Rick Renner - Repentance

Repentance

What It Is, What It Isnt,and How To Do It

RICK RENNER

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version . NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Repentance:

What It Is, What It Isnt, and How To Do It

ISBN: 978-1-68031-201-0

Copyright 2017 by Rick Renner

8316 E. 73rd St.

Tulsa, OK 74133

Published by Harrison House

Tulsa, OK 74145 www.harrisonhouse.com

Editorial Consultant: Cynthia D. Hansen

Text Design: Lisa Simpson, www.SimpsonProductions.net

Cover: Debbie Pullman, Zoe Life Creative Media

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the Publisher.

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrines of Christ, let us go unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

Hebrews 6:1,2

In recent years, I have felt impressed to teach on the subject of repentance as Ive traveled and ministered in churches across the globe. As a result, Ive come to understand that a large number of people in the Church have no knowledge of what true repentance is or why its so foundational and necessary to the Christian walk.

Many believers equate the act of repentance with remorse. They wrongly believe that repentance is little more than a spiritual get-out-of-jail-free card that allows them to admit fault, ask for forgiveness, and then dive right back into the same sin again. But as we shall see, personal change and transformation NOT remorse, regret, and sorrow are the true proof of repentance.

The purpose of this book is to provide you with a comprehensive explanation of what it means to truly repent and why repentance is an absolutely crucial ingredient of your walk with God. I have taken great care to ensure that every aspect of this discussion is rooted firmly in the Word of God. As you study the truths contained in these pages, I believe they will prove to be a powerful asset to enhance your spiritual growth and deepen your intimacy with the Lord. That is my prayer.

Rick Renner

WHAT IS REPENTANCE?

W hat does it actually mean to repent?

In a recent national survey, churchgoers were asked to articulate what the word repentance meant to them. The survey resulted in an assortment of answers. The majority of those who participated in the survey stated that they believed the word repentance meant one or more of the following:

• To feel sorry about something one did or failed to do.
  
• To feel remorseful about some act and to ask for forgiveness for it.
  
• To walk forward in a church service to formally ask Jesus into ones life. Before we go any further , lets include you in the survey. How would you define the meaning of the word repent? Try to answer that question before reading on.
  

The word repent is a very important New Testament word. The first instances where this word is used in the New Testament are in Matthew 3:2 and Matthew 4:17 by John the Baptist and Jesus, respectively. John the Baptist proclaimed, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2). Johns ministry was literally launched with that one word repent.

Jesus, too, began His public ministry by beckoning His listeners to repent. In Matthew 4:17, Jesus commenced His preaching ministry when He said, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Like John the Baptist, Jesus knew that the only way to enter the Kingdom of God was through repentance.

Then in Acts 2:38, Peter launched his preaching ministry with the same requirement of repentance. Just as John the Baptist and Jesus had called on men to repent, so Peter told his audience in Acts 2:38, Repent.

Peter understood that repentance is the birth canal through which people enter the Kingdom of God. In other words, it is the only way to truly be delivered from the kingdom of darkness and to emerge spiritually reborn and filled with the God-kind of life.

The word repent used by John the Baptist, Jesus, and Peter is the Greek word metanoeo . It is a compound of the words meta and nous. The word meta means to turn , and the word nous refers to the mind. When these two words are compounded, the new word describes in its most basic sense a change of mind or a complete conversion. The word metanoeo reflects a turn , a change of direction , a new course , and a completely altered behavior and view of life .

In the New Testament, this Greek word is used to denote a complete, radical, total change. It means a decision to completely change ones thoughts, behavior, and actions or to entirely turn around in the way one is thinking, believing, or living. Thus, the word repent in the New Testament gives the image of a person changing from top to bottom a total transformation wholly affecting every part of a persons life.

I must point out the importance of the word nous contained in this definition of repentance.

As we have seen above, the word nous is the Greek word for the mind . This means that the decision to repent lies in the mind , not in the emotions . This is not the same as a fleeting sorrow for past actions; rather, it is a solid, intellectual decision to turn about-face, take a new direction, and revise the pattern of ones life .

Emotions may accompany repentance, but they are not required in order to repent. True repentance is a mental choice to leave what is displeasing to God, and to turn toward Him with all of ones heart and mind in order to follow Jesus .

A prime example of such a turning can be seen in Pauls first letter to the Thessalonian believers when he commended them for the way in which they had turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9). The word turned in this verse is the Greek word epistrepho , which means to completely turn in a new direction.

Paul said the Thessalonian believers turned from idols to serve the living and true God. The word serve is important, for it tells us that the turn they made produced a life change with visible fruit that reflected the transformation. It is the word douleuo , the word for a servant , implying that the Thessalonian believers had fully left behind idolatry and had completely dedicated their lives to serving Jesus.

By using this word douleuo , Paul informed us that the Thessalonians didnt just claim to have repented; they showed it by changing the way they thought and lived and served . Their dramatically different outward behavior was guaranteed proof that real repentance had occurred.