Full Accord
by Chris Cumming
With just sixteen days to go until we take the Lord’s Supper and enter
into the Days of Unleavened Bread which pictures our calling to the
Salvation Process, it is prudent and appropriate that we talk about
repentance. In his booklet, “The Pain and Joy of Repentance” Mr.
Armstrong writes:
“True
repentance can be one of the most PAINFUL of all mental, emotional, and
spiritual experiences! It can also be the most JOYFUL, once the agony
and pain have been endured! With world conditions the way they are, it
behooves each one of us to look deeply inside our own minds and hearts,
to see if we have ever truly experienced both the pain and joy of
repentance!
“The first words Jesus Christ spoke publicly were ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ (Matthew 4:17). Millions think they have ‘repented’ if they have ‘received Christ,’ or if they have ‘come forward’ in an evangelistic campaign. They believe being sorry for certain lapses of morality; having acquired bad habits of the flesh, and ‘living a life that is displeasing to God’ is adequate to obey Christ’s command to repent. The truth is, millions of Church-going, Bible believing nominal Christians have never been told; have never known
“WHAT it is for which they were
told to REPENT! You will be astonished to learn the real truth from your own
Bible!”
My purpose today will be to preach the real truth on repentance from your Bible
as I encourage all of us to be in Full Accord with it.
Be in full accord with
repentance.
In the quote above from Mr. Armstrong’s booklet, I read, “The first words
Jesus Christ spoke publicly were ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’
(Matthew 4:17).”
Let us explore these first words of Jesus.
Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.
Most commentaries speak to Matthew 4:17 by having the reader go to the
commentary on Matthew 3:2
Matthew 3:1-2
1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Repent ye - Repentance implies sorrow for past offences 2 Corinthians 7:10; a
deep sense of the evil of sin as committed against God Psalm 51:4; and a full
purpose to turn from transgression and to lead a holy life. A true [firstfruit]
has sorrow for sin, not only because it is ruinous to his soul, but chiefly
because it is an offence against God, and is that abominable thing which he
hates, Jeremiah 44:4. It is produced by seeing the great danger and misery to
which it exposes us; by seeing the justice and holiness of God Job 42:6; and by
seeing that our sins have been committed against Christ, and were the cause of
his death, Zechariah 12:10; Luke 22:61-62. There are two words in the New
Testament translated “repentance,” one of which denotes a change of mind, or a
reformation of life; and the other, sorrow or regret that sin has been
committed. The word used here is the former, calling the Jews to a change of
life, or a reformation of conduct. In the time of John, the nation had become
extremely wicked and corrupt, perhaps more so than at any preceding period.
Hence, both he and Christ began their ministry by calling the nation to
repentance. ~Barnes Notes
Quoted verses:
2 Corinthians 7:10
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the
sorrow of the world worketh death.
Psalm 51:4
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that
thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Jeremiah 44:4
Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending
them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.
Job 42:6
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Zechariah 12:10
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son,
and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn.
Luke 22:61-62
61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of
the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me
thrice.
62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
The commentary in speaking to the word translated "repentance" reads: "one of which denotes a change of mind, or a reformation of life." This is what I am talking about when I say we need to be in Full Accord with repentance. It is more than sorrow for what we have done and more than acknowledging to God that we have sinned; it is a change of mind or a reformation of life. This is something we do as a process for our entire life in the Salvation Process. Let us see what this word, "reformation" means.
Reformation:
---the act of reforming
---the synonyms are: "improvement, betterment, correction and reform."
---the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory.
---an amendment of conduct and/or belief.
---to cause a person [yourself] to abandon wrong or evil ways of life or
conduct.
---to put an end to abuses, disorders, etc.
A firstfruit in full accord with the biblical concept of repentance is a
firstfruit who is:
---improving his conduct.
---allowing the Word of God to correct himself.
---improving/changing/invoking better conduct.
---changing your beliefs to conform with the mind of God the Father and Christ.
---fleeing wrong and evil ways of life.
