Albany Missionary Baptist Church (Albany, Oregon)

Godly Repentance-Godly Sorrow Leads to Repentance

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Godly Repentance

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Commandments of God not hidden

Deut. 30:11-20

  1. Knowledge of what sin is:
    1. How serious it is, damaging to our lives, relationships, etc.
    2. How full of peril it is.
    3. How displeasing it is to God.
    4. How exceedingly sinful it is.
  2. Knowledge of what we are by nature:
    1. That we are born with a sinful nature.
    2. Must repent or be forever lost.
    3. That all are commanded to repent.

* Through or by repentance, we’ll see our own lives, thoughts, deeds, that we are sinners
before God and have no excuse.
*Millions of people acknowledge they sin, and they hate sin, but claim it does not condemn
them.
*They can condemn practices in others and allow it within themselves.
*Call the sins of others by their names, but their own sins by false, beautiful names.

In the day when God shall judge secrets of men

Rom. 2:16-24 

  1. Those that know the truth, tell others the truth, but practice it not.
  2. To those who are young in the Word, they appear wise.
  3. Call their sin by some other name. Give some examples.

Examine Yourself

II Cor. 13:5

  1. Look with both eyes – see yourself as God sees you.
  2. Reprobate is worthless. Does it fit? Are we working for the Lord or self?

I myself should be a castaway

I Cor. 9:24-27

  1. Are you living a life for Jesus, or is your witness rejected because of your life?

They hear thy words but do them not

Ex. 33:30-32

  1. Is it always someone else’s fault?
  2. Somebody else always does worse.
  3. Never willing to take responsibility for themselves and their actions.

What repentance really is: Composed of three elements:

  • INTELLECTUAL ELEMENTS: a change of view includes recognition of sin as involving personal defilement and utter helplessness.

Does not mean the experience of sin:

Ex. 9:27-30, 34                             Hardened Pharaoh
Josh. 7:20                                       Remorseful Achan
I Sam. 15:24, 30                           Insincere King Saul
Matt. 27:3-4                                   Remorseful Judas

*None of these confessions were sincere. They were just sorry they got caught.
*Many in New Testament churches today have some type of repentance. This intellectual element causes a change of mind about God. God is seen in a different light. There is a change of mind about the Bible, about Christ, about Heaven and Hell.

  • EMOTIONAL ELEMENT: Change of feeling. Becomes sorry he sinned against God. Begins to see himself as the enemy of God. Sees sin as hateful in itself.

*True repentance does not think of consequences. It does not worry about other men and
what they might do.
*This causes him to become determined to exercise the third element of repentance.

  • VOLUNTARY ELEMENT: Change of purpose. An inward turning from sin / to seek pardon, forgiveness and cleansing.

Luke 13:3                                         Except ye repent
Romans 12:2                                  Minds changed towards sin

*Man today doesn’t seem to understand what sin is and how long the effects of sin last. A New Testament (N.T.) church is God’s agent on this earth for upholding the truth.

Numbers 15:30-31 –Despised the Word = To regard as contemptible, worthless, scorn

*Sin is rebellion to the Lord. It destroys lives. The effects of sin last a lifetime and maybe
even an eternity.

Sin is the transgression of the law

I John 3:4

  1. Transgression: To pass beyond, over limits, to violate.
  2. No matter the humanistic reason, to go against God’s will is sinning.

 

Saul goes part way in obeying the Lord

I Sam 15: 1-3, 7-11, 18-26, 35

  1. Many of God’s people are like Saul. We put our own interpretation on the commandments of God.
  2. Saul believed he had obeyed. God said he sinned.
  3. Because God would not accept Saul, neither would Samuel.
  4. Saul never truly repented. He was just sorry he was caught.

He will forsake

II Chron. 15:2

David’s incorrect transportation of the Ark

II Sam. 6:1-13

  1. David, a man after God’s own heart, was bringing the ark home.
  2. They were not carrying it as the Lord had commanded. They had a better way.
  3. Verse 8, David is mad because God killed Uzzah who was trying to save the ark. Why get mad at God’s people for upholding the truth?
  4. Why do we get mad when God keeps his promises and we break ours?

Aaron builds a golden calf

Ex. 32:1-10, 19-28

  1. God’s people have the idea, “Well, if enough people are doing it, it must be OK”.
  2. Sin always seems to be the fault of somebody else.
  3. Part of true, Godly repentance is taking responsibility.
  4. We all need to stop assuming some things and take accountability.

