DonnaDi31Proverbi
New Member
I'm taking an online class on "Spirit-Filled Living by the Book", and I came across this word today that totally shed a new light on "repentance" and what it really means to us as Believers. Hope it blesses all who read it. It is long, but it is soo worth the time!
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Repentance: The Key to Growth
Key Scripture: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matt. 3:8).
Key Word: Metanoia.
Developing spiritual discipline requires change. What kind of change? Paul’s remark in his letter to the Thessalonians gives us a clue: “We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4). By nature, we tend to be people-pleasers, or even, as the recent focus on the problem of codependency suggests, “mate-pleasers” (see 1 Cor. 7:32-34). But primarily we are self-pleasers.
Spiritual discipline, to a great extent, consists of “unlearning” this orientation toward living. Jesus declared the perpetually unpopular truth that “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15). He did not seek to please himself (Rom. 15:3), but to please God (John 8:29). Paul urged his readers: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2). Note that by pleasing God we are able to discover and experience “His “perfect will” — which is itself “pleasing.” By making peace with God, we come to enjoy the peace of God.
The only way that we can develop this transformed mind — which Paul elsewhere called the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16; cf. Phil. 2:5) — is to live a life of ongoing conversion and repentance. We must beware assuming that such a life is optional! Along with Christ’s uncompromising charge, “Be perfect” (Matt. 5:48), Paul instructed: “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. . . . For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:8, 13). Perfection is no arbitrary command. Because of God’s nature, He can ask nothing less of us.
Repentance and Conversion
What God asks of us, His grace can supply through His Spirit. But we, too, have a part to play in working out our salvation (Phil. 2:12). As we have noted, repentance is the key. But what is repentance? We may begin by saying what repentance is not. It is not a one-time event that ushers us into the Christian life and then becomes a mere memory. Nor is it a neurotic mental posture that causes us to grovel fearfully before God, morbidly tallying every transgression and continually flagellating ourselves for every misdeed.
The Greek term for repentance and conversion, metanoia, literally means “change of mind.” The root noia is from nous, or “mind,” while the prefix meta is a Greek preposition that can mean “with” or “after.” Dr. Hayford suggests that both nuances of meta appear in metanoia. First, repentance, or having a transformed mind, is thinking with God. When we repent, we see things from God’s perspective. We see sin as sin, and recoil from its death-dealing influence and authority. But we cannot even know sin as sin until we are enlightened by a revelation of God and His righteousness. Thus true repentance only comes after conviction by the Holy Spirit. More specifically, repentance is what we do after God has shown us how He wants to move in some area of our lives.
God’s plan for us is eternally unfolding, and His moral revelation to us via our consciences is an ongoing event. For this reason, repentance should also be a continual activity. The spiritually mature have learned to live in a state of expectancy and responsiveness. They are ever ready to answer the inner address of God with the “yes” of obedience and faith. John the Baptist preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 3:2). Just as repentance is the gate through which we initially enter the kingdom, it is also the pathway by which we experientially dwell in the kingdom on a daily basis. Furthermore, repentance allows the kingdom to manifest itself through us, and so impact others. The “entry and exercise” of the kingdom that occurs when we exhibit an attitude of continual repentance is crucial both for our own spiritual transformation and for the transformation of the world.
We often attempt to substitute some other “spiritual” activity for repentance: knowledge, church involvement, Scripture reading, or good works. We will buy a teaching cassette about the suffering of Christ rather than give our possessions to the poor. Or we will lose ourselves in worship and liturgy instead of wrestling with God in prayer to find His specific will for our lives. The Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard rightly pointed out that to the degree that Christianity is taken solely as a source of consolation, it can become a barrier against living out the true Christian life — a life that inevitably involves the anxiety of decision making and obedience. A too-cozy or too-tranquil Christianity is a hedge against repentance.