---destroying false images and thoughts [see sermon,
Lustration]
What I want to do at this point is conduct a review of our doctrine on
Repentance. Back when I was in eighth
grade in Science class, I had a male teacher who would have me and my classmates read
from the science book assigned to the class. As individuals would read aloud
from the text, we would hear the teacher interrupt the reader with the
admonition, “Remember that” meaning it would be on the next test.
I did very much the same as I read through our doctrinal statement on
Repentance. I highlighted those statements that primarily speak to repentance
being a process and those that spoke to reformation of character in overcoming
the sin or what the book of Hebrews calls, “going on to perfection.”
DOCTRINAL OVERVIEW
---Repentance is the act of acknowledging one's sins and resolving to fully obey
God. To repent means to change one's overall attitude from wanting to go his own
way to wanting to go God's way. It begins when God opens one's mind to see
himself in comparison with God and His law. True repentance is the first step
toward reconciliation with God, and thereby toward ultimate salvation.
DOCTRINAL OVERVIEW
---True repentance is a complex and deeply personal phenomenon that can only be
understood, in the final analysis, by experiencing it. The first component is
the realization that there is a vast difference, a great gulf, between God and
oneself (e.g. Job 42). The next aspect is an all-consuming desire to close that
gap, to become more like God in character, thought and behavior, though the
capacity to accomplish this is far beyond human power alone and requires the
active involvement of God's Holy Spirit.
---Genuine repentance, therefore,
must come from God Himself, and man cannot claim credit for it, though he has a
part in it. His part is to acknowledge the truth about himself which God has
shown him and then to act upon it.
---A person in an attitude of repentance feels a strong need for help in this
spiritual dilemma and reaches out to God for aid through His Holy Spirit.
---True repentance, conversely,
is a deep-seated desire to change one's whole being. It is a desire to reform
and redirect one's motivational approach to life. It is coming to abhor sin as
God does. This type of repentance can come only from God. As we have seen, it is
God who must give and lead one to repentance (Romans 2:4; 11 Timothy 2:25).
Quoted verses:
Romans 2:4, 11
4
Or
despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not
knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
11
For
there is no respect of persons with God.
2 Timothy 2:25 [see
Lesson]
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will
give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
---In a more detailed way, repentance includes many things. It involves a profound sense of utter helplessness, realizing that to do what must be done is impossible by one's own willpower. It requires the conscious awareness that God must take an active part in redirecting and reshaping one's life, for only God knows the way to life and only He can solve the problems of mankind. We must come to realize this fact and accept the process by which we can become acceptable to God. We have to change from doing things our own way to acknowledging God, His will and His laws in our lives.
---Although one's initial act of
repentance occurs prior to baptism, repentance is not a one-time event-It must
be a continuous lifelong process.
---This continuous process of growth and change is the very essence of the
Christian life. As God opens his mind to see more clearly (even more than
before baptism) his sinful nature, the Christian repents more and more
deeply.
---Repentance is not synonymous
with perfection. A repentant person is not guaranteed a sinless life for ever
after. Even a converted person will sin out of weakness from time to time, but
he need only repent of that sin and confess it before God, acknowledging
Christ's atoning sacrifice once again, in order to restore contact with God and
to obtain God's full forgiveness which reestablishes the joy of righteousness.
---He asks God to replace his ungodly thoughts with the godly approach of the
Holy Spirit; he seeks to diligently understand God's law more and more through
the practical experience of obedience.
---All who want to repent can
repent-at any time, for any sin, with the full assurance of God's total and
immediate forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Savior. God does not want any
human being to perish "but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
Quoted verse:
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
---It is the bridge that takes
one from worldliness to godliness, from wickedness to uprightness, from the way
of "get" (selfishness, self-concern, vanity) to the way of "give" (selflessness,
outgoing concern, service). All this is only possible through God's Holy
Spirit.
From this we conclude that the Full Accord of Repentance is:
1] Acknowledgement of our sins.
2] Genuine sorrow for having sinned.