Children are their oppressors- Is. 3:12

Call good evil and evil good- Is. 5:20

Removed their heart far from me– Is. 29:13

There is a way that seemeth right

Prov. 16:25

  1. We must look at things from God’s point of view, not our own.

Let the wicked forsake his way

Is. 55:7-9

  1. Repentance: Turning away from, yet there is more to it than just simply turning away from something.
  2. Your thoughts: If you look at something and you desire for it, you have not truly repented.
  3. Feeling bad is not repentance. Feeling guilty is not repentance.
  4. True repentance brings forth a heart change of thoughts, attitude, and behavior. Sometimes you need to see it.

*When we see sin as God does, we will be less likely to commit it.
*Sin angers God. It breaks his heart. It makes Him sick and repulses Him.
*Sin is sin to God. But as God deals with sinners and sin, he punishes differently.
*Divorce is a sin, so is murder; yet the punishment for these two sins is different here in the
flesh.
*God gives man opportunity to repent; either saved back to righteousness or lost to
salvation.

The Lord is longsuffering

II Peter 3:9

  1. God’s desire is for all to come to repentance.

 

Came to himself

Luke 15:11-21

*Treating somebody who has sinned as if nothing ever happened hinders them in their
ability to get things right with God. God treats them differently.

The way of the sinner is hard- Prov. 13:15

Blessing and a curse- Deut. 11:26-28

No pity- Deut. 13:3-9

Godly sorrow worketh repentance

II Cor. 7:8-10

  1. To truly repent, one must have a Godly sorrow.
  2. Same condition it took to be saved is the same to have sins forgiven.
  3. Feeling bad and being sorry you are a lost sinner won’t get you saved. Just as feeling bad and being sorry you have sinned doesn’t mean you have repented.

 

Occasion to enemies of the Lord- II Sam. 12:14  

Peter wept bitterly- Luke 22:60-62                                     

Peter goes fishing – takes brethren with him- John 21:1-3, 15, 21-22                      

When thou art converted

Luke 22:31-32

*To repent is to flee the other way. It makes you sick what you’ve done to God. You have
no desire to ever do it again. The mere thought of it grieves and sickens you in your heart;
never do it again.

Abstain from fleshly lust which war against the soul

I Peter 2:11

  1. Abstain = to completely remove yourself from something.
  2. Not to be around, socialize, look at, desire, etc.
  3. Samuel abstained from King Saul.

 

I acknowledge my sin unto thee

Ps. 32:5

  1. When we truly repent of something, there is open acknowledgment. There is complete openness and accountability.

 

I will be sorry

Ps. 38:18

Whoso confesseth and forsaketh

Prov. 28:13

  1. Just confession is not by itself repentance.
  2. Mercy from God comes only after confession and forsaken. (Godly sorrow)

 

If my people which are called by my name

II Chron. 7:14

  1. In order to have forgiveness, God put forth some conditions that must be met.

*Repentance and conversion to somewhat together.
*Conversion is a real, true change of a person’s heart. Until you’ve been converted, you
have not repented.
*Saying “I’m sorry” and feeling bad is not repentance.
*God knows our hearts. We must see fruits.

Bring forth fruit, meet (proof) for repentance- Matt. 3:7-8

By their fruits, ye shall know them.- Matt. 7:15-20

Lord remember me.- Luke 23:39-43

Hell is ready.- Is. 5:14

Hell stirreth.- Is. 14:9

*The result of Godly repentance is to be pardoned.
*The sinner receives this pardon the moment he acknowledges his sin and cries out to the
Lord for mercy.
*To be pardoned means to be forgiven.

Redemption through His blood

Eph. 1:7

  1. Redemption comes the moment we ask Christ for forgiveness.

 

Blindness of your heart

Eph. 4:18

  1. Those whom are lost, your alienated from the life in Christ.
  2. Because of ignorance, the blindness of your heart.

 

David’s prayer of repentance

Ps. 51:1-4, 12-13, 16-17

  1. As a sinner, lost or saved, one must realize you’ve sinned against God.
  2. True forgiveness, which comes after Godly sorrow, requires a broken and contrite heart.
  3. That comes only after you see sin from God’s point of view.

 

The Lord is nigh unto them

Ps. 34:18

  1. Contrite: broken, crushed, collapsed.
  2. Realize no hope other than Christ.

 

If thou shalt believe with thy heart

Rom. 10:8-10, 13

  1. True salvation lies within the heart – one must believe with the heart.
  2. True repentance lies within the heart – true peace lies in repentance.

Rest unto your souls

Matt. 11:28-30

  1. God wants to give you rest, peace.
  2. But, it must come His way.

 

God has given to us eternal life

I John 5:11-13

  1. Do you have this peace?
  2. God said you can know right now.

 

I will help thee.

Is. 41:13