Jesus Christ's (Yeshua the Messiah's) first public command is to REPENT.
As it is written:
“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17 ESV)In order to obey this command and to repent successfully, there are some absolutely crucial principles we must keep in mind. I've mentioned them in other blogs, but here is a synopsis of the critical factors to repenting successfully:
1. Remember to Always Call things what God calls them: The first principle of authentic Christian discipleship is that we must choose to look at any key words, concepts, principles, and ideas the way that God Himself looks at them and defines them in His Word. Something is sin when God says it is sin. Something is righteous only when God calls it righteous. It's only a true confession when God defines it as a confession. God will not change His definitions and standards to accommodate our preferences, so we must adapt our definitions to agree and cooperate with His, (Matthew 6:22-23; Isaiah 5:20-24; 45:19; Psalm 18:30; 19:8; Proverbs 17:15; 30:5-6).
2. What it means to REPENT Biblically: To repent; (in Hebrew: TESHUVAH= to return to the LORD); in Greek: METANOEÔ. From the Biblical literal sense of the word, to repent literally means to change one's mind, to change one's purpose and to change one's actions AWAY from what God defines as being sin, and then TURNING and progressively walking TOWARD what God says is righteous, good and pleasing to Him. So from God's point of view we have only successfully repented when we change our mind, when we change our purpose and when we change our way of life AWAY from what He calls sin, and then we walk TOWARD what God says is pleasing to Him.
3. What is sin? Based on the definition of what it means to repent, then God's definition of sin is critically important, because we will not know if we are successfully turning our minds, turning our purpose and turning our actions away from what God calls sin, if we do not truly understand and agree with God's definition of that term. There are many detailed definitions in Hebrew and Greek for the word SIN. You can find those here:
http://www.theopedia.com/Greek_and_Hebrew_words_for_Sin
The principle words used are; in Hebrew: [râ‛âh] This term is used more than 600 times and is most often translated as "evil" or "bad” [Strong's\ #7451]. It carries the implication of something that is contrary to God's nature. Also: [chaṭṭâ'âh] This term is used almost 300 times and is most often translated as "sin" or "offense" [Strong's\ #2403]^). It carries the implication of that which is deserving of punishment.
In Greek: HAMARTIA it's literally an archery term, meaning to "miss the bull's-eye.” To sin then is to miss the bull's-eye or to miss God's mark or the bull's-eye of His highest standard. This term for sin is the one most frequently used, appearing in the New Testament 174 times (Greek Strong's #266; 264).
4. What is the target?: If sin is missing the mark, then righteousness by definition must be hitting the mark of God's highest standard. So, if sin is missing the target or the bull's-eye of God's Highest Standard, then what is the Standard? What is the target that we are supposed to be aiming for and eventually hitting?
a. Righteousness always agrees with God's Character and Nature. Since sin is anything that is contrary to God's character and nature, [coming short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23b], then obviously the target of righteousness we are aiming to hit is NEVER contrary to what God describes as His character and His nature.
b. Righteousness will ALWAYS obey God's Law. Since even in the New Testament, sin is defined as the transgression or violation of God's Law (1 John 3:4; Hosea 8:1; Daniel 9:11; Psalm 119:142; Psalm 19:7-14). That's missing the target. So then, hitting the target would mean that we are agreeing with, honoring and obeying God's Laws Commandments and Instructions. So, the idea that sin is coming short of the glory of God and that sin is missing the target of what is required by God's Laws, Commandments and Instructions, is NOT ONLY an idea of the Old Testament, but it's REPEATED in the New Testament (1 John 3:4; Romans 3:23)
5. Remember God's standards righteousness: Love, Faith, Obedience to God in Christ, and Purposely Glorifying God. ANYTHING THAT MISSES THIS STANDARD IS “hamartia.” It is sin; (Love: Matthew 22:34-40; Matthew 7:12; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Faith: Hebrews 11:1,6; Romans 14:23b; Habakkuk 2:4; Obeying God: Matthew 7:21; John 3:36; John 14:21; John 15:14; Matthew 12:46-49; cf. Ezekiel 36:26-27;; Glorifying God on Purpose 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17-23). Anytime that we miss those standards, we are sinning. If we consume our time practicing and learning to hit those standards, then we will not be sinning. So then to repent is to change our minds, our purposes and our actions, and to turn AWAY from whatever misses these standards, and then to keep aiming for and practicing hitting these standards until we consistently hit the mark.
6. Take God seriously: Remember the second principle of authentic Christian discipleship is to Take God Seriously: God's standards are real. Missing the mark of God's highest standards is sin, and the consequences of sin are equally real. So when God says something in His Word, believe it, and take Him seriously, because He means it, and He is not kidding; (Psalm 9:16; Hebrews 4:12-13; Malachi 3:5; Isaiah 55:11).
