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Have you truly repented?
Jesus said in Luke 13:3 that unless you repent you shall perish. If you do not repent, then you have not humbled yourself before
God. You must repent, but you also must know what true repentance is; because many people think that it simply means to turn
away from sin. You can turn away from all your sin and still go straight to hell. Repenting does not mean to turn away from sin or
to stop committing it by your own ability, because that would mean salvation was no longer by grace, but by works. If you just
wake up one day and decide to stop cussing, you are not repenting, you are simply making your own decision to stop cussing.
That kind of repentance is nothing more than a work of your own self-righteousness. Repentance comes from a deep sorrow
because of sin, and a desire to be free from it.
Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
What is the broken heart from? You have a broken heart once you acknowledge that you are a sinner, and you see just how
horrible and disgusting your sin is in the eyes of a Holy God. God saves the one who has a contrite spirit. A contrite spirit is one
that feels a sorrow because of their sin. This broken heart and contrite spirit is what leads you to true repentance.
Romans 6:21 “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.”
Are the sinful things you are turning away from things that make you feel ashamed? Or are you just turning from a sin because
the Bible says not to do it? You must have a sorrow that causes you to want to turn away from sin; otherwise it will not lead to
true repentance.
2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh
death.”
You do not have sorrow just because you want forgiveness, but because you have sinned against God. It is like a child who
comes to their mother, crying because they know they did something wrong, and because of their love for their mother, they felt
sorry for what they did. This is godly sorrow, but the sorrow of this world is in vain. It is like the kid that just wants to act sorry so
they won‘t get their allowance taken away, or get grounded for only a week instead of two weeks. This is not true sorrow and
cannot lead to true repentance.
So, you see that it is true sorrow that leads you to true repentance, but what is repentance? The word, repent, means to change
your mind. Stop following what you believe, and believe the gospel. That is why Jesus said to repent and believe the gospel. He
was saying, stop believing in whatever it is you believe, and believe the gospel.
God. You must repent, but you also must know what true repentance is; because many people think that it simply means to turn
away from sin. You can turn away from all your sin and still go straight to hell. Repenting does not mean to turn away from sin or
to stop committing it by your own ability, because that would mean salvation was no longer by grace, but by works. If you just
wake up one day and decide to stop cussing, you are not repenting, you are simply making your own decision to stop cussing.
That kind of repentance is nothing more than a work of your own self-righteousness. Repentance comes from a deep sorrow
because of sin, and a desire to be free from it.
Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
What is the broken heart from? You have a broken heart once you acknowledge that you are a sinner, and you see just how
horrible and disgusting your sin is in the eyes of a Holy God. God saves the one who has a contrite spirit. A contrite spirit is one
that feels a sorrow because of their sin. This broken heart and contrite spirit is what leads you to true repentance.
Romans 6:21 “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.”
Are the sinful things you are turning away from things that make you feel ashamed? Or are you just turning from a sin because
the Bible says not to do it? You must have a sorrow that causes you to want to turn away from sin; otherwise it will not lead to
true repentance.
2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh
death.”
You do not have sorrow just because you want forgiveness, but because you have sinned against God. It is like a child who
comes to their mother, crying because they know they did something wrong, and because of their love for their mother, they felt
sorry for what they did. This is godly sorrow, but the sorrow of this world is in vain. It is like the kid that just wants to act sorry so
they won‘t get their allowance taken away, or get grounded for only a week instead of two weeks. This is not true sorrow and
cannot lead to true repentance.
So, you see that it is true sorrow that leads you to true repentance, but what is repentance? The word, repent, means to change
your mind. Stop following what you believe, and believe the gospel. That is why Jesus said to repent and believe the gospel. He
was saying, stop believing in whatever it is you believe, and believe the gospel.
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