In this continuing series of revisiting topics in a revival light, Repentance is under consideration.
Paul told us remember the words of Jesus (Col 3:16), and Jesus spoke on Repentance often:
Matt 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matt 4:7 “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.””
Matt 21:32 “And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”
Luke 13:5 “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Luke 17:3 ““If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.”
This is just a small sampling, to focus us on the importance of the subject. Repentance to salvation is a very good message, but repentance extends beyond just a salvation prayer. Repentance is also part of the growing relationship that we have with God. This post-salvation repentance, and confession, is what will be expanded upon today.
We hope as this season of revival continues, that it goes deep, not just wide, but that deep, deep repentance creates fruit that lasts.
Repentance and Confession, Just for Salvation?
A few circles in the Kingdom of God have a ‘once and done’ mentality when it comes to confession and repentance. They use terms like ‘Jesus paid for it all’, and ‘Finished work on the cross’, which are good saying, and there is much truth there. But these simple statements when used to excuse the need for confession after salvation goes against very clear scripture, and I believe also prevents us from fully walking in the grace and freedom that Christ has purchased for us by His death and resurrection. We will cover both the Why we may need to confess & repent again (not unto salvation, but to be cleaned), along with times Jesus calls whole churches into new repentance. But first two quick definitions:Repent – to think differently, reconsider, change one’s heart and mind (repentance, a reversal)Confess – to agree with, to acknowledge, to concede as true (every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord)
Repentance after Salvation
In the model prayer, many times called the Lord’s Prayer, found in Luke 11:2-4. Jesus taught us to pray an on-going daily prayer, not a once unto salvation type of prayer. This prayer was a template for relating to our Heavenly Father, well after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
“Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.” ~ Luke 11:2-4
In this prayer, we are shown to each day:
- To Worship God!
- Pray for God’s kingdom to come!
- Ask for the provision needed unto that day!
- To seek forgiveness (this is repentance)
- To forgive others
- To be lead away from temptations
Why would Jesus demonstrate a daily repentance, if He did not think there was a need for daily repentance? This isn’t a repentance unto salvation (that was taken care of by grace, through faith when we believed in Jesus for salvation), but this is to remove any uncleanliness for the day or the week.
Jesus spoke about this on the last dinner with His disciples, in John 13:1-17. Jesus washes the feet of His disciples and in verse 10, say ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean‘. Many commentators believe this hints at the idea that we in salvation we are cleansed with Jesus once and for all, ‘the whole body is clean’, but still need to periodically ‘wash their feet’.
This is about our ongoing relationship with God. Would we walk around acting like we didn’t offend or sin against our spouse, kids or boss? No, we confess it and make the relationship right. Likewise with God, we need to stop acting like there is never a disconnect with Him. Best of all, we don’t need to clean up ourselves before we draw near to God, we just go to Him directly, by what Jesus has done for us.
Individuals called to repent
1 Jn 1:9 says that He is faithful and just to cleanse us from unrighteousness. Some people use this as a once and done verse for confession and repentance. But John is addressing a church in his letter, already believing disciples. It seems he is reminding them to continue to be cleansed from unrighteousness they may have participated in while still in this life.
- Jesus is Faithful, for he forgives us every time we come to him. So why would we not come to him time and again to remove any stains.
- Jesus is Just, because He has already paid the penalty for sin on our behalf. The justice was already fulfilled in His death.
- Jesus purifies/cleanses us when we confess.
- Jesus is our Advocate — 1 Jn 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Let’s not give our enemy room to accuse us constantly. We confess our sin and Jesus will shut him up, righteously and justly, because in the courtroom of God, we have an advocate, Jesus. On our account, when we confess our sin, He will oppose Satan and on our behalf defend us by removing our uncleanness.
Also James 5:16 links healing in the physical body when we confess our sins to each other. Again, this was written to a body of believers, not unsaved people. Another reason to not neglect confession and repentance on a regular basis.
Churches called to repent!
In the book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, Jesus writes letters to 7 churches. In these letters, Jesus is calling believing saints into new repentance.
- The church in Ephesus had lost its first love, and was called to repent. Rev 2:5
- The church in Pergamum held onto wrong teaching, and was called to repent. Rev 2:16
- The church in Thyatira had been seduced to practice sexual immorality and idols, Jesus called them to repent. Rev 2:21
- The church in Sardis had fallen asleep. Told to remember what they first heard, and to repent. Rev 3:3 (Also said to have soiled garments).
Misconceptions and Why people don’t like Confession
Concerning a loss of salvation due to a lack of repentance places salvation back into a type of work that we do, instead of Grace through Faith. Repentance after salvation is not a way to preserve our salvation, but it is the way to keep the closeness, the intimacy with our God fresh.
Don’t let a short-hand doctrine (which is great for many things) diminish the truth captured today.
Lastly, Scripture clearly talks about a few types of people who disregard the need for repentance.
- The Foolish (Proverbs 14:9, a fool mocks repentance)
- The Proud Liar (1 Jn 1:8 ‘if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, Luke 18:9-14 the Pharisee see no need to be repentant)
- The Righteous in their own eyes (Mark 2:17 Jesus ‘I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’)
- The Ashamed ‘This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins’ (1 John 4:10). Sometimes we feel so stuck, or so ashamed of what has been going on in our lives, that we try to fix ourselves before we go to Jesus. We don’t want Him to see our uncleanness, so we try to wash ourselves. But that misses the point of grace and forgiveness, He does for us.
Let us not fall into these categories, but acknowledge that there may be a need for daily reflection upon our lives, and if there is something to confess, something to repent of, then let’s do it immediately, just as Jesus demonstrated in the Lord Prayer.