A famous maxim goes: “The good is the enemy of the best.” Attempting — or even succeeding — in living a “good” or moral life is no substitute for repentance. There is no substitute for repentance. If we take Jesus’ command to be perfect seriously, continual repentance becomes a clear necessity. In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote about the futility of a Christianity that avoids this fact by taking as its aim simply being nice people — or “good eggs”:
(Macmillan Publishing, copyright © 1952, p. 169)
John the Baptist, who heralded the command to repent, embodied the radicalness of the repentant lifestyle, which itself constitutes part of the scandal or “foolishness” of authentic Christianity (1 Cor. 1:18). His wild dress showed that he was not ruled by the conventions of his day. He called sin sin, and demanded that others “spit out” their sins in confession. He did not hesitate to confess his own sinfulness (Matt. 3:14). He realized that sin was so deeply rooted in human nature that the radical pruning of repentance was required to uncover and eliminate it (v. 10).
After we have achieved some initial progress in the spiritual life, it is tempting to presume that we can then “coast.” But self-complacency is a treacherous pitfall on the spiritual path. The longer we walk with the Lord and the more expertise we acquire about religious matters, the more we must guard against such deceptive self-satisfaction. Jesus reserved his harshest criticisms for spiritual leaders who were devoid of self-criticism, calling them “whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (Matt. 23:27).
As you begin to study the spiritual disciplines, remember that the most common motive behind self-improvement — pride — is the opposite of the humility and teachability that are prerequisites for spiritual growth. Only through repentance can we really be improved as we are renovated from within by the Spirit. Paradoxically, we may fly home to God only on the broken wings of repentance.
Further Study: Review the scriptures under “Repentance,” Topical Index, p. 139 and “Individual confession of sin,” Topical Ties Index, p. 1452 in the NIV Topical Study Bible; also read “Repentance,” New International Dictionary of the Bible, p. 853.
Life Application: Mike Singletary achieved everything that a professional football player could want. But his accomplishments only served to highlight a sense of spiritual emptiness. He discovered that to have a vital relationship with the Lord he had to undergo “the harsh reality of brokenness.” As he obeyed, forgave others, and confessed his own sin, the power of God flowed through his life, bringing healing and newness. What is God asking you to “put to death” to take your commitment to a deeper level?
*******************************
Repentance: The Key to Growth
Reading: The Power and Blessing, pp. 41-48.
Key Scripture: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matt. 3:8).
Key Word: Metanoia.
Developing spiritual discipline requires change. What kind of change? Paul’s remark in his letter to the Thessalonians gives us a clue: “We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4). By nature, we tend to be people-pleasers, or even, as the recent focus on the problem of codependency suggests, “mate-pleasers” (see 1 Cor. 7:32-34). But primarily we are self-pleasers.
Spiritual discipline, to a great extent, consists of “unlearning” this orientation toward living. Jesus declared the perpetually unpopular truth that “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight” (Luke 16:15). He did not seek to please himself (Rom. 15:3), but to please God (John 8:29). Paul urged his readers: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2). Note that by pleasing God we are able to discover and experience “His “perfect will” — which is itself “pleasing.” By making peace with God, we come to enjoy the peace of God.
The only way that we can develop this transformed mind — which Paul elsewhere called the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16; cf. Phil. 2:5) — is to live a life of ongoing conversion and repentance. We must beware assuming that such a life is optional! Along with Christ’s uncompromising charge, “Be perfect” (Matt. 5:48), Paul instructed: “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. . . . For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:8, 13). Perfection is no arbitrary command. Because of God’s nature, He can ask nothing less of us.
Repentance and Conversion
What God asks of us, His grace can supply through His Spirit. But we, too, have a part to play in working out our salvation (Phil. 2:12). As we have noted, repentance is the key. But what is repentance? We may begin by saying what repentance is not. It is not a one-time event that ushers us into the Christian life and then becomes a mere memory. Nor is it a neurotic mental posture that causes us to grovel fearfully before God, morbidly tallying every transgression and continually flagellating ourselves for every misdeed.
