(Adapted from H.C. Thiessen p.352)
What is the logical order in the experience of Conversion?
There is no chronological sequence as conversion, repentance, faith, justification, union with Christ, and Adoption, all take place at the same time. Sanctification alone is an act and a process.
The Scriptures appeal to man to Turn himself to God.
Pro 1:23 Turn at my warning; behold, I will pour out my Spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. MKJV
Isa 59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, says Jehovah.MKJV
Eze 33:9 But, if you warn the wicked of his way, to turn from it; if he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul.
Eze 33:11 Say to them: As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, I have no delight in the death of the wicked, except in the turning of the wicked from his way, and so to live. Turn, turn from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?MKJV
Act 3:19 Therefore repent and convert so that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
Heb 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
Conversion is a turning to God. It consists of two elements: repentance from dead works, and faith towards God.
But man can neither repent nor believe unless He calls upon God and the Lord grants him repentance and faith.
Act 11:18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life."
Act 5:31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
2Ti 2:24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,
2Ti 2:25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
2Ti 2:26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
The Scriptures never ask a man to justify himself nor to regenerate himself. God alone can do these things. Thiessen p. 353.
1. The First Element in Conversion : REPENTANCE.
a. The Importance of Repentance.
This vital element is often overlooked in our day. Evangelists call on people to accept Christ and believe, without ever showing the sinner that he is lost and needs a Saviour.
The scriptures lay a great stress upon the preaching of repentance.
In the Old Testament.
Deu 30:10 when you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ESV
2Ki 17:13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets."
Jer 8:6 I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. ESV
Jer 8:7 Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the LORD. ESV
Eze 14:6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Eze 18:30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.
Eze 18:31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?
Eze 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live."
The Preaching of John the Baptist.
Mat 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
Mat 3:2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
The Preaching of Jesus Christ.
Mar 1:14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,
Mar 1:15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
Luk 13:3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
The Preaching of Peter on the day of Pentecost.
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
Act 3:18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.
Act 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
It was Fundamental to the Preaching of Paul.
Act 20:18 And when they came to him, he said to them: "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia,
Act 20:19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews;
Act 20:20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,
Act 20:21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 26:19 "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
Act 26:20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.
Heaven is Supremely Interested in Repentance
Luk 24:46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
Luk 24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48 You are witnesses of these things.
Luk 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luk 15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
See the Repentance of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 : 11 - 32
Repentance is the Fundamental of the Fundamentals of Conversion
2. The Meaning of Repentance
Standard Dictionary Meaning.:
“Repentance: is a sincere and thorough changing of the mind and disposition in regard to sin, involving a sense of personal guilt and helplessness, apprehension of the mercy of God, a strong desire to escape or be saved from sin, and voluntary abandonment of it.”
Note that Repentance is basically a change of mind and attitude taken in a broad sense.
Three Aspects of Repentance: Intellectual, Emotional and Volitional.
(1) The Intellectual Aspect.
This implies a change of view with regard to sin, God and self. Sin comes to be viewed as personal guilt; God, as the One who justly demands righteousness, and self as defiled and helpless. In the Scriptures this aspect of repentance is spoken of as the Knowledge of Sin.
(epignosis harmartias)
Rom 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. ESV
Knowledge (ἐπίγνωσις)
Clear and exact knowledge. Always of a knowledge which powerfully influences the form of the religions life, and hence containing more of the element of personal sympathy than the simple γνῶσις knowledge, which may be concerned with the intellect alone without affecting the character. See Rom_1:28; Rom_10:2; Eph_4:13. VWS
Rom 1:32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Psa 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Psa 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
The Prodigal Son repented. Luk 15:17 "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!
Luk 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
(2) The Emotional Aspect
This implies a change of Feeling. the English word Repent comes from the Latin re = plus or again, and poenitere = to be sorry again.
Sorrow for sin and a desire for pardon all all parts of repentance.
Psa 51:1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Psa 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
2Co 7:9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
2Co 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.ESV
Worketh repentance unto salvation a repentance without regret (metanoian eis sōtērian ametamelēton ergazetai). This clause alone should have prevented the confusion between mere “sorrow” (lupē) as indicated in metamelomai, to regret (to be sorry again) and “change of mind and life” as shown by metanoian (metanoeō) and wrongly translated “repentance.” RWP
Mat 21:31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.
Mat 21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
 |
| Godly Sorrow or grief leads to Repentance |
(3) The Volitional Aspect.
This implies a change of will and disposition. This is the Inward turning from sin. Note the Greek word metanoia which means “a change of mind”
Mat 3:8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Mat 3:11 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
v.8. Fruit worthy of repentance (Karpon axion tēs metanoias). John demands proof from these men of the new life before he administers baptism to them. “The fruit is not the change of heart, but the acts which result from it” (McNeile). It was a bold deed for John thus to challenge as unworthy the very ones who posed as lights and leaders of the Jewish people. “Any one can do (poiēsate, vide Gen_1:11) acts externally good but only a good man can grow a crop of right acts and habits” (Bruce).
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
The passage then proves:
(a) that God has a sincere desire that people should be saved;
(b) that any purpose in regard to the destruction of sinners is not founded on mere will, or is not arbitrary;
(c) that it would be agreeable to the nature of God, and to His arrangements in the plan of salvation, if all human beings should come to repentance, and accept the offers of mercy;
(d) that if any come to Him truly penitent, and desirous to be saved, they will not be cast off;
(e) that, since it is in accordance with His nature, that He should desire that all people may be saved, it may be presumed that He has made an arrangement by which it is possible that they should be; and,
(f) that, since this is His desire, it is proper for the ministers of religion to offer salvation to every human being. Compare Eze_33:11.Barnes Notes
Note the following:
(1) Repentance must not be taught as a “work” to perform. This is the Teaching of the Roman Catholic church and is unScriptural. Confession of Sin {ps 32:5 and 51:34; Luke 15:21
1 John 1 :9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
and Reparations for wrongs done to men are fruits of Repentance.Luk 19:8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold."
Confession and reparations are fruits and do not constitute Repentance.
(2) We are not saved for repenting but if we repent. Repentance is not a satisfaction rendered to God, but a condition of the heart necessary before we can believe unto Salvation.
(3) True repentance cannot exist apart from faith.
That is, one cannot turn from sin without Turning to God.
Conversely we can say that true faith never exists without true repentance from sin. The Two are inseparably bound together. Thiessen p. 354
No comments:
Post a Comment