the Lord due to its grave sin and she was given an opportunity for escape, a kind of deliverance, being warned by angels not to look back yet because of her love for the city the bible says she looked back from behind Lot, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26).

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While still on that we can also talk about Lot himself, the man who is called righteous by Peter (2 Peter 2:7), how he himself suffered from going back to what he knew was harmful to him. Lot had went to Sodom due to the fact that the land he was staying in with Abraham was not enough to cater for both their prosperity, so they both, in agreement thought it was better for them to separate; now Lot had chosen to dwell in Sodom. It is not long after that the four kings of Shinar, Ellasar and Elam made war with the five kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar four kings against five. The bible says the The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. THEY ALSO CARRIED OFF ABRAMS NEPHEW LOT AND HIS POSSESSIONS, SINCE HE WAS LIVING IN SODOM. (Genesis 14:11-12). The news of these occurrences having come to Abraham, he quickly goes out against the five kings and the bible says he recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. (Genesis 14:16). Now without a doubt it is evident that the land of Sodom had been practicing wickedness long before Lot came to dwell there, therefore the short time that Lot spent there was enough for him to see that the people in that city are wicked but amazingly even after he was recaptured from the hands of the five kings he still goes back to Sodom and later on in Genesis 18, Abraham prays for his salvation.

He had lived long enough in that city to get married and have kids. Upon the angelic visitation, on the following day of their visitation, Lot is commanded by them to prepare to leave Sodom and the bible says something so shocking that with the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished. WHEN HE HESITATED, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. (Genesis 19:15-16) The bible says Lot hesitated to leave Sodom.

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To show the importance and great need for deliverance, Moses says to the children of Israel being instructed by God These are your instructions for eating this meal: BE FULLY DRESSED, WEAR YOUR SANDALS, AND CARRY YOUR WALKING STICK IN YOUR HAND. EAT THE MEAL WITH URGENCY, for this is the Lords Passover. (Exodus 12:11) God charged them to eat it with urgency, ready to leave Egypt; this is a great symbol. When we come to Jesus, who is represented by the Lords Passover, we need to partake of Him with urgency, ready to leave our old life of sin and its bondage in the act of repentance, which is represented by the readiness of Israel to leave Egypt, not like Lot who hesitated to leave Sodom.

Honestly speaking, to recall ones past life when he/she was still a sinner is a sign of lack of repentance and a desire to go back to the life of sin, as Israel complained against the Lord, attesting that Egypt was better when they said Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! WOULDNT IT BE BETTER FOR US TO RETURN TO EGYPT? (Numbers 14:3) How could a land of slavery be better? However we are exhorted when the bible talks of the patriarchs of faith saying IF THEY HAD LONGED FOR THE COUNTRY THEY CAME FROM, they could have gone back. BUT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR A BETTER PLACE, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:15-16). We, just like them are not longing for the country from which we came from, that wicked land of bondage with all its sins; that life of the old man because we have every opportunity to go back but we are looking for a better place where we can serve God in righteousness and holiness forever, therefore we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:39). The bible strictly warns about falling from grace saying Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: LOOKING CAREFULLY LEST ANYONE FALL SHORT OF THE GRACE OF GOD; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest

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there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. FOR YOU KNOW THAT AFTERWARD, WHEN HE WANTED TO

INHERIT THE BLESSING, HE WAS REJECTED, FOR HE FOUND NO PLACE FOR REPENTANCE, THOUGH HE SOUGHT IT DILIGENTLY WITH TEARS. (Hebrews 12:1417).

Sometimes when we are chastened by God because of our sins, its to keep us alert of the grace of God in our lives and we need to return to God fully, Proverbs talks about one of the greatest falls from grace and that is when God is unable to chasten us because sin has become practice in our lives and Solomon says WHOEVER REMAINS STIFF-NECKED AFTER MANY REBUKES will suddenly be destroyed WITHOUT REMEDY. (Proverbs 29:1) this is a sad scripture that reveals the ineffectiveness of grace in ones life, if theyve been rebuked many times by God and still refuse to repent. He says your destruction will be without cure or remedy; there will not be enough grace to bring you back to God, thats what the book of Hebrews testifies when it talks about those who draw back having had a powerful experience of God saying It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6) It appears to be literally impossible to bring such people to repentance and to have grace speak on their behalf.