The Greek term for repentance and conversion, metanoia, literally means “change of mind.” The root noia is from nous, or “mind,” while the prefix meta is a Greek preposition that can mean “with” or “after.” Dr. Hayford suggests that both nuances of meta appear in metanoia. First, repentance, or having a transformed mind, is thinking with God. When we repent, we see things from God’s perspective. We see sin as sin, and recoil from its death-dealing influence and authority. But we cannot even know sin as sin until we are enlightened by a revelation of God and His righteousness. Thus true repentance only comes after conviction by the Holy Spirit. More specifically, repentance is what we do after God has shown us how He wants to move in some area of our lives.
God’s plan for us is eternally unfolding, and His moral revelation to us via our consciences is an ongoing event. For this reason, repentance should also be a continual activity. The spiritually mature have learned to live in a state of expectancy and responsiveness. They are ever ready to answer the inner address of God with the “yes” of obedience and faith. John the Baptist preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 3:2). Just as repentance is the gate through which we initially enter the kingdom, it is also the pathway by which we experientially dwell in the kingdom on a daily basis. Furthermore, repentance allows the kingdom to manifest itself through us, and so impact others. The “entry and exercise” of the kingdom that occurs when we exhibit an attitude of continual repentance is crucial both for our own spiritual transformation and for the transformation of the world.
We often attempt to substitute some other “spiritual” activity for repentance: knowledge, church involvement, Scripture reading, or good works. We will buy a teaching cassette about the suffering of Christ rather than give our possessions to the poor. Or we will lose ourselves in worship and liturgy instead of wrestling with God in prayer to find His specific will for our lives. The Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard rightly pointed out that to the degree that Christianity is taken solely as a source of consolation, it can become a barrier against living out the true Christian life — a life that inevitably involves the anxiety of decision making and obedience. A too-cozy or too-tranquil Christianity is a hedge against repentance.
A famous maxim goes: “The good is the enemy of the best.” Attempting — or even succeeding — in living a “good” or moral life is no substitute for repentance. There is no substitute for repentance. If we take Jesus’ command to be perfect seriously, continual repentance becomes a clear necessity. In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote about the futility of a Christianity that avoids this fact by taking as its aim simply being nice people — or “good eggs”:
When [Jesus] said, “Be perfect,” He meant it. He meant that we must go in for the full treatment. It is hard; but the sort of compromise we are all hankering after is harder—in fact, it is impossible. It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.
(Macmillan Publishing, copyright © 1952, p. 169)
John the Baptist, who heralded the command to repent, embodied the radicalness of the repentant lifestyle, which itself constitutes part of the scandal or “foolishness” of authentic Christianity (1 Cor. 1:18). His wild dress showed that he was not ruled by the conventions of his day. He called sin sin, and demanded that others “spit out” their sins in confession. He did not hesitate to confess his own sinfulness (Matt. 3:14). He realized that sin was so deeply rooted in human nature that the radical pruning of repentance was required to uncover and eliminate it (v. 10).
After we have achieved some initial progress in the spiritual life, it is tempting to presume that we can then “coast.” But self-complacency is a treacherous pitfall on the spiritual path. The longer we walk with the Lord and the more expertise we acquire about religious matters, the more we must guard against such deceptive self-satisfaction. Jesus reserved his harshest criticisms for spiritual leaders who were devoid of self-criticism, calling them “whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (Matt. 23:27).
As you begin to study the spiritual disciplines, remember that the most common motive behind self-improvement — pride — is the opposite of the humility and teachability that are prerequisites for spiritual growth. Only through repentance can we really be improved as we are renovated from within by the Spirit. Paradoxically, we may fly home to God only on the broken wings of repentance.
Further Study: Review the scriptures under “Repentance,” Topical Index, p. 139 and “Individual confession of sin,” Topical Ties Index, p. 1452 in the NIV Topical Study Bible; also read “Repentance,” New International Dictionary of the Bible, p. 853.
Life Application: Mike Singletary achieved everything that a professional football player could want. But his accomplishments only served to highlight a sense of spiritual emptiness. He discovered that to have a vital relationship with the Lord he had to undergo “the harsh reality of brokenness.” As he obeyed, forgave others, and confessed his own sin, the power of God flowed through his life, bringing healing and newness. What is God asking you to “put to death” to take your commitment to a deeper level?