7. Remember the consequences of sin are real too: Just as God will not change His definitions of key concepts to suit our preferences, neither will He remove the consequences of His judgments to suit our comforts. To pretend like our sin has no consequences is the same as mocking God Himself (Galatians 6:7-10). Self-deception happens when we deny our sins, or we pretend that our sin has no consequences. According to God's Word the consequences of sin are: Broken Relationship with God and other people; Bondage and Slavery; Death; and Eternal Condemnation and Torment in Hell. That is why our sin must radically be dealt with, or it will destroy us; (Isaiah 59:2; Proverbs 15:8-9; John 8:31-34; Romans 6:16; 7:11; 7:14; 7:25; Ephesians 4:22; Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 5:12; James 1:13-15; Romans 6:23; Matthew 25:41; Matthew 13:42; Matthew 24:41; Matthew 25:30; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 14:9-11; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:8).
8. God DOES provide His Grace: As it relates to the topic of sin and our restoration from sin, the True Biblical Grace of God has three key functions:
a. God's Grace brings us to the point of repentance (Romans 2:4).
b. God's Grace forgives us our sins WHEN we confess them (1 John 1:8-10).
c. God's Grace gives us the God-given ability to desire, to seek, to choose, and then to do what God says is pleasing to Him (Philippians 2:13; Ezekiel 36:25-27). GRACE: God's True Biblical Grace is the God given ability to seek, to discover, to desire, to choose, to do, and to persevere in doing what is good, righteous and pleasing to Almighty God, with the power of the Holy Spirit. God's Grace also gives us the ability to recognize and to REPENT when we are falling short of what God desires. There is not a single indication in either part of rightly divided Scripture that even hints at the idea that we can continue to live a lifestyle of disobedience to the King and still receive the full rights, blessings and privileges of a citizen in God's eternal kingdom. That idea is LAWLESSNESS, NOT GRACE! Hey, it just has to be said, and often, because God's grace is getting slandered something awful in our world's churches today.
d. Remember when you turn the grace of God into a license to sin, then according to the New Testament, it is the same thing as denying Jesus Christ (see Jude 1:4).
d.
9. Remember that God will forgive us, but we MUST confess: God guarantees to save us when we believe and confess Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10). He also promises to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness whenever we confess our sins (1 John 1:9). With our forgiveness from sin, and our salvation all resting on our confession, it's obviously critical that we learn to confess in a manner which God will accept.
10. Remember What Confess Means: In the original Greek Biblical language the word confess is "homologeô" which most precisely means to be of one mind, and to speak the same thing. So this means that in order to properly confess something I have to come into mental agreement (to be of one mind or in mental accord) with God about a particular subject, and then I have to speak the same thing that God says about that subject. If you don't agree with God mentally, and then speak the same thing that God says verbally, then according to God you did not really confess. We must come into unity with God in our thinking and in our speaking, so that we could confess properly. Therefore, we could then receive the great promises of salvation and forgiveness which are guaranteed to those who properly confess. Our very eternal life depends on getting and keeping this right; (Romans 10:9-10; 1 John 1:9).
11. Abolishing God's Laws, Commandments and Instructions actually forces people into Sin, and prevents them from receiving the grace that God provides: Please think about this carefully. Since sin is the transgression or the violation of God's Character, Nature, Laws and Commandments (Romans 3:23; 1 John 3:4), and since we only receive God's grace and forgiveness when we confess that we have in fact missed the bull's-eye of His standards (1 John 1:8-9), if you remove or abolish the Standard, then people cannot help but to sin. How can people help but miss the target, if we teach them that the target was done away with at the cross?! If they do not realize that they have truly missed the target of God standards, then how will they confess? If they do not confess, how can they receive God's Grace and be forgiven? Moreover when you say the law has been abolished and you remove God's target, and you cause people to believe that they have not sinned when God says they have, then you force them into a situation where they are calling God Himself a liar (1 John 1:10). I can pretty well guarantee you that calling God a liar to his face, is NOT the sure fire way to access His Good Graces! You cannot attack and demolish the Laws and Commandments of God, without demolishing your own access to God's Grace at the same time! It's the equivalent of trying to stay warm in the mid-winter blizzard, and the solution you choose is to burn down the house in which you live. That's a monumentally stupid thing to do, even for sheep.
12. Remember How to Confess: Whenever we confess our sins we need to make sure that we:
a. Acknowledge what God's true standards are regarding situation.
b. Specifically admit what we did.
c. Acknowledge in which ways what we did missed the mark of God standards.
d. Pray about what you could or should have done differently, instead of doing what you did.
When we do this properly, we not only confess biblically, but we also lay the groundwork for a genuine biblical repentance as well.
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