Bread From Heaven

True Repentance

Dear God,
Teach us what true repentance is. Help us to repent fully of our sins. Help us to learn to hate and reject sin the way you do. Give us a heart of true repentance and true worship so that we may glorify you in all we do.
In christ’s name,
Amen

Leviticus 26:40-46

40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
43 The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God.
45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.
46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Isaiah 55:7

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Components of True Repentance

1. Feeling of sorrow and regret for sin
2. Confession of sin
3. Accepting the penalty and punishment for our sin
4. Change

Feeling of sorrow and regret for sin

This requires humility. We must humble ourselves before God. We must have true sorrow and grief over our sins. The penalty of sin was the Death of Jesus in our place. It should have been us upon that cross suffering. Jesus was innocent, but he paid the price for our sin so we would not have to. Our sin separates us from God. Our sin is harmful to us and to others and to God.
2 Chronicles 7:14 ▼

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Corinthians 7:8-11 ▼

8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

While looking up information for this study, I ran across this song. It is beautiful and goes right along with our subject, so I thought I would share it here.
https://youtu.be/g08ZUz6ifTE

These two verses pretty much say it all.
Joal 2:12-13 ▼

12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Confession of sin

Confession is not something that you do just one time and never do again. Yes, there needs to be confession with repentance at the moment of being converted. However, it is an ongoing process. As you begin to become more and more aware of the works of the flesh as you read your Bible and spend time with God, you will discover many confessions you will need to make.
Romans 10:9-10 ▼

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Confession of my own sins

We need to confess and acknowledge to God that we have sinned so that we can be forgiven and receive correction. We need to be aware of our sins so that we can avoid repeating them.

1 John 1:6-10 ▼

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Confession of family sins

It is well known that we should confess our own sin to God, but did you notice Leviticus 26:40 mentions that God expected the Israelites to confess the sins of their fathers as well? In Exodus 34:7, and a few other scriptures, it speaks of the sins of the fathers being visited upon the 3rd and 4th generations.

It certainly can not hurt to confess the sins you know about of your family members and ask God for his mercy and grace. We can pray for the living relatives to see the error of their ways and to turn from it. We can ask God's forgiveness for the living and the dead, and we can ask God to remove any of sin’s curses from us, asking for his mercy.
Exodus 34:7 ▼

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

Accepting the penalty and punishment for our sin

We can ask God for his mercy like David did when he sinned with Bathsheba, but part of true repentance is accepting responsibility for our sins and accepting that there are consequences. Leviticus 26:41, of our main Scripture, mentions accepting our punishment. The following article explains how we are saved from the eternal consequences of our sin through Christ, but we may still experience the temporary consequences of our sin while on earth.
https://www.gotquestions.org/sin-consequences.html

God disciplines us like his children. Sometimes we are allowed to suffer the consequences of our sin to teach us a lesson. Suffering the consequences, teaches us to fear God and to hate sin. It motivates us to remove the sin from our life.

A father may discipline their son for getting an attitude with a teacher at school. While the son says he is sorry and won’t do it again, the father still follows through on the discipline to make sure the son knows there are consequences for his misbehavior.

I find this passage interesting. Even Jesus learned obedience through the things which he suffered. No, he didn't sin, but he learned obedience through suffering. Therefore, we will learn obedience through suffering too.
Hebrews 5:5-10 ▼

5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

Change

In David's prayer of repentance in Psalm 51, he speaks of sinners being converted. This is also a term we use presently for getting saved. We have acknowledged our sin and grieved over it, confessed our sin and asked for forgiveness, and we have accepted our punishment. What is left? We need to change our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors to purge sin from our life.
Psalm 51:13 ▼

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

What does it mean to be converted? Is it enough to just say a little prayer and go on with your life as you always have?

Definition of converted:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/converted
adjective
noting a specified type of person who has been converted from the religion, beliefs, or attitudes characteristic of that type:
a converted Christian; a converted thief.
noting anything, formerly of the type specified, that has been converted to something else:
His yacht is a converted destroyer escort.

Being converted is being changed from one thing to something else. “Getting saved” is not just about telling God you are sorry for your sins. True repentance is not a once in a lifetime thing and then it's done. True repentance requires change. It is a lifestyle, an attitude, a discipline. It is sometimes done everyday until true change occurs. True repentance happens in the heart.
James 5:20 ▼

Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Is it any wonder why Christ said we must forgive or brethren 70x7? How many times do we as Christians mess up and have to repent again? How many times does God have to forgive us and sometimes repeatedly for the same thing over and over again?
Matthew 18:21-22 ▼

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Change in sinful thought patterns and behaviors

As we are washed by the Word of God, our minds begin to be renewed. We begin to think differently. We begin to hate sin. Our conversation changes and becomes cleaner. We begin to control our temper more, and begin to reflect the love of Jesus.
Romans 12:1-3 ▼

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

We know from previous studies that if you want your faith to be increased, it is done through hearing the Word of God and prayer.
Romans 10:17 ▼

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Change in heart and attitudes towards sin

God is the one who changes out heart so that we desire to live for him. Our faith and salvation are gifts from God. Let's not take them for granted.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 ▼

19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Here is a link to the song, Change My Heart Oh God, on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/IlSmG-_eJTU

In closing, Next week I would like to start studying the fruits of the spirit. In order to experience these fruits, we must have true repentance. Our hearts have to be right with God. Are there any of these components of true repentance that you need to deal with? Ask God for help with that today. Let's get our hearts ready to produce the fruits of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25 ▼

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Resources ▼

https://www.ifcj.org/learn/holy-land-moments/daily-devotionals/true-repentance/

Jesus is my permanent anchor!