3] God showing us comparison between us and His Law.
4] Our desire to close the gap between us and God’s Law.
5] Understanding repentance comes from God.
6] Understanding that repentance takes us not to perfection but towards it as we
grow in spiritual maturity.
7] Acknowledging the truth about ourselves.
8] Acting on closing the gulf between us and God.
9] Feeling the strong need for help in getting closer to God.
10] Having desire to reform.
11] Knowing that change, reform and overcoming sin come by the power of the Holy
Spirit.
12] Having the sense of utter helplessness.
13] Awareness that God must take an active part in our repentance.
14] Knowing repentance is a continual process during your life in the Salvation
Process.
15] Something that grows deeper and deeper.
16] Understanding of God’s laws and ways grows deeper.
17] We bring in the good to displace the negative elements in our nature.
18] Acknowledgement of the sacrifice of Christ and His shed blood.
19] A spiritual bridge from worldliness to Godliness.
Let us now look at more from the Word of God and this idea of being in full
accord with repentance.
Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not
shall be damned.
He that believeth - He that credits this Gospel as a revelation from God: and is
baptized - takes upon him the profession of it, obliging himself to walk
according to its precepts: he shall be saved - redeemed from sin here, and
brought at last to the enjoyment of my eternal glory. But he that believeth not,
shall be damned - because he rejects the only provision that could be effectual
to his soul’s salvation. ~Adam Clarke
And is baptized - faith must precede baptism, as these words of Christ, and
Scripture examples show; and such as have it, ought to make a profession of it,
and be baptized; and in which way it is that faith discovers itself, and works
by love to Christ; namely, in observing his commands, and this among the rest:
~John Gill
He that believeth and is baptized
— Baptism is here put for the external signature of the inner faith of the
heart, just as “confessing with the mouth” is in Romans 10:10; and there also as
here this outward manifestation, once mentioned as the proper fruit of faith, is
not repeated in what follows (Romans 10:11). ~JFB
Quoted verses:
Romans 10:10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:11
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Let us look at the commentary on verse 10.
For with the heart
- Not with the understanding merely, but with such a faith as shall be sincere,
and shall influence the life. There can be no other genuine faith than what
influences the whole mind.
Believeth unto righteousness - Believes so that justification is obtained. (Stuart)
In God’s plan of justifying people, this is the way by which we may be declared
just or righteous in his sight. The moment a sinner believes, therefore, he is
justified; his sins are pardoned; and he is introduced into the favor of God. No
man can be justified without this; for this is God’s plan, and he will not
depart from it.
With the mouth confession is made ... - That is, confession or profession is so made as to obtain salvation. He who in all appropriate ways professes his attachment to Christ shall be saved. This profession is to be made in all the proper ways of religious duty; by an avowal of our sentiments; by declaring on all proper occasions our belief of the truth; and by an unwavering adherence to them in all persecutions, oppositions, and trials. He who declares his belief makes a profession. He who associates with Christian people does it. He who acts with them in the prayer meeting, in the sanctuary, and in deeds of benevolence, does it. He who is baptized, and commemorates the death of the Lord Jesus, does it. And he who leads a humble, prayerful, spiritual life, does it. He shows his regard to the precepts and example of Christ Jesus; his regard for them more than for the pride, and pomp, and allurements of the world. All these are included in a profession of religion. In whatever way we can manifest attachment to it, it must be done. The reason why this is made so important is that there can be no true attachment to Christ which will not manifest itself in the life. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. It is impossible that there should be true belief in the heart of man, unless it should show itself in the life and conversation. This is the only test of its existence and its power; and hence it is made so important in the business of religion. And we may here learn,
There can be no religion where there is not a willingness to confess the Lord Jesus. There is no true repentance where we are not willing to confess our faults. There is no true attachment to a father or mother or friend, unless we are willing on all proper occasions to avow it.
And so there can be no true religion where there is too much pride, or vanity, or love of the world, or fear of shame to confess it. ~Barnes Notes