While we are still alive and breathing, God is giving us an opportunity to repent, let us use this opportunity wisely lest we fall from the grace of God. It is not just those who are outside the faith who are called to repent but also those who are inside but living in sin. Peter says concerning the delaying of Gods promise with regards to the second coming of Christ, The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some
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understand slowness. INSTEAD HE IS PATIENT WITH YOU, NOT WANTING ANYONE TO PERISH, BUT EVERYONE TO COME TO REPENTANCE. (2 Peter 3:9).

Let us be encouraged by the parable of the prodigal son, who after he had spent his all on prodigal living remembered the grace, compassion and love of his father and said to himself and his father Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. (Luke 15:18-19), and then the bible continues to record the story saying And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, FATHER, I HAVE SINNED AGAINST HEAVEN AND IN YOUR SIGHT, AND AM NO LONGER WORTHY TO BE CALLED YOUR SON. But the father said to his servants, Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; FOR THIS MY SON WAS DEAD AND IS ALIVE AGAIN; HE WAS LOST AND IS FOUND. And they began to be merry. (Luke 15:20-24) this mans father didnt even bother to ask him where he was or even shout at him, but hugged him and kissed him and was forever ready to accept him back to his arms. The bible says but when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him, long before we say God forgive us, God has already all the mercy and the compassion we need from Him. If earthly fathers can forgive their sons in such a way, how much more our Heavenly Father who loved us while we were sinners? Jesus asks the similar question when He says IF YOU, THEN, BEING EVIL, ARE ABLE TO GIVE GOOD THINGS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN GIVE GOOD THINGS TO THOSE WHO MAKE REQUESTS TO HIM? (Matthew 7:11).

In conclusion, God says of the land of Ephraim (or Israel) after a long struggle with it, trying to correct it, I have heard Israel saying, You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you
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alone are the Lord my God. I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days. IS NOT ISRAEL STILL MY SON, MY DARLING CHILD? SAYS THE LORD, I OFTEN HAVE TO PUNISH HIM, BUT I STILL LOVE HIM. THATS WHY I LONG FOR HIM AND SURELY WILL HAVE MERCY ON HIM. (Jeremiah 31:18-20). Additionally, if we are not chastened by God, we are not His legitimate children, for the bible says for whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. (Hebrews 12:6). If you have been feeling like you are drawing back from God and going to the world or back to sin, there is a prayer of repentance for you at the end of this short book. God bless you as you find yourself back to His arms again and are reconciled with Him, Amen.

Prayer of Repentance

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Father I come humbly before thy throne of grace to receive mercy and grace, to help in the time of need. This day I repent of all that is contrary to Your purpose and will for my life in Christ Jesus, and this day I come running to Your wide open arms, as a Son returning to His Father. Lord I pray that You forgive me of every sin (for the ones I committed consciously and the ones I committed in ignorance). Father I thank You for Your word that is working effectively in me, accomplishing your divine purpose in me, for Your Word never returns void, but it accomplishes what You sent it out for. Father I thank you for the word that you spoke over me, before I was formed in my mother`s womb, and I thank you that, I am who You say I am. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He came in the flesh, and He died on the Cross, and God raised Him from the dead on the third day, and He is Lord over all my days. My life is hidden with Christ by You Father. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, for Christ is in me. Father I thank you for your unconditional love. I believe Your word for I`m free from all the activities of darkness, for I`ve been set free by the Son of God, and I am free indeed, and I live and function on the earth in name that is above every other

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name. Father I thank you that the true light is already shining in me and the darkness is fading away. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I pray.

Amen.

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